This one too was won yesterday at auction (picture from auction site) and I am very happy to have it too.. Still don't really understand why people don't like these special edition models.. They are in general so nicely finished...

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Looks nice. I like it.

Some of the commemoratives get a little gawdy with gold lettering, but not that one.

Congratulations on a great find. These are beautiful N frames, that are under valued in my opinion. About the only pre lock revolvers that haven't gone totally insane on pricing. The book, coin and display box are an added bonus with these beauties. I think the fear of a slightly shorter cylinder and over sized chamber throats scare some people off. That's ok with me, keeps them affordable for us peons.....

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

That's a beauty. Although I favor the 25s that shoot the .45 Colt, it would have been hard for me to turn that one down.

I think a lot of people steer away from commemoratives because they don't want to shoot them...they turn into safe queens and you have that money tied up in them and it might be years before they appreciate enough to make a profit when selling them.

The flip side of that is they make great heirlooms to hand down to your kids and/or grandkids.

Thanks.. I'm just thrilled it is a 45 colt!!!

I believe it is a 45 colt... I just can't pass on such a beautiful gun when it is the exact same price as a new SW-25.... This one is a time capsule complete so it should stay unfired but this being said I could pop the cork... I've been known to do this on occasion..

Quote: Although I favor the 25s that shoot the .45 Colt, it would have been hard for me to turn that one down.

I thought all 25-3's were in .45 Colt. I know mine is.

Thanks.. I'm ecstatic!
Exactly a total missed opportunity for some

My mistake (insert red face here). I may have been thinking of the 25-2. Or I may just be stupid, I don't know. There are so many 25s, I get confused I guess. Not to mention I just finished a range session with one of my 25-7s in .45 Colt today. Don't know what I was thinking.

I guess I'll go sit in a corner wearing a pointy hat that will hopefully focus my thoughts better.

That's a beautiful gun, and a real piece of S&W history. There is only one problem with it if you intend to shoot it. The cylinder on the 25-3 used for this commemorative is about as short as that used on the 25-2 .45 ACP models. This means that some .45 Colt loads, particularly those handloaded with the Keith semiwadcutters, will stick out of the forward end of the cylinder a bit so that it will be impossible to close the loaded cylinder.

The 25-5 guns were made with cylinders that are a bit longer to avoid this problem; long-loaded .45 Colt cartridges will fit and function fine. Here is a pic of three of mine. If you look at how far the barrel protrudes into the cylinder window on your gun and then compare it with these, you'll see the difference.

No problem with some loads, and maybe a problem with others

Hope you find this helpful.

John

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Very funny Watchdog... No worries I've done much worst trust me!! Come hang with the boys.. I'm just happy to be a part of the 25 club..

Thank you John.. Very interesting and really nice revolvers.. Thanks for posting the picture and the information... Seems very odd to me SW would not at that point in time understand about the requirements for longer loads considering their past experience with 45 Colt... Truth is I can't/shouldn't shoot it anyway given it is complete and even has the SW shipping box as sent from factory... I can't ruin a time capsule..

I haven't played with it for a while so I got out my 25-3 to explore the compatibility with some 45 Colt loads I've got around here. I found some 255 Gr LSWC, 255 Gr JFP, and 250 Gr Speer Gold Dot ammo (L to R in the picture). The 255s are my reloads and the Gold Dot is factory. These are standard weight bullets, loaded to standard 45 Colt specs. Here are sample rounds of each with the 25-3 (low grade cell phone pics):


Each was placed in the cylinder and measured from the top of the bullet to the cylinder face. The LSWC was .032", the Gold Dot was .040" and the JFP was .080":


I haven't shot this gun enough to know 100% if bullet jump would be a problem (haven't had any problems with mine). But I don't think it would be, based on the 45 Colt's recoil and mass of the N frame. So Bigl1911, if you want to shoot yours there is ammunition that will fit it.....Just sayin'

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

I haven't shot this gun enough to know 100% if bullet jump would be a problem (haven't had any problems with mine). But I don't think it would be, based on the 45 Colt's recoil and mass of the N frame. So Bigl1911, if you want to shoot yours there is ammunition that will fit it.....Just sayin' [/QUOTE]

Very nice!!! Thank you Sir!!

I bought one of these when they were current production. It was probably the most beautiful gun I have ever owned. Unfortunately, it shot patterns instead of groups. I didn't know about cylinder throats in those days. I traded it off at a very substantial loss and went on from there.

Wheelgun Wednesday: Smith & Wesson 25-2 (1955 Target Model) 45 ACPThe Firearm Blog
It's worth a glance....
Cheers,
Jacques

The “problem” with the cast lead bullets centered on the Lyman 454424, a 260 grain Keith SWC. For whatever reason, Lyman changed that bullet at least three times or at least changed the location of the crimping groove. So, if you had all bullets from the three different molds and loaded them in the crimp groove you would have three different overall lengths. Not a good situation. There are solutions but only needed if you have the problem.

Kevin

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