The AM Forum

Ever see one of these?  I've always wanted one and finally came across the right one online. This is a used, but very clean Smith & Wesson model 625-6 stainless steel revolver, with 5" barrel. Got it for a decent price. It shoots .45 ACP rounds like the more common Colt 1911 ACP auto pistol.  It's made pre-1997 before the internal locks.  Very few revolvers shoot .45 ACP. (Not to be confused with the standard .45 rimmed round used in "cowboy" guns - but somewhat similar)

I've got 1000's of .45 ACP rounds I loaded by hand years ago for the Colt 1911 ACP auto-pistol, so this revolver is a natural. It uses the same large N frame as a Dirty Harry .44 magnum and weighs about 2 pounds, 8 ounces empty. Very accurate on the range.

I know there's lots of target shooters out there and couldn't resist showing off the new baby... ;D  It should be here next week.

Brief info on the gun and using moon clips for the ACP cartridge:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_%26_Wesson_Model_625

Here's one of the fastest shooters on the planet shooting 12 rounds with a reload in 2.99 seconds - using a Smith 625:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLk1v5bSFPw


T


Ain't she a beauty?

Very nice gun.

I've got a early 1900s Webley that's been converted to fire .45 ACP instead of the original .455 Webley  and a S&W 1917 that was built for WWI, when 1911s were in short supply, and fires .45 ACP. Both revolvers use the full or half moon clips to hold the cartridges.

I assume that that one doesn't use clips and just headspaces on the rim?

Nice 8)
I like that critter.
Anthing special about the lead or can you use the full line of ACP variants?
I load .45 w/ a mish mash of Lyman and RCBS equip. I glommed up primers before they went thru da roof.

Nice pistol!    I notice how many hams are shooters too, me included.    The only revolver I own is  a British  Enfield No.2 hammerless.  Used by tank crews. Mine is dated 1943.  Uses .38S&W.  My favorite pistol is my Browning Hi-Power (9MM), and it's cousin the Inglis Hi-Power (dated October 1944).  The Inglis was Canadian made for the military.   My other favorite is my trusty Norinco 1911A1.   Good shooter.

I won't even begin to describe my rifle collection.

Very sleek design.  Looks like it is well balanced.

Literally nowhere to shoot near home.  Have to drive into Virginia to find a public range.

bill

Tom

That's a nice looking piece!  I have the 1911 you speak of but for a little excitement on the range I use this one.  41 Mag.  Really comes back on you, ask Brent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.41_Remington_Magnum

Al

Tom....  The tube shoot is coming up!   Middle of November..

Yep, converting to .45 ACP can save a lot of money in ammo costs. You're right - the early .45 ACP revolvers were made to fill the WW1 gap for 1911 ACP pistols.

There are moon clips out that are made of plastic and very easy to use... did you know of them? I have a link if needed.  I plan to pick up a bunch and save my fingers on the metal ones.  The clips are needed mainly for ejection. The ejection star has no rim to grab on the ACP round. But the full moon clips certainly are fast for speed loading.

Ed: Nice mil-guns and rifles you have.

Steve: Yep, I was thinking of you and your tube-shoot when I posted this. I wish I was 2700 miles closer - I wud show up...

DJ:  I just use semi-wadcutters loaded with 3.6 grains of BullsEye powder and 230 grain lead bullets.  I suppose any 45 ACP round would work well in the revolver.

Al: That’s a nice .41 magnum. Yes, the kick is something else. I can just imagine what a flame it wud throw at night – make the next shot a blind one…    That sure is an OLD price on that 50 round box of .41 ammo!!! :o


With the price of factory ammo soaring, (Obama thing?) I notice not a lot of big caliber shooting these days. It really pays to load your own rounds now. Glad I loaded up 15 years ago and made enuff rounds to last for quite a while of target shooting.

T

I haven't tried the plastic clips but then I don't shoot those guns all that much.

I do use .45 Auto Rim, that I have quite a bit of and reload; makes it back into a cartridge gun instead of clips. I assume yours' would use them as well, but not many companies load it any more. They should fit and it's worth it to track down the brass, I believe Starline still carries it.

Nice revolver! 45 is a nice caliber in any kind of gun.

A friend of mine has one of those 1917's in 45 and loves it. It shoots very, very well.

I have one of the Ruger Blackhawks with cylinders for both 45LC and 45 ACP. Fun at SASS shoots with the Long Colts, and good for practicing with the less expensive ACP. Seems equally accurate with either cylinder.

And yes, I"ve also noticed that many hams are also shooters. And pilots. And motocyclists. And scuba divers and photographers.  ;D  I think it's something to do with hands on technical hobbies.

 

"Ham Island",
Imagine THAT as a survival series!   :o

I've got the same thing except in .30 carbine. That thing will drive people out of the two adjoining lanes at an indoor range. The muzzle and cylinder gap blast is truly awesome.

