Another noob question.

I recently got a 625-8 and was wondering if it's even possible to convert it to .45lc ? The existing cylinder measures out as long enough to me, so it would seem that a .45 colt cylinder would fit between the barrel and the back of the frame(recoil plate ?).

If it's possible, would the gun have to be sent back to S&W to have the cylinder fitted to it, like head spacing a bolt?

Is this something that's reversable at home? Would I be able to swap cylinders back and forth to my hearts content?

I spend a lot of time on the road, and all kinds of stuff bounces around in my head during the day.........

The factory doesn't offer convertible cylinders any longer. They only offered them for .45 ACP/.45 Colt for a short time in the late 1970's, unless you knew someone.

If you come up with the parts, a good revolversmith can assemble them into a convertible. You would need the new cylinder complete with ejector rod and ratchet assembly and probably a new yoke. The gunsmith would have to deal with the cylinders' different lengths, both in fitting the new one to work with the cylinder stop lug on the frame and in getting the correct barrel/cylinder gap on the front ends.

Both the parts and the gunsmith's time are somewhat expensive. For not much more money, you could buy an additional revolver chambered for the other round.

+1

In fact, there was a thread going here a while back asking the same thing about doing the same on a 25 conversion, and when the dust settled and the OP reported back, it was cheaper to buy another gun than do the conversion.

I've got a 25-2 (correction...it's a 25-5) that I'd like to go the opposite direction on and be able to shoot .45ACP with it. Nothing against the .45LC, just ammo availability. But, the gun is so nice I'm just going to leave things alone and scour up some ammo

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"I'm your huckleberry."

??

Did you mean25-5? The 25-2 does shoot .45 AP ammo.

Thanks fellas, I looked for anything on this, but my search-fu must have been weak this morning

The .45 ACP (625-8 - like mt 625JM) has a shorter OAL cylinder - and a deeper intruding forcing cone - than my 625-6 or -7 MG's in .45 Colt - I measured 1.537" vs 1.670". Considering the OAL max for .45 Colt is 1.600" - and the rim is .060" max - that gives a possible need for a 1.540" min OAL for the cylinder - you could have the bullets dragging & jamming on the f/c, even if you reamed the chamber step to the .45 Colt depth. You cannot retrofit a .45 Colt-capable cylinder in a 625-8 without also changing the barrel.

All is not lost, of course. The .45 ACP case will take half again more pressure, at 21+kpsi, than the SAAMI spec of the .45 Colt (14 kpsi). So, you could load .45 ACP's with .45 Colt bullets, like 250gr LRNFP, 255gr LSWC, & the Speer #4484 250gr Gold Dot JHP, all at .45 Colt or higher/hotter levels. Your 625-8 doesn't care what bullet shape - or length - you use. Actually, I load all of my .45 ACP cases with RN - like 230gr FMJ 'ball' bullets - for fast moonclipped insertion. The moonclipped .45 ACP's with 255 gr LSWC's don't 'jump into' the relieved cylinder like the RN will, to be sure. I reserve the .45 Colt-ish loads for the thick-rimmed/no-moonclips-required .45 Auto Rims I load. They fit the HKS #25 speedloaders as well - and your .45 ACP revolver will behave like a .45 Colt revolver - except for the stubby cases with thick rims! Just a thought... and, if you don't reload, several smaller ammo companies load .45 Auto Rim - like GA Arms, who has two loads available. Keep in mind, they work perfectly - without 'clips - in your 625-8 as-is.

Stainz

I did...I had my new (to me) 28-2 on my brain

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"I'm your huckleberry."

"The .45 ACP (625-8 - like mt 625JM) has a shorter OAL cylinder - and a deeper intruding forcing cone - than my 625-6 or -7 MG's in .45 Colt - I measured 1.537" vs 1.670". Considering the OAL max for .45 Colt is 1.600" - and the rim is .060" max - that gives a possible need for a 1.540" min OAL for the cylinder - you could have the bullets dragging & jamming on the f/c, even if you reamed the chamber step to the .45 Colt depth. You cannot retrofit a .45 Colt-capable cylinder in a 625-8 without also changing the barrel."

The first cataloged .45 Colt revolvers from S&W were the Model 25-3 and 25-4. They used the short cylinder blank used for the .45 ACP and .357 Mag N frames.

The popular .45 Colt conversions of .38-44 H.D.'s and Highway Patrolman also used the short cylinders, just rechambered for .45 Colt. My Ham Bowen H.D. conversion is one such.

The short cylinder is plenty long enough for just about all of the factory .45 Colt loadings manufactured by the big ammo companies, W-W, Federal and R-P. Cylinder length only becomes an issue when using the heavy bullet (more than 255 grains) factory ammo or some handloaded cast bullets like the popular Lyman 454452, and even then there are ways to deal with it.

The longer cylinder introduced with the Model 25-5 and used in S&W's subsequent .45 Colt guns is nice, icing on the cake, but you can do just fine with the shorter length cylinders.

A dual cylinder convertible is fun to have, but getting one in a S&W is a bit complicated and more expensive than in single action guns like Colt SAA's and Ruger Blackhawks.