Flame guard (guards against flame cutting). I think they started with the 329PD, but probably someone will post here soon and tell you the right answer for sure.
Why the .45 ACP in a revolver?
- Thread starter Triggernosis
- Start date
DJINCO
US Veteran
To answer to op directly, for me, it is because I don't like the 1911. I like revolvers and the moon clips are very handy. No chasing the brass; it's right there where I want it!
Dale53
Member
I "discovered" the 625 a couple of years ago. I lost a good part of the vision in my right eye. I could no longer shoot rifle (I had been a competitive rifleman since 1954) sob-b-b-b!! I turned my attention to pistols and revolvers (I have also been a VERY long time fan of the "short gun").
I started getting VERY active with handguns and was in the local Bass Pro. They had a 625-8 Jerry Miculek Special 4" at an attractive price. Some discussion resulted and the price got even MORE attractive. I took it home. I fell in love with this piece. I added a Simmons Red Dot and went looking for a 5" 625 at the next Ohio Gun Collectors Show. There was exactly ONE there. It was LNIB and was in an estate sale. I got together with the seller and now I have TWO! Here is the five incher (I ran over 5000 rounds through that this past year and hope to do even better than that this year:
One of my better targets, shot standing at 25 yard:
All of this without scrambling around on my hands and knees chasing brass. What's NOT to like?
FWIW
Dale53
I started getting VERY active with handguns and was in the local Bass Pro. They had a 625-8 Jerry Miculek Special 4" at an attractive price. Some discussion resulted and the price got even MORE attractive. I took it home. I fell in love with this piece. I added a Simmons Red Dot and went looking for a 5" 625 at the next Ohio Gun Collectors Show. There was exactly ONE there. It was LNIB and was in an estate sale. I got together with the seller and now I have TWO! Here is the five incher (I ran over 5000 rounds through that this past year and hope to do even better than that this year:
One of my better targets, shot standing at 25 yard:
All of this without scrambling around on my hands and knees chasing brass. What's NOT to like?
FWIW
Dale53
sigp220.45
US Veteran
I like revolvers, and I get .45 ACP practice ammo at work - what a combination!
Dennis The B
US Veteran
It was described to me, by the dealer, that it was indeed intended to eliminate flame cutting of the frame. I don't think I would worry so much about cutting with .45ACP, but it might arise if someone used a powder like WW296 and a light bullet (Model 327, Model 329). Once the insert was put in for those, why not do it for all, and not have to worry about tooling changes? This N frame is an aluminum alloy, and not as resistant as solid steel.
I don't plan on shooting 185gr HP's using WW296.
Back about 1999, my duty 1911 started giving me feeding problems. I didn't have the time to work on it or the money to send it to a 'smith. So, I dug out a 5" M625 .45 ACP that I had and put it on my Sam Browne belt.
It was awful heavy with that 5" barrel. S&W didn't have any 4" Mountain Gun barrels for sale, so I found a 3" barrel and swapped that onto the revolver. I carried that M625 until I retired in late 2001.
During qualifications, I found that I could reload with full moon clips faster than the majority of the officers in my department that were armed with semiautos. I carried a double speedloader pouch and two full moon clips, one with the bullet noses down, the second with the noses upward, fit in the space of one speedloader. So, I had thirty .45 ACP rounds available.
I found a 4" Mountain Gun a few years ago and that is my choice for serious CCW. I prefer the longer sight radius of the 4" barrel over the 3 incher and with the proper holster, the longer barrel conceals just as well as the 3".
This M624 was not my first .45 ACP wheel gun. I had carried a standard Smith 1917 as my first law enforcement revolver back in 1976 and then later, a Smith 1917 cut to 4" with an adjustable rear sight added, and also a standard Colt 1917.
And I even have a Ruger convertible .45 Colt/.45 ACP Blackhawk. I have only fired a few .45 Colts out of this revolver. It has seen many, many more ACP rounds fired through the auxilary cylinder.
Yup, I like the .45 ACP inrevolvers.