I love the triggers on the old, unconverted three screw blackhawks!

Hi, I have a Smith & Wesson Model 25 with 6" barrel. It's the blued early version of your gun. They are sweet shooters. I love me some Smith & Wesson !

Tom
So that won't blow my head cleeeeeen off??

Tropical humor
Fred

How 'bout that. The old ones had the forged parts which is nice. I assume yours has the firing pin mounted on the hammer instead of the frame. Do you shoot it much?

Yes, the S&W older guns are so well made. They feel like precision German engr to me. Whereas, the latest huge stock of guns in the showcases feel like stamped out Russian or Uzi type stuff. You really can see and feel a difference in workmanship these days - so sad. Those older guns are like fine clocks.

The only thing I'm not crazy about on the gun is the cylinder notches on the outside are opposite the cylinder chamber holes. The effective cylinder wall strength is reduced. This is where the gun will break if it were to fail from a heavy load.  




T

Nice weapon.  Sure cheaper to shoot than lots of other ammo, especially since you reload.  Have a 1930's Llama 9mm that looks like a 1911.  Left to. me by my father who carried it in Europe in WWII;  officers thought it was a 1911.  Since Llama is out of business now, hope I don't need parts.  Don't get to shoot as much as I used to due to lack of range facilities locally.  We had a nice range then a certain group parked a mobile home downrange net to it and threatened to filed suit that we were endangering them.

How 'bout that. The old ones had the forged parts which is nice. I assume yours has the firing pin mounted on the hammer instead of the frame. Do you shoot it much?


Mine does have the pin on the hammer. I used to shoot it a lot. Not much time now. I bought a hundred rounds of 45 Autorim brass but haven't reloaded it yet.

Mike  ;)

Mine's not been messed with and yup you're right really nice trigger pull.  Took mine to a gunshop to get it scoped and the gunsmith offered to trade my 3 screw for a 5 new - even trade and offered to put the  scope on for free.  I thanked him but "no thanks" and retreated from the gun shop  ;D

Yes, the muzzle blast is pretty firey - even in a lighted gun range.

Al

Tom:  now you've got me thinking about another piece like yours in the 45 ACP

Al:


Here's a listing for used Smith 625's on BunBroker.com. There's also GunsAmerica, but this link seems to have the most. Stay away from the new Jerry M 625-8 models. Get the older 625-6 or earlier.  The JM's are OK, but I know you will appreciate the older ones more, as you do with your .41 mag.

http://www.gunbroker.com/

Then type in "Smith 625" in the search window for a listing.

T

When I was in Vietnam, the Army Criminal Investigators carried an 5-shot "Airweight" model, which I always assumed was standard issue since it was distributed to combat pilots and aircrew by the Air Force. We carried them off-duty as a "downtown" gun, but since I was a line MP, I used the 1911 .45 while on duty.

However, someone told me that there was an "ultra-airweight" model at one time, which was withdrawn by S&W because it would fail during use: I never got more than anecdotal evidence of either the failures or the existence of the weapon.

Anyone have any info?

Bill, W1AC

Nice pop gun, Tom.  ;D Fits the hand nicely, bet it has a good balance to it compared to the older pistols, too. Dad's got an old .45 six shooter and I've got his uncle's 1911 that he carried across Europe in WWII. Also a Webley .38, nice little gun. The Fosbery is a neat unit, would love to find one of those someday for a Heathkit price.

I'll post a shot of my Smith & Wesson tomorrow. A little different caliber.... ;D

Sean Connery with his Webley Fosbery....

http://www.imfdb.org/index.php/Image:Zardoz1.jpg

Now I need to go wash out my eyes!

Bill, did you train/ship as 95-Bravo out of Ft. McClellan AL. ?
                                                                                     D

Something I'll always wish I'd never seen!! Hopefully I can separate that shot from the Fosbery going forward.

Here's my S&W. A lot of folks don't realize that they aren't just a handgun manufacturer. It's my household security device. To most crooks, the sound of the action is akin to an alarm going off.

very nice heater... my brother has the .38 same style. I am quite accurate with it. My brother shot me in the head with his. I was spotting him one morning in Manchester and the round bounced back over his sholder and split my scalp open.
Hey, can I shoot it if I drop by with some ammo?
my brother painted the bottom of the front sight bright orange so you can aim a lot quicker.

Cool. Yeah, come on over.  I have a nice target area set up that is far enough away from neighbors to be legal. Been shooting here for about 25 years now.  I put in a dirt mound and some hardened, steel boiler plate as backstops. We can shoot from close in to 50+ yards away.    The Huzman and I were out shooting a couple of HossTraders ago here. He's pretty good with both a .45 and rifle.


