45 ACP Mountain gun

[dbl barrel]

bought a 625-6 45 acp Mountain Gun CEA2XXX for a good for me price and was wondering about when it was made. I owned a Model 22 Thunder Ranch 45 ACP before and was less than impressed with it's quality. The 625 seems to be a better gun all the way around in my opinion.

 

[k22fan]

Not counting the 500 1994 Springfield Armory Commemoratives there was only one small batch of .45 ACP Mountain Guns. They were manufactured in 2000. You were fortunate to find one. No one seems to know how many were made, but apparently they didn't sell worth a hoot because S&W sold left over new barrels to Midway. Yesterdays unmarketable dog is today's collector's treasure.

 

[dbl barrel]

so i guess under 650 was a bargain.

 

[dbl barrel]

thank you k22fan

 

[k22fan]

Yes under $650 was a good deal. I wound up with nearly $800 tied up in mine. Oh well, I like it and I'll pass it on down to my heirs. Someday, either the $800 will start to look good or we'll have fired so many cast bullets through it that the cost per shot won't be much.

Here's the seller's picture of mine. It has an added red ramp, white outline rear and Hogues. I like all the upgrades.

 

[Imaposer]

I recently picked up a pretty nice 4" 625-3 for $600, and it has rapidly become my favorite firearm. If I could find a mtn gun version for close to that I wouldn't hesitate. I prefer the hammer mounted firing pin of the -3, but I think the weight of the mtn gun barrel profile would make for nice combo in .45acp.

 

[k22fan]

There are two ways I know of to arrive at a .45 ACP Mountain Gun with a hammer mounted firing pin, neither makes exactly what you want: 1. find one of the surplus Mtn. Gun barrels and rebarrel your 625-3, or 2. Buy one of the Springfield Armory Commemoratives. They are exactly what you want except for their decorations.

 

[JJ_BPK]

but I think the weight of the mtn gun barrel profile would make for nice combo in .45acp.

I gave up on finding a MG barrel or a 3inch. I did find a near new early JM PC barrel and when I sent my 625-2 back S&W to be fitted, I had them stick a 325 Ti cylinder in.

I figure the 3-4 oz I gain with the Ti cylinder is about the same as the pencil barrel and it keeps the nose heavy balance i like.

 

[Imaposer]

I gave up on finding a MG barrel or a 3inch. I did find a near new early JM PC barrel and when I sent my 625-2 back S&W to be fitted, I had them stick a 325 Ti cylinder in.

I figure the 3-4 oz I gain with the Ti cylinder is about the same as the pencil barrel and it keeps the nose heavy balance i like.

Interesting idea!

What are the advantages of the JM barrel swap?

And just out of curiosity, what is the circular mark just below the cylinder release?

 

[Dave T]

About two years ago I got the bug for a 45 ACP revolver in the "Mountain Gun" configuration. Not for use in the mountains but for walks in the desert where I live. My concern was more the two legged varmints or the four legged variety infected by rabies, which we see occasionally in my State.

Anyway, my affinity is generally for carbon steel and after a little research I found out Smith & Wesson never made a Mountain Gun in blued steel. While mulling this over I saw an add here on the Forum for a M25-2 that had an old Model 1950 tapered barrel installed. I bought it and shipped it to my gunsmith. He cut the barrel down to 4", Pinned the ramp to the barrel rib then the front sight to the ramp (the way S&W used to do it), then round butted the frame. A trigger job was naturally included along with making sure the indexing and timing was perfect. Finally, after a light bevel on the forward edge of the cylinder, he fine bead blasted and blued the whole thing. I've posted the pictures enough times that I'll skip that step for fear of being accused of bragging.

The point of my tale is that one way to get what you want is to have it built. Is it worth the money? That's very much up to the individual, but I will say this 45 ACP, blued Mountain Gun look-a-like is one of my very favorite revolvers.

Dave

 

[Lou_NC]

bought a 625-6 45 acp Mountain Gun CEA2XXX for a good for me price and was wondering about when it was made. I owned a Model 22 Thunder Ranch 45 ACP before and was less than impressed with it's quality. The 625 seems to be a better gun all the way around in my opinion.

Just wondering (if you don't mind sharing) what it was about the quality of your model 22 that you didn't care for?

I own "a few" model 625's, and also picked up a nickel 22-4 from a local seller at a great price this past summer. I consider the nickel 22-4 my ".45ACP mountain gun" because it has a lighter, tapered barrel vs. the full underlug on my 625 4". While I'm not crazy about the internal lock on the 22-4, I like it fine as a hiking companion. You've got me wondering whether I should watch out for any quality issues.

Lou

 

[JJ_BPK]

Interesting idea!

What are the advantages of the JM barrel swap?

And just out of curiosity, what is the circular mark just below the cylinder release?

The barrel swap was corrective, my 625-2 came with a 5inch that had notches for a home made scope mount. The JM Barrel was available at a very good price..

That's the hammer pivot pin. It was factory replaced before I purchased the revolver, no idea why, presumably it broke. I did verify, it was factory replaced..

 

[dbl barrel]

It had chamber issues. some rounds wouldn't seat in the chambers. They were reloads with .451 bullets. the sights were not regulated to any round that I could find. I heard later that the early Thunder Ranch 22s all had sights that were off. I bought the gun to primarly shoot reloads through an i guess I wasn't patient enough to figure what was wrong with the cylinder. The mountain gun has adjustable sights and all my reloade work great in it with or without moon clips. i wish I had taken time to get the cylinder checked/fixed and the sights adjusted as
I like the looks of the Thunder Ranch better. Just my experience. If you are shooting only store bought ammo it should be ok if it shoots to point of aim

 

[mic214]

My M-625-8 originally came with a 5" heavy barrel. It was a great shooter, but I found it a bit heavy to pack around. I looked for a 3" barrel, but was unable to find one. I eventually settled on a 4" MG from Midway and had that installed. It much easier to carry now: