What is the chambering for the 625, 45ACP or 45LC? I see both referenced. I didn't think a particular model was chambered for two distinctly difference cartridges like that. So, what's the skinny. If I'm looking for 45LC, what model(s) am I looking for. I'm not interested in 45ACP. Any help here would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

SgtSam

The only 625 I've seen in 45LC was the mountain gun, but there might have been other special runs. They will be rare at any rate and I would imagine worth a slight premium over the ACP version.

There was at least one version of the 625 chambered in .45 Colt in addition to the Mountain Gun.

My two are chambered in .45 ACP (625-6 with 5" barrel and a 625-8 with 4" barrel).

FWIW
Dale53

The most common chambering is 45 ACP, in the 625 series. These are in the -2, -3, and -4 variations. The -5 and -6 are in 45 Colt, Mountain Gun series, mostly. I have seen 45 Colt 625s in gun shops that had a ported 6" heavy lugged barrel and a 5" heavy lugged barrel, which I believe were limited runs from days gone by. I'm sure there are more variations, which some of the more knowledgable members will hopefully tell us about. Hope this helps some.

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Tom
"Panem et Circenses"

I have the .45 LC in the 5 inch heavy lug Bbl. and the mountain gun in .45 LC as well, there have been other variations in the LC, Ive seen a blued standard Bbl 5 inch before, but like stated the ACP seems to be the most encountered.

There's a reason most are acp: it makes a lot more sense. At the pressures a sane person would run in a S&W revolver, acp and Colt can be loaded with the same bullets to the same performance levels. Acp revolvers can be fired with or without moonclips, or with autorim ammo. The cartridges are smaller, easier to carry, more available, cheaper, and quicker to reload. The Colt has nostalgia going for it, but not much else.

I got the 45lc MG and had it cut for moon clips and now can shoot all of the above, try that with your 45acp only gun!

Smee, Details please? Would love to do that.

My 45 Colt Mountain Gun is the 625-6 series.

Who did yours? I'm sending my 45LC MG off soon to get the modification.

Did you like it?

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Aaron Terry

Most of the 625 guns will be 45acp. I have a 625 in 45 Colt but it was made about 20 years ago in a run of 1500.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

TK customs does very good work. He's the guy you'll get your moon clips from to.

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The kool-aid Sigma drinker

My Model 625-9 Mountain Gun, was manufactured in 2008, and is chambered in .45 Colt.

When I posted earlier that I'm not a big fan of 45Colt, I didn't mean to imply I haven't had a few. In addition to the MG, I've had (and sold) a 625-7 3"
and two 625-11's

Both guns are low production items, but change hands from time-to-time here and on the auction sites.

S&W did make a 3" 625 in 45 colt...it is an extremely rare version (only 200 made!)...I know because I missed one at an OGCA show a few months back...I did not realize it was as rare as it was and passed on it and a friend bought it and then informed me how rare it was ...believe me I will know the next time and will buy one if I get a chance...

I just bought a 625-8 last week in 45 acp after passing on 2 625's in 45 Colt. Load for both but wanted an acp because of IDPA competition. Wish I had know about cutting the cylinder of the 45 lc for the moon clips as that seems to be the best of both worlds. Could have my cake and eat it too!!

I'm fairly new to S&Ws and have the opportunity to buy a 625 in .45 Colt w/5 inch full lugged barrel. What would be a fair price for one of these? No box or papers, but the gun is like new. Probably less than 100rds through it. Any help would be appreciated.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-rev...r-spegels.html

Sam ,,click the link above. I think this will help you determine
what you are looking for.

Allen

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

I had Mark at Pinnacle (Pinnacle-Guns.com: Pinnacle High Performance Custom Gunsmithing) do my conversion. The work was top notch and the gun shoots great.

I have a limited run 625-3, 45LC, 5"bbl, with BLUE cyl from the factory. It was one of 48 made. If anyone is interested in it let me know, Wallace in Ga

Wallacem that looks like a full underlug barrel, correct? What are you looking to get out of it?

