I received my new to me 25-2 on Friday and gave it it's first range trip this morning. A few cylinders full of cartridges told me it needed sight adjustment as it was shooting about 4" high at 50'. The elevation screw appeard and felt as though there was no tension on it at all. I had to crank the screw all the way down to get the rounds hitting the black at 50'.

This is my first N frame and I love it. It drew a few of oohs and aahs at the club this morning. I Shoot my reloads with .451" X 230g lead slugs ahead of 3.9g of Bullseye. The accuracy was acceptable for my first time out with it.

The charge hole throats are .457" which is about .005" oversize. I have found, reading this forum and other sources, that this is a common issue with 25-2's. I am going to try to obtain .454 lead slugs and see if that make a difference in the guns accuracy.

Do any of the fourm's 25-2 shooters have any suggestions for pet loads, bullet diameters and styles that have proven successful with .457" throats?

LTC

Glad you had a satisfactory first outing. I've had a few older S&W's that had no elevation tension left, took out the sight and "rebent" the bar a bit to restore tension. Normally a .454 dia bullet will work well, if not I use the Remington bulk .455 dia 250gr RNLFP. Jacketed .452 dia bullets seem to shoot fair out of an oversized throat as well.

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Stay safe people!

I have owned a few Model 25-2's. They each seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to finding an accurate load for each gun.

It's not a handload, but I found that Winchester's 185 grain "Full Metal Case Super Match" shot very well in all of them. (Catalog number X45AWCP.)

In general, 200 grain lead bullets have shot better for me than 185 grainers. The Speer swaged 200 grain SWC is good at target velocities.

My best luck with home-cast bullets is a Lyman 454424, cast fairly hard, sized to .454". I don't size the front driving band, leaving it as-cast diameter. I have never tried them in .45 ACP cases, instead loading them into Auto Rim brass. They probably shoot the same in either case.

I find my 25-2 will run out of adjustment with very light loads. Sight adjusted all the way down and still a little high. Solution: more powder.

Bob, Buff & epj,
Thanks for the replies and insights. It looks like I may need need to work up a different .45cal load than my 4506-1 and 1911 one. I am hoping to get into casting my own slugs this spring.

How about changing out the rear sight blade? Are differing heights available?

LTC