25-5 value?

[Barbarosa99]

looking at a 25-5 8 3/8” Blue at about 97%, no box or tools etc. seller is asking $900. Good or bad?

 

[stansdds]

I'd say the 8 3/8" barrel is the least popular version, but probably one of the less produced versions. I think if you really want a Model 25 chambered in .45 Colt with such a long barrel, $900 would be reasonable if it is mechanically sound.

 

[chiefdave]

Not a bad price if as described but try to talk the owner down. This cosmetically challenged but mechanically perfect 25-5 4" was $550 at a local gun show with rubber grips

 

[Riposte1]

I'm sort of out of touch with the market these days but 10 years ago at various gun shows 25-5s were bringing about $900 in any barrel length around here and our prices in KY are usually better than some markets!

I've gotten better deals but had to wait to get them! I paid $375 for this 25-7 at a local gun show about 15 years ago.



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[22hipower]

That sounds about $300 lower than I'd expect to find it priced where I shop.

 

[Rpg]

I can’t imagine why I’d want a 8 3/8” barreled handgun, but price os probably okay.

 

[Hair Trigger]

looking at a 25-5 8 3/8” Blue at about 97%, no box or tools etc. seller is asking $900. Good or bad?

I gave more than that for a 4" nickel version, it sounds reasonable to me if you want the long barrel. It ought to make for a great range gun, .45 Colt is fun to shoot. I own four guns chambered for it; the M25-5, two Uberti SA revolvers and a Henry Big Boy lever action. It all started with the M25-5.

 

[Friendofbillw1]

I am a price guide guy I use them for a starting point. Seems like I always have to qualify that for the scoffers. Gun Digest has Excellent at 1200.00
Blue Book online has a 25-5 at 1100.00 for excellent.

 

[Sealclair]

Get it in hand if you can. Check the cylinder lockup, timing, and bore for yourself. If everything mechanical is tight and the blue is as nice as described, I’d pull the trigger on it. They don’t make them like this anymore, and a clean one in that barrel length is getting harder to find at that price. Good score if it pans out.

 

[stansdds]

Not a bad price if as described but try to talk the owner downView attachment 891777. This cosmetically challenged but mechanically perfect 25-5 4" was $550 at a local gun show with rubber grips

Wow! Used, abused, then cold blued.

 

[bobsguns]

I can’t imagine why I’d want a 8 3/8” barreled handgun, but price os probably okay.

Silhouette or target shooting was what they were built for. When matched with a load it likes, shooting off of a sandbag, you should be able to ring a steel plate @ 100 yards. Not too many folks like to do that these days, IMO.

I have several 8-3/8" barreled handguns, all Smiths. When things are clicking, they can shoot REALLY small groups. When it happens (rarely), I find it euphoric. Probably how a F1 driver feels when the car is powering through.

 

[stansdds]

Silhouette or target shooting was what they were built for. When matched with a load it likes, shooting off of a sandbag, you should be able to ring a steel plate @ 100 yards. Not too many folks like to do that these days, IMO.

I have several 8-3/8" barreled handguns, all Smiths. When things are clicking, they can shoot REALLY small groups. When it happens (rarely), I find it euphoric. Probably how a F1 driver feels when the car is powering through.

And hunting. The long barrel provides a better sight radius for shots at 50 to 100 yards as well as maximizing bullet velocity and energy which can mean a quicker kill.

 

[Riposte1]

And hunting. The long barrel provides a better sight radius for shots at 50 to 100 yards as well as maximizing bullet velocity and energy which can mean a quicker kill.

I like them all! I have three S&W 8 3/8' guns (a .357, a .41 Mag and a .44 Mag). I started out pretty early with long barrels and shot them well, then I discovered 4-6.5" guns shoot just as good.

My favorite for N frames is 5".

My first 8 3/8" S&W was a new M-27 I bought around 1970 - it thought it was a rifle! I let that get away in a trade - I can do stupid things at times Recently I put an 8 3/8" 27 barrel on an M-28 I wasn't using - it isn't much for looks but it shoots OK.

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[KenTheHunter]

Wow! Used, abused, then cold blued.

Be advised that it was a common occurrence with the 25-5, that the bore didn’t jive with the internal cylinder dimensions, resulting in poor accuracy. I had one of those that I purchased new in 1980.

 

[Riposte1]

Be advised that it was a common occurrence with the 25-5, that the bore didn’t jive with the internal cylinder dimensions, resulting in poor accuracy. I had one of those that I purchased new in 1980.

Yes! I've got one that is pre-80 and one that is post - I forget the year.

The pre-80 (pinned barrel) has some throats that are as large as .459! The non-pinned one, mentioned by Linebaugh and John Taffin, had .452-.453

Yet both of them are accurate (I mostly shoot cast bullets) - I should number the chambers in the old one just to avoid the larger throats.

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