It was awful heavy with that 5" barrel. S&W didn't have any 4" Mountain Gun barrels for sale, so I found a 3" barrel and swapped that onto the revolver. I carried that M625 until I retired in late 2001.
During qualifications, I found that I could reload with full moon clips faster than the majority of the officers in my department that were armed with semiautos. I carried a double speedloader pouch and two full moon clips, one with the bullet noses down, the second with the noses upward, fit in the space of one speedloader. So, I had thirty .45 ACP rounds available.
I found a 4" Mountain Gun a few years ago and that is my choice for serious CCW. I prefer the longer sight radius of the 4" barrel over the 3 incher and with the proper holster, the longer barrel conceals just as well as the 3".
This M624 was not my first .45 ACP wheel gun. I had carried a standard Smith 1917 as my first law enforcement revolver back in 1976 and then later, a Smith 1917 cut to 4" with an adjustable rear sight added, and also a standard Colt 1917.
And I even have a Ruger convertible .45 Colt/.45 ACP Blackhawk. I have only fired a few .45 Colts out of this revolver. It has seen many, many more ACP rounds fired through the auxilary cylinder.
Yup, I like the .45 ACP inrevolvers.
rollin_hot
Member
Iowahunter
Member
Hmmmm Lets see, I have a total of 10 45 acp revolvers 9-S&W and 1 Ruger.....I don't know if I like them or they just seem to like me!!
Seems anymore thats all I look for at gun shows anymore...
Seems anymore thats all I look for at gun shows anymore...
Just watch the video of Jerry Miculek shooting 12 rounds from a 625 in something like 3 seconds and you'll understand.
Tinygnat219
Member
I'd love to have one of these in a breaktop.
Oh wait, I do. Well, it's been converted:
http://www.outdoors.net/site/images/34051.jpg
Oh wait, I do. Well, it's been converted:
http://www.outdoors.net/site/images/34051.jpg
For years I've enjoyed shooting .45 ACP in 1911 type pistols. I never really considered buying a revolver chambered in that caliber. Last year I bought a 625-2 and have been thoroughly and profoundly shocked at how well it shoots. I have had many S&W revolvers that were good shooters. I've had a few Colt Pythons that were also very good. This 625-2 is fully equal to the Pythons in quality of action and on target accuracy. I've never had a S&W revolver that produced better accuracy. I still very much enjoy shooting 1911 pistols. But, when it comes to just repeatedly making small groups shooting off-hand in standard and field positions, I very much prefer my S&W 625-2 revolver with good quality 230 gr. FMJ's or 230 gr. JHP's. Sincerely. brucev.
m657
Member
Why?
....it's.....therapeutic......
....it's.....therapeutic......
jeepsforever
Member
Whose laminated grips are on the Smith with the fluted cyllinder?Mountain gun.
need I say more?
Regards , AlleN-Frame
Joe in SC
US Veteran
A proven manstopper, the original speedloader, what more could you ask of a revolver? Is more needed? No! But wait, there is more... a proven manstopper in a large bore WITHOUT excessive recoil, an endless array of factory loads, plenty of brass and any type bullet your heart desires. Tack driving accuracy. Intimidating if viewed from the business end.
Big old cylinder comes alive and almost feels like it's rolling on it's own. I personally view this round in a revolver as a great combination in the same class as the 2 classics, the 44 special and the 45 Colt.
Big old cylinder comes alive and almost feels like it's rolling on it's own. I personally view this round in a revolver as a great combination in the same class as the 2 classics, the 44 special and the 45 Colt.
tom turner
US Veteran
Joe said it so well!
I shot handgun matches for many years and learned in bowling pin and tactical steel matches which calibers hit with great authority AND were also really fast in making those followup shots quickly too, due to low recoil and a recoil profile that was quite pleasant to shoot.
None did it better than the .45ACP! Sure, a .44 Magnum would make a pin SCREAM off the table (rather than the very fast PUSH) of the .45ACP or .357 . . . but .44 Mag shooters generally got waxed bad in elapsed time due to slower times between shots.
