What’s the main reason the -5 seems to be the most sought after?
I saw a 4” with pres case and papers go for 2
$2275 today.
I don’t have a 25 in a 45 LC.
Wondering whether to pay a premium for a -5 or is the -7 just the same?
I guess the SW logo is on the cylinder release side which is a little weird that they ever decided to squeeze the logo in there?
Accuracy??

My guess? Two bidders wanted it.

That Model 25-5 may have had pinned barrel. I think the pin went away at the end of the -5 era. The -7 and -9 both had “improvements” added to them. The internal frame lug, full lugged barrel, etc.

It very much depends on the buyer and what they are seeking.

I have a 6” Model 25-5. Used it for Ohio white tailed deer. Good revolver. Logo on the sideplate. Accuracy? I took quite a few white tails with it. Never tried it in competition. Once I had it sighted for my load, it never saw a formal target again. Have not hunted in a decade or more, maybe I should cash in on the fever!

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Honestly, the nicest .45 Colt S&W has made was the 25-7, at least in my opinion. 25-5s have suffered from a spotty reputation for accuracy. They're pretty though, which drives the price through the roof these days...

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Even older, even crankier....

I would like to own a -7 or 9 with the unfluted cylinder and black mat finish. They just look so cool to me! Have a 25-15, {much newer} but love the Colt cartridge. Bob

I like this post but have one little quibble:
Didn't S&W chamber a few Triple Locks in .45 Colt?
If yes, it would be hard to top those!

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You're shy a few manners.

Okay, my curiosity is aroused - are you telling me this 25-5 is now worth more than $2,000.00?



This model in .45/c was a grail gun for me for many years but I didn't think it was an investment of that caliber. Pun intended.

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Come and take it!!

Are the -5 with 4" barrel harder to find then the 6" barrel?

I'm not so sure that the 25-5 is the most sought after - most plentiful, yes, sought after, doubtful, especially in light of the oversize throats found on the early guns.

I think the 25-7 and 25-9 unfluted 5" barrel guns are probably the most desirable and in far shorter supply than the 25-5.

And I'm not just saying that because...


What's not to love?

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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NRA Benefactor Member

This is off topic to the degree I'm talking about predecessors on the one hand--and a different caliber on the other hand---and only values.

Having decided it would be best to leave behind a pile of money rather than a pile of guns, I had my collection of target guns liquidated over the past three years ending about a year ago. The collection started at the beginning (NM #3's), and ended at the end of the 5 screws.

These are the sale prices of a Model of 1950, and a Model of 1955, both in .45 ACP---top condition guns both:

Model of 1950----$1990
Model of 1955----$2525

And somebody mentioned Triple Locks---those prices made me glad I was selling rather than buying!!

A 7 1/2" TLT----$10,000
A 6 1/2" King Super Target TL----$8825

Ralph Tremaine

The early 25-5s had pinned barrels. The pin however actual does nothing. They also have a reputation for over sized chamber throats. I have measured them with pin gauges as large as .458. It will effect accuracy to some degree. This can be dealt with to some degree using over sized bullets. I have heard that this is not true of the 25-7s so it would be a better bet for most people.

But as a side note I was reaming a new 44 mag cylinder to make a 45 colt cylinder (I like to do this to get .452 throats) and my reamers .429 pilot wouldn't go. Throats were .428 so undersized. I then measured all the 44 mag cylinders I have. One from a 29-2 measured .433 most were .430- .431, yet you seldom hear of throat problems with the 44s.

This 25-5 came to me with .458 throats and a 8 3/8" barrel. I "ruined" it by replacing the cylinder with one reamed from a recessed 44 mag cylinder to have a recessed 45 colt cylinder with .452 throats and then I chopped 3 3/8" off the barrel, so I have a pinned and recessed 5" 45 colt

Syeelslaver, yeah it’s definitely ruined. Send it here to Missouri and I’ll hide it for ya.

My 25-5 4”, with proper throats, is a tack driver, as is my 25-7 5”.

Dan

There were only 1987 25-7s made with the 5 inch barrel and black satin finish. I believe there some 25-9s also made like that as well and I am not sure the 1987 number includes them or not. I've seen photos of 25-9s that were blue and either 4 or 6 inch. The ones I have seen are fantastic guns!! Never pass one up if you have a chance for one!!

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Full Target stocks, box and papers… great finish as is yours.
Do you have original target stocks? Box papers. That tends to fetch a premium price in my Me four months of experience of looking at GB on a daily basis and checking out values.

Just a moment...

This is the one that sold a couple of days ago.

That is fabulous!!

I also have a few 5 screw pinned and recessed 45 colts
A 3 1/2"

a 6"

and a 6 1/2"

Then a 16 1/2"

S&W corrected the throats in the 25-5 revolvers about the same time they eliminated the barrel pin. My 4" 25.5 with an un-pinned barrel had .452 throats if I recall correctly. I no longer have it so I cannot check. It was very accurate though.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

The Model 25-5 mentioned in post #2 stops a .454 caliber bullet. So, that is what I sized to. It shot well.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

My 6" 25-9 is definitely a tack driver. Went through a number of 25-5’s, all with very large throats, before finding the 25-9. My search for a post 1983 4" 25-5 was in vain. However, will not give up the search for that elusive 4" 25-9 or post 1983 25-5. But that’s part of the fun,isn’t it?

How did you attach the full sight back on after chopping 3 3/8 off of the barrel??