I will send it my FFL to your FFL for $950 shipped. Wallace

I just got a 625 Mountain Gun in .45 Colt...just Colt....never was a short Colt,was there? I'm definately interested in getting this gun modified to shoot A.C.P. ammo as long as it will shoot the Colt cartridge reliably after the modification. Can anyone tell me if it is safe to shoot Georgia Arms 260 grain JHP +P at 1200 fps in the Mountain Gun? I really don't wanna ruin this gun!!!

the 625-5 is a 5 inch 45lc 1500 made and the 625-7 3 inch is in 45lc 150 made also most of the 625 mountain guns are in 45lc

The 45 Smith & Wesson cartridge for the 1875 Schofield revolver was sometimes called the 45 Short Colt.

It and the 45 Colt were in use by the Army at the same time.

The S&W did not have a long enough cylinder to take the 45 "Long" Colt, so for a while the "Short" 45 S&W was the issue cartridge as it would also fire in the Colt Single Action Army...

Some people thing Gen. Custer used a Schofield revolver at the Little Big Horn...

I like to say simply ".45 Colt", but ".45 Long Colt" seems to be just as correct, if not more so.

Heck, even Colt itself has used that designation:

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You're shy a few manners.

Might want to mention that to Colt ;-).

Jack Flash you beat me to it!

Re moonclip conversions of a .45 Colt MG. Afterwards, although it will load moonclipped .45 ACPs fine - it won't take .45 Auto Rims. The .45 Colt chambering will take the .45 Colts, the limited availability .45 'Specials' sold by a SASS fellow, and, of course, .45 Schoffields (Shorter .45 Colts - with a real rim!).

I have two 625MG's in .45 Colt - a -6 from '96 and a -7 from '01. I won't modify them. They are fun as-is - despite the black/black sights. My one 625 in .45 ACP/AR is the JM variant of the -8 that I bought 2/05. It has a spring-loaded front sight (& w/o rear) for ease of changing - and a great trigger - as long as I load Fed primers. I can shoot .45 Colt-loads in .45 Auto Rim cases from it - using an HKS #25 speedloader (The #25-5 works with the .45 Colts & MG's.).

I said good-bye to a bunch of .45 Colt revolvers since acquiring those MGs, inc a RH, BH, Bisley BH, Vaquero, & my .454 SRH. The S&W's load/unload more easily and group better at 25-50yd. You have to roll you own here - .45 Colt 'cowboy' loads are even expensive these days. If I didn't have my basement ammo factory, I'd go with 'just' a 625JM and .45 ACP.

Stainz

I recently aquired a mod 625-8 chambered in 45 acp and another cylinder chambered in 45 LC. I believe this gun went through the performance shop as I can't find anything like it for sale anywhere.

Need help plaese.... I own a S&W 745 IPSC 10th anniversary 1976-1986 and need a 8 round mgazine. Can anyone tell me if the magazines say they are for a S&W 745 will they work on all S&W 745's even my 1986 anniversary model?

If you want to shoot both .45 ACP and .45 Colt from your 625, it's better to get two separate cylinders and yokes, one set for each caliber. It's possible to have accuracy problems from using short cases in long chambers due to the unsupported section between the cartridge mouth and cylinder throat. How bad is a function of chamber pressure and bullet construction (length, weight, shape, uniformity). I've seen worst cases where the bullets keyholed at 25 feet. Some examples only increased group size by a small amount.

Just be aware of the potential problem before you convert anything.

Buck

I hope that this is still on-topic, but were there any barrel land/groove differences between the ACP and LC guns? I seem to remember something about shallower rifling or twist differences. I can't find the post now, so I'll ask again.
Thanks....

45 ACP in a revolver makes no sense to me. It came about as a stop-gap way of getting more handguns to the battlefield in WWI. It was problematic then, and is problematic now.

I can easily find standard pressure loads from reliable sources that send a 250 grain bullet at over 1000 fps in a 45 Colt. I do not see anything like that listed for 45 ACP.

45 Colt ONLY for me, and I have had revolvers in both chamberings. My favorite is my 625-9 Mountain Gun purchased in 2006.

All true, if I were to have one 45 S&W revolver I would pick a 5.5 inch. 45 ACP without underlug. As it is, two mountainguns, an underlug 625-8 a 25-5 6 inch. 45 Colt and a 25-2 6.5 inch have graced target ranges and hunting trips with delight for me for many years. Both is always the answer!

I have a 625-3 three inch gun..45acp..kinda big yet the best snub-nose I've ever owned...

Problematic how?

Buck

625s come in both flavors. In .45 ACP, it's quite versatile and quick to reload.



