Always liked the idea of one of these and thought they look pretty good too. Never considered buying one mostly because I never see them in stock anywhere I shop. Apparently Sportsmans Warehouse added them to their stock a couple months ago and I happened along and spotted one in their case. This one has a very good trigger compared to all other new Smith revolvers I have tried. I have read all the feedback on these good, bad, and ugly and decided that their asking price of $849.95 was darn fair considering and I weren't gonna do any better on short notice. Got it home and dropped a 230gr Hornady JHP through each chamber no resistance. Grabbed a .452 cast bullet and had to be nudged through on all chambers. So, glad to see my chambers close to spot on. Only concern now is whether this EDM rifling will shoot these cast slugs. I never got to look closely at this type of rifling until now and was surprised at its appearance of almost non existance. So, I will get up early and load up some stuff and see what this product of modern cost saving engineering techniques can do. The MIM hammer and trigger look like something out of the cowboy cap gun my grandpa gave me back in 1974ish but if this thing will shoot I will just go with it and see what happens. Not sure how the brass bead will perform in bright sunlight conditions but it can be blacked if necessary. One question though. Are all of the non PC stainless revolvers rifled this way nowadays?

I picked up a 625-8 JM last year. Mine will shoot a 200 gr cast SWC quite well. It does pick up some lead, mostly in the forcing cone which is, compared to the EDM rifled bore, quite rough. I realize that the alloy hardness contributes to the leading, but the forcing cone roughness definitely contributes to the accumulation. One of these days I should have that addressed. I am not a fan of the EDM rifling myself. To be honest, for me the EDM barrels in new revolvers are a bigger turn off than the often-bashed lock. I would also like to see a 5" version offered.

My 625 came with a MIM hammer and flash chromed forged trigger. I did not care for the serrations so I did replace that with a forged smooth trigger (.375?) from Numerich. I much prefer the feel of the smooth trigger to the serrated version.

The JM stocks actually work quite well for me and so far I have resisted the urge to change them "just because". Take yours for a spin, I'm sure you'll like it!

I've read that with the correct lube a cast bullet will work just fine in the ECM rifled barrels, unfortunately the reloaders who have stated this have yet to reveal WHAT that magic lube is. Personally it's one reason why I have specifically avoided cast bullets and spend a bit more for plated bullets, no worries about what lube to use. Also don't have to worry about the lead exposure or the simple grime that lubed cast bullets create.

I have run a small boat load of plated bullets through my 625 JM and and not time has leading been a problem. Before I started loading my own the ammo of choice was the Federal Champion from Walmart, which happens to feature plated bullets in spite of being labeled FMJ. If you don't believe it, pull a bullet from a round of the Champion and you'll find it's plated. Personally, I suspect that Federal may be using Berry's bullets but perhaps they are making their own plated bullets. So, when I say a small boat load I mean perhaps 50 or 60 lbs. of 230 grain plated round nose bullets. BTW, moon clips are a GREAT way to make sure you save your brass and the 625 gave me a very good stock of Federal casings when I finally started loading my own.

Now a couple of notes on potential problem areas. One is that trigger, it will draw blood. I would suggest that you plan on pulling your trigger and grinding down the serrations. Or you could do as I did and simply replace it with a smooth target trigger. Second, that "nice" trigger is lighter than normal because S&W is shipping the 625 out with strain screws that aren't fully tightened down. You'll want to do something about that or you'll find that misfires are a problem. If you tighten down the strain screw properly you'll find your DA trigger pull is in the 11.5 to 12.5 lbs. range. You can file fit the tip to produce a reliable 10 lbs. trigger pull but I wouldn't recommend going any lighter until you build an inventory of Federal primers or can limit all of your shooting to Federal ammunition.

My 625JM is great! I have had no issues with it. The only change I made to it was to substitute a Hogue finger groove full size grip for the "JM" grip. The JM is not bad, and it is safely stored in the original S&W case, but the Hogue gives better control and feel.

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Army veteran, NRA Life Member

A tip of the cap to Coastie762 and those previous Coasties of the 1940s who escorted my Dad's convoys across the North Atlantic and kept the U-boats' heads down. Bless you all.

scooter123: Very astute post on the strain screw not being fully screwed down! Did not have this on my JM, but did on my 686SSR. Had poor/no ignition with one brand of ammo until I checked that screw. Heads up, all.

Guess I know very little about my 625JM because I have not encountered leading and rifling issues. I load my moon clips with ball, take along some factory AR and I'm ready to rock. Do not like those wooden grips on some newer model guns, my JM, SSR and Ladysmith 60. Scar tissue in the web of my hand is the reason why. Also that additional bolt/pin makes removing them a chore.

We all must be pretty savvy since we like the 625JM!

