Okay I'm new to revolvers and just bought a Taurus M85 for the wife. Shoots great, nice  centered groups at 7 yds. I noticed it has a little movement in the cylinder front and back . If I hold the cylinder to the rear I can get a .008" feeler gage between the cone face and the cylinder. Is this any reason for concern ? Are shims needed at this point ? Not looking for "perfect" just normal/ acceptable/ safe for what it is, a sub $300 revolver. -Thanks

.008 is a touch open but not by much.  .003-.006 is considered good by many revolver guys.   If you push it forward how thick of a gauge can you get in?  At this point in time I would not worry about that at all, especially if its not giving you any issues.

If you're not getting flame cutting or lead shaving, there's really nothing to worry about. Fit tends to be looser on less expensive guns.
It's also a reason why Dan Wesson put the cylinder lock on the front.

.008 is within spec.  I think Smith will go out to 0.012 on cylinder gap. .006 was the long time standard.  Anything much less and you can get binding as crud builds up.

The method you're using isn't measuring endshake.

Endshake is the total movement of the cylinder front and back.


The way to measure endshake is: push the cylinder forward, measure the gap between the front of the cylinder, and the forcing cone, measure both sides, if one is smaller than the other, use the smaller measurement, write this number down. (FYI, if you get two different measurements, your forcing cone isn't cut straight).

Now push your cylinder back and measure the distance between the rear of the cylinder, and the frame, write this number down.


The difference between these two numbers is your endshake. Manufacturers are all a bit different, Ruger tends to have less endshake, whereas S&W has a bit more. I don't have my shop manual handy, but if I recall correctly S&W sets their endshake between .003" and .006"

This post and others before nail your question nicely OP! I wouldn't worry about it. For a $300 revolver you are to expect specs in that range and it's really nothing to worry about especially if it's not causing any problems. Enjoy your new revolver and have your wife shoot/practice every chance you get!