In .45 Colt, it will take heavier loads and makes an excellent trail gun - here's a Mountain Gun:



Both calibers of the breed make for effective defense guns.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I started shopping for a S&W in .45 Colt a few months ago. I ended up scoring one last month.

Here is what I found out in general during my search. I say "in general" since there seems to be a lot of exceptions of which many have already been mentioned. I found the easiest and not necessarily the least expensive approach was to go with a Mountain Gun.

The couple of requirements I had was it had to have a 4" barrel and it had to be chambered for .45 Colt. In general, the S&W revolver meeting my requirement was either the Model 25 Mountain Gun and/or the Model 625 Mountain Gun. In general, the Model 25 Mountain Gun was in a beautiful blued revolver, and the Model 625 was in a very nice stainless steel. I was good with either but ended up with the blued Model 25 Mountain Gun.

It is actually lighter in weight than my Model 686. They are not easy revolvers to find and the market prices are indicative. I paid more than I expected at approximately $850.00. This is four hundred more than I paid for my 686 a few years back.

Good luck in your quest.

The 625 is chambered for both .45 ACP & .45 Colt. The Mountain Gun is the most produced 625 in .45 Colt. There are other versions however they were produced in limited numbers. Here are a few of my 625s in .45 Colt.

625 Mountain gun


625-5 Classic 5"


625-7 Power Port

While I see the practicality of a 625 chambered in .45 ACP, the .45 Colt cartridge can be loaded from mild to hot, or very hot, approaching .44 Magnum. On this scale, .45 ACP would be closer to mild.

The 140 year old format is addicting. Once you are set up to reload, it becomes feasible to experiment and put in serious range time. I have both an SAA clone and a carbine, and wouldn't mind having a Mountain Gun. Although .45 Colt is only slightly larger than .44 Special (0.429"), the larger base yields superior ballistics at the same pressure, comparable to .357 Magnum energy at only 30,000 psi. .45 ACP is limited to 13,000 psi or less.

There is a "short" Colt, otherwise known as .45 Schofield. This cartridge was introduced by Smith & Wesson to fulfill an Army contract while the .45 Colt was still under patent, and Colt wanted exhorbitant royalties for the rights. The Army had both cartridges in their armory, so the .45 Colt became known as Long Colt because it had a longer cartridge.

Jerry

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.38/44 Outdoorsman Accumulator

Max standard pressure is 21000 psi, +P is 23000. Gunsmiths do conversions on 625s to take .460 Rowland, which has a max of 40000 psi, so a 625 in .45 auto is not quite that wimpy.

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Common sense isn't so common.

45 ACP in a revolver makes no sense to me. It came about as a stop-gap way of getting more handguns to the battlefield in WWI. It was problematic then, and is problematic now.


Trail guns are usually fired once or maybe twice, I would find a moon clip reload to be less convenient than a conventional reload.

One of each would be nice. Absent that possibility, I'd go for a 45LC, to match up with my Lever rifle.
Cool pics of the 45LC ammo.


For more fun, here is a writeup on the 45 Short Colt, different from the Long, and Shofield, versions:
45 Short Colt

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July 4, 1776 not Jan 30, 1909

Wow, that is NICE! Love to git me one of dose.

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Is it safe?

My question about "problematic" concerned .45ACP use in a combat revolver. If one is wedded to a revolver platform for defense, .45ACP in moon clips makes a lot of sense. One gets faster reloads in general, ejected shells can't get caught under the extractor star (taking the gun out of action at a critical time), and few people question the efficacy of .45ACP as a combat round. My opinion is that the S&W M625's in .45ACP are the best combat revolvers ever produced.

In any hunting situation, .45 Colt without moon clips is fine, although I would use .44 Mag or preferably .454 Casull for most large game.

Buck

The 3 inch 45 Colt is my grail gun.....or one of them at least.

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Sure you did

Those are beauties Jerry!

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Sure you did

I'm always fascinated by folks who proclaim loud and long that they see no use for 45 ACP revolvers. Since so many of us do see a use for them...you must be wrong! (LOL)

Dave

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RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

Don't forget the 625-4 .45 ACP. Nice to own and shoot, too bad they only made 500 of these. Both the .45 ACP and .45 Colt are great shooters. The only difference I see is a lot of wasted space inside the .45 Colt casing.

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