Like the title says, how does recoil compare between a 625 .45ACP and 627 .38spl?
Looking for a new action pistol gun and I've never shot an N frame 38.
My 45s are a Thunder Ranch 22-4 and a 325PD. I know the 45 isn't bad, just wondering if 38s are more, less or about the same.

Thanks!

.38 Special ammunition in an N frame is very gentle. Standard velocity or mid-range target wadcutters are much like shooting a K frame .22.

Since going from the L-Frame 686 to the N-Frame 627 i've found that 357 really is easy to shoot. My first trip out shooting 357 in my 627, I shot 200 rounds & could shoot more but ran out of ammo.
Carl

Dont know about the .45, but my 627 PC handled quite nicely with 158 grain Hornady HP/XTP's atop 14 grain of H110. Fairly hot load according to Hornadys manual. I loaded 100 of these the other day and shot 80 of them with no trouble whatsoever.

I got some 158 SWC's and am going to load them down to 5 grain Unique and see the difference in the feel.

I love this gun. I am new to the reloading aspect but my old is helping alot. Experimenting as i go. Having a ball man!

The .38 Spl. will feel like a .22. The .45 ACP will be a little more noticeable but is more like a soft slow push, not snappy at all. Both would make a very friendly tool to learn how to shoot with no chance of flinching or anticipating the recoil. If you can handload lower power ammo you will find a load that will place all of the bullets in the same hole. (both calibers) I dearly love my 625-2. I shoot target loads and pins and steel with it. It will do everything.

I've got a 130 g 38 special load @ 925 fps that I can shoot all day long, multi hundreds of rounds, without any kind of recoil issues.

I get tired, the gun gets dirty, my paper targets get really small clustered groups.

Even semi-hot 357 Mag loads are pretty darn minimal given the N-frame mass.

__________________
Dum vivimus Vivamas

Thanks guys!
I do reload for 45, and have clips and carriers and such for the 45s, so going 38 would be an investment, but sounds lime it'd be worth it for something a little gentler yet.

You didn't say what action games you planning, but I think you would find the 45 much faster on reloading with it's larger/shorter bullets. Both of the 45s' you listed are fairly lightweight guns, more so than a standard 625 which would lessen recoil. Most competitions only allows 6-shots to be fired w/o a reload so the extra rounds in some 38/357s' usually just get in the way. Even with round nose bullets I find the 40/45 revolvers load much easier than the 38/357s'.

Recoil should not be your first consideration. If you're shooting Steel or ICORE you'll probably want more than six rounds in the gun. Many pin shooters also like the extra rounds.

But when dealing strictly with recoil characteristics, the length and contour of your barrel will have more of an influence than which of the two cartridges you choose.

Dave Sinko

I'll try and answer this for you the bast that I can based on my experience and guns. I have a 625 and a 627, both are 6 shot, steel frame, 5" full lugged barrel guns. I shoot a 230gr. plated bullet at approx 850fps. out of the 625. In the 627 I use my "magnum lite" load, a 158gr. plated bullet in a .357 case somewhere between 1,100 and 1,200 fps.

Felt recoil in my 627 with these loads is next to nothing, lighter than shooting .38's out of my 686 4". There is more bark to the muzzle blast than the 625 but felt recoil is considerably less. My 627 is an extremely heavy gun and it does dampen recoil. Makes for a lot of fun at the indoor range to do a rapid fire of full magnum loads, lots of flash and boom with low felt recoil.

I have a 625JM and several N-frame .357s. I shoot these guns a lot. For me, the difference in felt recoil among these guns and the two calibers is negligible. It does help, however, to have grips that fit your hand. After a good bit of experimenting, all of my magnums wear Pachmayr grippers to the range. My 625JM retains the "Miculek" grips. These grips are all quite comfortable. I had problems, however, firing my magnums with N-frame factory targets.

Our local shooting league is loosely based on IDPA, but not as strict, the 627 would be allowed.
Recoil isn't my first criteria, just curious. I used to have 3 Dan Wessons, then I moved away from 38spl, now I'm kinda thinking of getting one again since 8 rounds would get me a little more parity with the 1911 guys
Just wanted to see how much a difference there was, now to decide what to get.

I also run Pachmayr -gripper or compacs, can't remember which now. I've tried Hogues, and while i like the feel, there's something in my grip or something, the back corner hits me right in the tendon in my thumb and it kinda hurts , distracting anyway.
Are both the 625 and 627 round butt? I've got some square butt grips to get rid of in that case