Can someone please give a summary of the various issues with S&W guns using .45 colt vs .45 long colt. Ammo length, size of cylinders and any thing a newbie should be aware of prior to purchase of gun. I am interested in the various model 25's but need a lesson in the size issues and "throat" issues etc. thanks joe

First off, the .45 Colt and .45 Long Colt are the same thing. .45 Colt is the technical name. The Long Colt name came about way back in "the day" to differentiate between the .45 Colt and the shorter .45 S&W, both of which could be fired in the Colt SSA.


It is my understanding that some of the older S&W .45 Colt revolvers have issues with the throats being too large, resulting is poor accuracy. Modern guns don't share this issue. I'll have to let someone more knowledgeable than I give us a date though. My 25-13 Mountian Gun is without a doubt my favorite revolver and a real tack driver.

Thank you. I was told that the model 25-3 should not use .45 colt ammo like that used in a Ruger revolver using .45 colt, thus was wondering what that was all about. Also, what .45 long colt ammo (factory) is recommended for the model 25.3

Generally speaking, you should stick to standard pressure ammunition for your S&W .45 Colt. It was becamse quite popular to "hotrod" the .45 Colt into .44magnum territory. The cartridge itself is quite capable of handling this, however, some argue and perhaps rightly so that the S&W's aren't. Most recommend that the +p stuff only be used in Ruger and similar super strong revolvers.

With that said, I believe the Smiths are capable of more than they are given credit for. My personal woods load for my 25-13 is a 255g Keith LSWC on top of 24g of H110.This load is hot, and not much fun to shoot out of a light Mountian Gun. This is a carry a lot, shoot a little load.

Do a google search for "John Linebaugh S&W .45 Colt" and you find find several interestign articles on this subject. He is also where I got my above laod data.

Joe if your 25-3 is like my25-3 you also have the shorter 45 acp lenth cylinder. This keeps us from shooting the heavier weight bullets due overall cartridge length. It's my understanding from this forum that the longer cylinders started with the 25-5.

The John Linebough articles are an interesting read so do read them. Just keep in mind that they are the heavier bullet weights and loads and they will be to long to fit in the 25-3. They will shoot out of my mountain gun with it's longer cylinder but I still limit my loads to 950 fps. No need to abuse that one either. If I feel the need to shoot magnum type 45 colt loads I have a 460xvr to handle that. Let others correct me if I'm wrong but I feel a 250 grain bullet at no more than 900fps will keep your 25-3 happy and alive.

.45 Colt = .45 Long Colt
.45 S&W = .45 Schofield = .45 S&W Schofield (shorter than the .45 Colt)

Like said above, the .45 S&W can be fired in a revolver chambered for the .45 Colt but not the other way around. (like it top break S&W revolvers chambered in .45 S&W)

As for buying ammo, any factory .45 Colt ammo will be perfectly fine in your revolvers. If you decide to reload you can use any published .45 Colt load data other than load data specifically designated for Ruger, Freedom Arms, T/C Contender only. AND, the Ruger data can't be fired in all Ruger revolvers. It can be fired in Ruger Blackhawks and original Vaquero revolvers but not New Vaqueros popular with the Cowboy Action crowd.

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The 25-3 will not accept cartridges loaded with the 255 gr true Keith type bullets unless seated deeper than normal and roll crimped over the front driving band or seated flush with the front driving band and taper crimped. Many commercial projectiles will work fine. Some 25-5 models and 25-2 models have oversized throats. You will not know until you measure them, although I think the 25-9 models are all correctly chambered. Dean

As a "newbie", DO NOT BUY A DASH 3! 25-3s have huge throats that make finding a reload that will shoot accurately a challenge that will hinder a newbie's efforts to learn marksmanship. My 25-3 had .458" throats. S&W reduced the size of their .45 Colts' throats about the same time they deleted the barrel pin, around 1982. The 25-3s were made in 1977. Any 25-5 new enough to have a serial number that starts with 3 letters is sure to have the smaller throats but some 25-5s were made with smaller throats before the change in serial numbers and some 25-5 cylinders were replaced under warranty. I never heard of a 25-3 getting a warranty replacement cylinder. My 25-3 only shot accurately with .458" bullets cast from .45-70 rifle molds. I was only interested in firing my own castings while I owned my 25-3 but other members are reporting good accuracy from their reloads with Remington's .456" swaged 250 gr RN bullets. A reloader can work around the 25-3's over size throats, but it's a royal P.I.T.A., so why not just buy a revolver without the problem?