Beautiful Pic. Y'all make me envious. Those are sure nice pieces.

Kaaskop49, Thanks for the kind words. I'm a second generation Coastie myself. If my father was still alive I'd pass your comments along, as he also served in the CG and during WWII escorted eastbound convoys on the Greenland run from Halifax NS aboard the USCGC Tampa as well as later duty in the Pacific.

Reglegvzv, those Hogues look very nice on your 625. Walnut or Pau Ferro?

I shoot mostly cast through my revolvers and 1911s, in large part due to cost and the fact that they do the job quite well. I have a pretty large stockpile of those, but if this latest craziness ever subsides I may have to try some plated bullets and see how they perform.

My grips on the 625JM are Pau Ferro. Also have the same on my Ruger GP100 and Dan Wesson. Nice grips.

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Army veteran, NRA Life Member

Hey there, I have been using SPG lube for all my cast bullets and have found that a .452" sized 225gr RN and 250gr SWC shoot just fine out of my JM and Model of 1989. Just about zero leading as well. I have found that a soft lube works very well using straight wheel weights for up 1,400 fps in handguns. Good tips you have there on the JM!

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Stay safe people!

I've been shooting my 625JM in IDPA for 3yrs now.
Only thing I've done is polished the cylinder so the reloads go smoother.
The trigger hasn't drawn blood on me.
The action has smoothed up quite a bit.
I love my JM!
I'm thinking about getting a set of Ahrends and sand them down till they fit like the JM grips...just to be different.

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USAF AMMO Retired!

I've owned close to 200 S&W revolvers in the last 45 years. My 625 JM is the most accurate Smith I have ever fired. I have a offhand target at 20 yards that measures .532 inches for five rounds.

When cleaning my JM the brush starts out stiff at the muzzle and loosens as it gets to the forcing cone.

I have a 625 PC 4" that is an excellent shooter but it won't shoot with the JM. Enjoy your new Smith.

The greatest immedimprovement I made in my 625JM was to tear strips of various grits of Emery cloth, ending in UF, and ease that sharp faced grooved trigger. Mine came with eased ejector star edges for faster reloads. I saw it announced on S&W's site on a Saturday morning and promptly visited my LGS where I placed the order. To my chagrin, my wife was standing behind me and overheard my order and asked, "Did you just order a $569 gun like it was a Happy Meal?". "Well.... yes. What would you like for lunch?", I replied. Problem solved. The LGS sold it to me for $10 less than their instock 4"/5" 625's. That was 2/05 - over eight years ago. I did request an unfiled old style strain screw (The filed edge of the OEM strain screw intruded into the Wolff hammer spring's 'tunnel', lessening the pre-load.) from S&W, which they sent gratis, and found that it took a .25" height HiViz front sight in the Classic/DX style, which I had in days from Brownells - along with another nutdriver type demooner. Some Ranch Products moonclips and I was good to go.

I was asked by a few range-mates some years back how I could defend my abode in the Zombie apocalypse as I had no bottom feeders with high capacity mags. I staged, took, and submitted this picture:



That is 105 moonclips loaded with ball ammo. I keep them stowed in five layers of twenty-one, separated by a piece of hardboard, in a metal .223 ammo can. I have two such cans full - and thirty plus more moonclips loaded in Tupperware ammo carriers for range use. I think I won the 'ready ammo' competition. Get Ranch Prodducts moonclips - the same as S&W supplies - <$40 shipped per hundred - you can't have 'too many'! Starline .45 ACP brass loads the easiest. Fun revolver!

Stainz

I want one.

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one of the resurrected

Finally pulled my grip off to find the screw at the front of the gripframe tensioning the spring was indeed tight as can be. I am feeling lucky with this gun. Great trigger out of the box. Home cast 452374 sized to .452 lubed with alox in stick form in rcbs lube sizer. Happened into Sportsman's Warehouse just after they put out a little bit of powder and spotted some True Blue, which I had never heard of. Liked what I read on the label for application and snatched up 3 lbs of it even though I am well stocked with most "popular" propellents. Worked up to a max load of 7.5 gn and found it gave excellent accuracy. No leading at all so I am pumped with this thing. Definitely need to get a Keith mould or a flat round mould to go with some AR brass I have on the way. I like the moon clips however and see myself shooting those in most applications.Would like to shoot a mule deer with this if I get a chance.I am going to pack this thing into the wilderness with me elk bowhunting this year and it is not out of the question that a black bear could fill the sights. Personally I think I will black out the gold bead as I intinctively focus on the post and the glare is distracting to equalling the gap to either side of the post in the rear sight. Great pistola worth every penny.

Agree with all about the trigger and the grip.

Other than those items, love the gun.

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Doug "N Frame Addict"
CO