Also, the .45ACP revolver has a very pleasant yet firm PUSH to its recoil whereas a .357 Magnum, or a .40S&W and 10mm had a hard SLAP/STING to their recoil.
Yep . . . the .45 ACP round in a revolver is the fastest reloading, sweetest shooting serious fighting round one can shoot in a revolver. Nothing else is close . . . that's why the cry babies made the rules changes to keep moon-clipped revolvers from competing against speedloader type revolvers. Frankly, I can reload my 625 and 65-2 .45ACP revolvers FASTER than I can my competition 1911s.
Here's my favorite, a chopped 25-2 from the '80s. It is fast from the holster, incredibly fast between targets as I'm staging the double action trigger and it shoots boring, small ragged holes at ten yards all day long.
I once won a special steel challenge match against about 35 competitors . . . all of which were using either high cap. 1911s, single stack 1911s, or Glock Model 17s with the big 34 round magazines.
Rules of the match?
1. Guns start unloaded and cased.
2. At the sound of the buzzer, unlock case, load gun and engage EIGHTEEN steel targets (plates and poppers) in a 90 degree arc. Distances varied from 10-40 yards.
3. ONE reload was MANDITORY (thus all the guys using high caps and large capacity magazines.
4. The fastest time to drop all the steel plates won the pot.
BTW . . . I had to load, then load three more times in order to shoot down 18 steel targets . . . IF I didn't miss even once. People were laughing that I'd shoot against high cap. automatics with a humble six-gun. They weren't laughing at the end though!!!
I didn't miss, and I reloaded really fast and shot double action just as fast as I literally could cycle the double action trigger. Every steel fell and I won by over two seconds over the fastest bottom feeder in the field of competitive, experienced handgunners. Imagine the results against the average Joe who doesn't compete. These revolvers are wonderful in the hand, and I do my very best shooting with them.
Why a S&W .45ACP revolver? Once you own one and compete with one, you'll truly understand!
Here's my favorite one, the one that I used to take money from all those users of bottom feeders, with 48 rounds of moon-clipped .45ACP goodness ready to go if needed.
It was made in 1980 as a typical long barreled target revolver. Back in those days S&W failed to understand the market for a short barreled fighting revolver in .45ACP and quite a few custom gunsmiths of that day filled the gap with incredible revolvers. Mine has a 3 1/4" barrel. It is my favorite handgun of all times:
Here's the same gun wearing Elk Stags . . . a great combination fer shure!!!
I shot handgun matches for many years and learned in bowling pin and tactical steel matches which calibers hit with great authority AND were also really fast in making those followup shots quickly too, due to low recoil and a recoil profile that was quite pleasant to shoot.
None did it better than the .45ACP! Sure, a .44 Magnum would make a pin SCREAM off the table (rather than the very fast PUSH) of the .45ACP or .357 . . . but .44 Mag shooters generally got waxed bad in elapsed time due to slower times between shots.
Also, the .45ACP revolver has a very pleasant yet firm PUSH to its recoil whereas a .357 Magnum, or a .40S&W and 10mm had a hard SLAP/STING to their recoil.
Yep . . . the .45 ACP round in a revolver is the fastest reloading, sweetest shooting serious fighting round one can shoot in a revolver. Nothing else is close . . . that's why the cry babies made the rules changes to keep moon-clipped revolvers from competing against speedloader type revolvers. Frankly, I can reload my 625 and 65-2 .45ACP revolvers FASTER than I can my competition 1911s.
Here's my favorite, a chopped 25-2 from the '80s. It is fast from the holster, incredibly fast between targets as I'm staging the double action trigger and it shoots boring, small ragged holes at ten yards all day long.
I once won a special steel challenge match against about 35 competitors . . . all of which were using either high cap. 1911s, single stack 1911s, or Glock Model 17s with the big 34 round magazines.
Rules of the match?