The ramps have a key like tab underneath them that is cross pinned in place. The pin is buffed flat and hard to see. I removed the pin. Milled a slot in the right location of the cut barrel, Then silver soldered it in place. I once tried to drill a new pin hole in a barrel rib and the tiny .050 drill wandered enough to come out the wrong spot on far side. Never again. You have to install a new red insert if you solder but that is easy.

Nice job!! Did you cold blue the muzzle or??
Beautiful gun. Pinned and recessed 5” custom.
I’ll bet it’s the only one around.

I love the .45 Colt cartridge and the N-frame S&Ws made for it. I have 4 of them. 4" & 6" 25-5s, a 25-7 and a custom 3.5" snubbie.
I truly believe the 25-7 is the finest .45 Colt revolver S&W ever built. Mine is a great shooter!



BTW: the bottom right is a 25-2 .45acp. Its a great shooter too.

I had a couple of M25-5's but lost them in a burglary around 1988. Nowdays I have a Model 25-2 with 45ACP cylinder and 45 Colt cylinder, and a 25-3 which is 45 Colt too. All have been superbly accurate with 45 Colt ammunition. I need to get a 25-5 again.

Attached Images

M25dash2.jpg (80.4 KB, 10 views)

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

Those of you mentioning large throats and poor accuracy, what size bullets were/are you using?

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

PERFECTION!!! Bob

This 25-9 is one of the few non-P&R Smiths in my safe, but it is a very good shooter as long as I stick with lighter bullets. With 225gr Speer JHPs loaded to max, it shoots right at point of aim at 50yards with the rear sight buried.
IMG_5270.jpg

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Ain't This Fun Though?

I never have measured a throat. Any 45 Colt made prior to about 1990 uses .454" diameter bullets. SAAMI revised 45 Colt bullet sizes down to .452" around 1991 or thereabouts. Use the right size bullets for your gun and it probably helps. Everything I own was made prior to about 1981. I always have enjoyed fantastic accuracy even though I have not bought any ammunition since around 1982.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I think that on the older guns with large throats there is more to it than just bullet size. I think bullet shape has something to do with it plus case size. The better a case fits in a chamber the more apt it is to start the bullet centered. A slightly small case in a large chamber will start the bullet off without it being centered in chamber, add that to an oversized throat and you have problems. A case that fits the chamber snug is far more apt to start the slug off centered and throats mater less. On that note a .454 bullet in a case mouth will caused the case to be tighter in a chamber than one with a.452 bullet. I mention this because like throats I have found that all 45 Colt chambers are not identical. I figured this out after finding ammo that slid right in some of mine was difficult to chamber in another. Plus, I am sure the same applies to sizing dies, both for the hand loader as well as ammunition plants.

At this point almost all my personal 45 colt cylinders have be run with the same reamer and all have .452 throats. But I don't want to make custom ammo for each. Only my 455 triple lock that got reamed gets that and it is easy to ID because it is the only colt load I make with a round nose bullet

Gotta go with my M25-9 as the fav......

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.............SmithNut

I agree with Steelslaver’s points, it can be more than just the cylinder throat size. I had a 25-5 6” with large throats, .457. Grouped poorly at 25 yards with lead bullets, but surprisingly shot very well with 250 grain XTP’s sized .452. When a gun shoots jacketed bullets well but won’t with lead, that is a clue there may be a thread choke. Slugged the bore of this M25, and sure enough it was tight at the barrel threads. Fire lapping the barrel took several shots, but finally removed the choke. Now lead SWC’s, even those sized .452 shot extremely well. To his point on bullet shape, my RNFP Lyman 454190 bullets still shot terrible. Sized .452 or .454 I still got patterns rather than groups. I’m guessing the driving band on the SWC was allowing the bullet to align in the throat. This is the only gun I have ever found to not shoot the Lyman molded bullet well.

Dan

I bought one of the 25-7 5" a year or so ago. Not fiscally prudent, but that variant has always appealed to me. A 5" N frame just looks right and feels balanced. From reading other strings here, my understanding is that the various 25-7/25-9 models are well built and good accurate performers. Member Nyeti was part of a unit at his PD that carried 4" 45 Colt S&Ws with 3 speed loaders and did good work in a high risk assignment. He has done a summary of that here.

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NHI, 10-8.

I love everything about this piece. This is what I really wanted when I bought a 25-7 off the board here about 10 years ago. Five inch ejector shroud N Frames are highly desirable to me. Yours even sports above-average factory football targets, in my opinion. Well done from a jealous on looker, Steelslaver.

I have a 25-5 and shoots dead on. From what I barley remember Hickock45 and others said it was the pre model 25-5 that had issues

BigMuddy fire lapped his barrel removing thread choke and found accuracy increased as a result with LSWC bullets. However, there was no mention of extreme leading or any leading. In addition to good grouping my preference is to avoid removing strips of lead from the barrel. Regardless of the diameter that was used in several 25-5’s (.453/.454) with .457 throats, measured with pin gauges, there was a great deal of lead build up even after 10 rounds being fired. In addition to eliminating barrel imperfections and removing the thread choke if fire lapping solved that leading problem then it is one process that regretfully was overlooked.

There was some leading before the fire lap, but not excessive. I probably didn’t fire more than 20 rounds as it was really wasting ammo. Accuracy was that bad. I commented to my brother before I shot the jacketed rounds that I was expecting even worse with them. Was quite surprised when results were to the contrary.

After the fire lap, the barrel was free of any leading after more than 100 rounds fired. It now resides with a good friend of mine who uses it for “falling plate” matches at his local club. I believe he sizes his bullets .454 and he has no leading issues at all.

Dan