Bring all the .38 ammo you want. You can try my .45 too. I have plenty of paper targets and ammo.  What is the model of the revolver?  Is it a .38 with what size barrel?  (or .357 magnum?)

BTW, Look at the #3 pic in my first post  and compare the blue mailing envelope to the size of the revolver to get an idea of how large an N frame is... ;)

T

Tom,
Mistake, my brothers gun is a .357 but we shot .38 specials. It looks just like your's with a 5 inch pipe with the same grips. I love that thing and pretty accurate. He painted the front sight so you are on target when the color drops out.
I have a bunch of .45 ACP ammo. I'll let you know.

Hmmm.. maybe it's a S&W 686 in an L frame?   It's a very nice design, especially if it's an older, all forged parts gun before the locks.

We can make good use of the .45 ammo.  Bring whatever guns and ammo you wish with safety glasses and ear protection. 

T

I was all about safety before I caught a .38 special in the scalp. Man did it sting.
They replaced all the back stops in the Manchester range the next week. They were freaked I was going to make trouble for them. I didn't.
I don't remember the part number of my brother's gun but it looks a lot like your's

What kind of back stop did Manchester use?  I see some ranges using steel plate with a dirt background. The bullet usually collapses on the steel and drops right to the ground.  Maybe there was a rock in the dirt pile that made it bounce back?           Or did they use tires?  (NG)

T

 "  They were freaked I was going to make trouble for them. I didn't. "

Free lifetime membership?  Or you didn't want to chance the lifetime part??

klc

I have the 686-2 in 357 mag.  Nice gun.  Super quality.  Light trigger.   I also have a Ruger Black hawk 45 convertible.  This revolver comes with a 45 long colt and a 45 acp cyl.  You can interchange.  The trouble with acp cartridges and revolvers is the strength.  Since the ACP round has the rim flush, you rely on the cyl itself to neck down. In a sense, This makes the cyl part of the forcing cone.  Dont load this type of revolver up hot, If you do, You will likely blow the side out. This has happend TWICE with +P ACP rounds to us over the years.  As a result, We tend to like more traditional Rimmed cases for high power work on a revolver.

I got my dad a 460 smith a few years back.  What a great gun if you shoot 45 LC out of it. What a handfull if you shoot 454 casull out of it.  What a nightmare if you shoot the 460 corbon out of it.  I dont desire to shoot it again.  Its 260 grains of bullet comming out at 2600!.   That thing set the damn walls of the booth on fire.  My dad was determined to take deer with it.  Its so damn powerfull, we could never shoot the thing accurate.

I just went to the range today,  Shot the 45 kimber circa 1993 pistol.  What a great gun. same hole groups at 10 yards. The new kimbers are junk in comparison. What a shame.  Now, they are made in tailand and assembled here.

Also shot my new Walther PPS in 9mm.  I got this one as I needed a small gun now that we can carry conceled in AZ without a permit. This gun gave me trouble but once I placed my finger in the groove at the front trigger guard, I got the groups down to 2 inch at 10 yards. Not bad. 

The best part about todays shooting was the 22's.  I used to shoot bullseye competition.  I pulled my IZH35M out of the case with red dot scope and Centurion ammo.  Ran the target out to 65 ft (indoor) and rang out a 2 inch group free standing!  The guys where just shocked.  Lots of fun today!

C

Tom,
It was the old Nike site in Manchester. My Dad was a member so we would go with him. There was thick rubber mats and steal plate behind them. The plates were bowed back. At the time the rubber was looking pretty beat. The targets ran on a rail so you could set the distance out to about 75 feet. So you can imagine the nice pattern hole in the mat behind the target. Anyway the round bounced back at me. I was looking over my brother's sholder busting his butt because he drank a bit too much coffee that morning. My Dad used to drag us there first thing Saturday morning so you had to drink enough coffee to get going early saturday but not too much that you got the shakes.

Hi Clark,

Yep, the 686-2 is a fine revolver. They are made like watches.  Interesting on your other .45 ACP experiences. 


Frank:  Evidently rubber is a poor backdrop material. There was a thread I read where a police officier practicing at a range took his eye out from a rubber bounce back.  It seems rubber works most of the time but not always.  I know hardened steel plate is good cuz I have a frame about 2' in front of the steel plate that hangs the paper targets. I never see signs of bullet fragments bouncing back even 2' into the paper.  They just fall to the dirt below.  But I'm always open to suggestions and improvements.

T

Tom,
I think their biggest problem was the steel wasn't on an angle so the round diverted down. It just was bowed out and away.. at first we thought he hit the target support. The support is a 2X2 angle with the point facing the shooter. The round would never bounce back from that. We gave it a close look and no marks.
We were the only people shooting that day so it didn't come from another range.
The rubber looked fine except for a small pattern of holes behind the target track.

If you're using steel as a backplate, I think it really needs to be angled down at maybe a 30 degree angle or more. The danger seems to be when you hit something square on, where it's 90 degrees to the bullet path - those can bounce stuff back at you. There is a famous youtube video of a fellow shooting a 50 BMG at a target a couple of hundred yards away and the first shot ricochets and comes whizzing back and hits him in the head with his ear protectors fortunately taking the brunt of the hit. You can hear the tumbling bullet as it comes back at him, pretty amazing.

At a SASS event I shoot at, we get backsplatter from the steel targets. A lot of Single Action Shooting Society or 'cowboy action' shooting is up close at reactive steel targets. The rounds have to be unjacketed and at or below 900 fps, and even with that I've had lead particles hit me in the legs (not hard enough to hurt much). Being unjacketed, they tend to break up pretty good as they hit the targets.

I always angle my steel back and down at a good angle, and often hang it so it can move and absorb some of the energy that way too by rocking up when it's hit. So far, so good.

Interesting.

Yep, I saw that video today.  It took quite a long time for the whining bullet to come back... :-)


I'll angle my steel sheet down to 30 degrees next time I go out there.  I think most of the energy is dissipated when the bullet collapses, thus the pile of lead directly underneath, but the angle will help further for safety.  Thanks for the suggestions.

T

Those moon clips are a PITA.

No, I was trained at Fort Gordon, and I was in country from ~9/71 to 6/72.

W1AC

I understand the metal moon clips are a terror on the fingers. However, the platdick ones are a joy to use and double as very fast speedloaders.


Check out:
http://www.ezmoonclip.com/

I just placed an order for fifteen - thanks for reminding me... ;)

T

Yaz's birthday this week:

Nice grips.


klc

Nice Hat for the Yaz  ;)

OK Bill, I did Basic / AIT as an MP at McClellan in 86.

                                                             DJ

OK Guys (and Gals)

Check out the recoil on this 41 Mag.  This guy is two handing it and it still comes back on him.  'Magine a single handed shooting with this beauty!!  When I single hand it, I let it recoil up to absorb the shock -- works for me.  It's not a piece for rapid shooting but would make an awesome deer revolver if scoped.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykdR-7q3GoQ

Did I say that after several rounds your hand starts to hurt right where it comes back on ya -- but it's still a blast to shoot (pun intended)

Al

Check this out. This is the 460 that I got my dad.  Not much muzzle flip as it has a big compensator on the barrel.  But it sure kicks back hard.  I was in pain for a few days after shooting it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJz7bejbKQ

Al,

 I never could shoot my Blackhawk 41 Mag without it kicking back and digging the trigger spur into the web of skin between my thumb and forefinger. Tried two handed, oversize grips, etc. Never could tame it. Finally traded it in on a S&W Model 29 44 Mag w/6" barrel. I can shoot it without bleeding. I can handle the " Dirty Harry " 44 Mag. but I wasn't man enough for that Ruger 41 Mag!

Mike

Yep, the .41 and .44 mag rounds are flamethrowers.

I think we all tend to forget how powerful even a smaller .38 special round is.  The other day I tried a .38 round (wadcutter) into a standard steel 55 gallon drum. That metal is no pushover. The .38 special round went clean through both sides.

I then tried the .45acp round and it ripped through with even more impact damage.  Even these rounds are a handful. Just imagine shooting one without ear protection and eye gear. The powder blow-back in itself is enough. (Or shoot a magnum round at night with no protection, in an emergency)

Something tells me we should be using Star Wars alien laser technology by now - instead of 500 years blowing up firecrackers in steel chambers to drive a lead bullet 1000+' /sec ... What a bunch of Neanderthals we are ;D

T

Try a .38 Special unjacketed hollow point into some ballistic jel.  Sure proves the point on stopping power for a 'common' round.

It's interesting that the .38 wadcutter (target bullet) is rated higher than a hollow point for stopping power.

Check out this thread - interesting and lively discussion about various bullet size effectivness:

http://www.socnet.com/archive/index.php/t-80426.html


I still like the .45ACP round the best.




And here's one poster's philosophy:

The keys are

-- Cultivate a warrior mindset
-- Invest in competent, thorough initial training and then maintain skills with regular ongoing practice
-- Acquire a reliable and durable weapon system
-- Purchase a consistent, robust performing duty/self-defense load in sufficient quantities (at least 1000 rounds) then STOP worrying about the nuances of handgun ammunition terminal performance.



These guys take their shooting as seriously as we take radio...  ;D

T

Good advice that...

Tom,
Wadcutter has less mass so goes faster F=MV^2
I bought my Dad some FMJs once. he took them to a sand pit and had some fun.
They didn't allow them at the range.
Yes angle that plate and think of Newtons third law.