1. Guns start unloaded and cased.
2. At the sound of the buzzer, unlock case, load gun and engage EIGHTEEN steel targets (plates and poppers) in a 90 degree arc. Distances varied from 10-40 yards.
3. ONE reload was MANDITORY (thus all the guys using high caps and large capacity magazines.
4. The fastest time to drop all the steel plates won the pot.
BTW . . . I had to load, then load three more times in order to shoot down 18 steel targets . . . IF I didn't miss even once. People were laughing that I'd shoot against high cap. automatics with a humble six-gun. They weren't laughing at the end though!!!
I didn't miss, and I reloaded really fast and shot double action just as fast as I literally could cycle the double action trigger. Every steel fell and I won by over two seconds over the fastest bottom feeder in the field of competitive, experienced handgunners. Imagine the results against the average Joe who doesn't compete. These revolvers are wonderful in the hand, and I do my very best shooting with them.
Why a S&W .45ACP revolver? Once you own one and compete with one, you'll truly understand!
Here's my favorite one, the one that I used to take money from all those users of bottom feeders, with 48 rounds of moon-clipped .45ACP goodness ready to go if needed.
It was made in 1980 as a typical long barreled target revolver. Back in those days S&W failed to understand the market for a short barreled fighting revolver in .45ACP and quite a few custom gunsmiths of that day filled the gap with incredible revolvers. Mine has a 3 1/4" barrel. It is my favorite handgun of all times:
Here's the same gun wearing Elk Stags . . . a great combination fer shure!!!
Last edited:
BUFF
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Why?
A lot of shooters have semiautomatic pistols in .45 ACP. Having a revolver chambered for the same round is very handy, especially if the round is of such a useful power range and is capable of such good accuracy.
.45 ACP ammunition and the components to assemble and reload it are widely available. The body of knowledge of how to make .45 ACP cartridges accurate is very deep and the same ammo that shoots precisely in most good autopistols will shoot precisely in most good revolvers. Bullets for everything from target shooting to personal protection are very developed. Once-fired brass, mil-surp and commercial, is very much available because of the popularity of the cartridge. Generous supplies keep costs down, opposed to less widely utilized cartridges.
.45 ACP is such a pleasant round to shoot. Lots of power without the muzzle blast and racket of the Magnum cartridges. Ballistically, the .45 ACP is such a well-rounded cartridge, it can be used for most purposes a handgun will likely be employed for.
Should a handloader get ahead of himself and load up 100, 500 or 1,000 rounds of ammo that, for one reason or another, won't cycle in their semiauto (don't laugh, it happens), a revolver in the same chambering will be more than happy to shoot it.
So, no reason not to! Us sixgunners can't let the bottomfeeders have all that great .45 ammo for themselves!
A lot of shooters have semiautomatic pistols in .45 ACP. Having a revolver chambered for the same round is very handy, especially if the round is of such a useful power range and is capable of such good accuracy.
.45 ACP ammunition and the components to assemble and reload it are widely available. The body of knowledge of how to make .45 ACP cartridges accurate is very deep and the same ammo that shoots precisely in most good autopistols will shoot precisely in most good revolvers. Bullets for everything from target shooting to personal protection are very developed. Once-fired brass, mil-surp and commercial, is very much available because of the popularity of the cartridge. Generous supplies keep costs down, opposed to less widely utilized cartridges.
.45 ACP is such a pleasant round to shoot. Lots of power without the muzzle blast and racket of the Magnum cartridges. Ballistically, the .45 ACP is such a well-rounded cartridge, it can be used for most purposes a handgun will likely be employed for.
Should a handloader get ahead of himself and load up 100, 500 or 1,000 rounds of ammo that, for one reason or another, won't cycle in their semiauto (don't laugh, it happens), a revolver in the same chambering will be more than happy to shoot it.
So, no reason not to! Us sixgunners can't let the bottomfeeders have all that great .45 ammo for themselves!
tom turner, I like your taste in revolvers. Who would you recommend to do that same work today? Would you keep that same barrel length or go to 4"?
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