At the risk of being branded a heretic, I do not see any need for an S&W revolver in .45 ACP since I do not shoot one competitively in a revolver-only class. Like Ol' Geeser, I prefer to shoot ACPs in 1911s, and sometimes in P220s. Lately, I have tinkered a bit with the M&P, but the 1911 is in no particular danger from the M&P, as far as I can tell.

I do happen to like Model 25s in .45 Colt, but I am not an SAA shooter. I suppose the attraction is that it is a very pleasant and accurate gun, and it does punch a big hole. I had very poor results with the first 25-5 I owned and eventually replaced it with a 25-9, which has been excellent. I might buy another one, some day.

For some reason I think the .45 Colt does a bit better in the accuracy department than the .41 and 44 Magnums when using target loads in the 900 FPS range. Not sure why that is - may just be my imagination. But I do think the advantage goes away when the magnums get into the 1100 FPS range.

I would tend to agree the best N-frame is a 44, but they are all good and all are fun to shoot.