I picked up a S&W 625 .45 ACP revolver a few months back and have been enjoying it as often as my ammo budget will allow. It is the 4 inch version with the gold dot front sight. It came with the smooth wood and the hogue rubber finger groove grips and 25 full moon clips. I have always been a serious .45 ACP fan, and a revolver shooter, but I never thought I would like this N-frame as much as I do. It is a great combo. The speed in which I can reload with the moon clips is amazing to most people who have never seen the concept before.

Anyone else out there partial to this perticular shooter?

Here is a pick of mine with a holster I made for it.. (Kind of hard to find good leather for a gun this size)

-Tac

Tac56,

Congrats​ on your purchase.

I had a model 625. Actually, it wasfrom the year of thevery first "625" made, 1988. Mine was stamped "Model of 1988" on the side of it. In 1989, it was named "625". I liked the pistol, but HATED the moonclips. It shot great, but loading, and especially...unloadi​ng, the moonclips was a pain in the arse! So, I didn't shoot it much and ended up trading it (and a couple hundred bucks) for a Belgian made Browning Auto 5, light 12 that had been fully restored and blued. I felt I beat the guy in the deal, but he was happy, so that's all that matters.

Personal​ly, I'll never own another six-shooter that requires the use of those frickin' clips! Other than that, it was a fine weapon.

Recoil

Recoil..​.. I haven't had any issues with the clips. I have a "demooner" tool that I picked up from Dillon and it pops the cases out easy as you please without damage to the case, the clip or your thumb. I have about 50 clips for the gun and I usually will load up about 15-20 of them and drop them in my range bag before I leave for the range. When the shells are empty, and I get home, I "demoon" my brass, drop it in the tumbler and get them ready to reload. If I am in the mood, I might re-load the now empty moon clips too...

-Tac

Congrats​,

I almost had the chance to purchase a 625-3 "Model of 1989" in a 3 inch versionearlier this year but the price was just waytoo steep.(I understand only a few hundred were made)

One thing I did find out is that the Earlier 625's"Model of 1988"tended to have a "Weak LockUp" due to thehuge N-Frame Cylinder, And later models had some improvements to fix this. - I only mention this as it may be in your interest to check with S&W to see if you can benefit from an Upgrade.

If I could find one at areasonable price I'd buy it.....But the fool I was trying to barter with was looking to get $750 or a Premium 1911.

One other thing I forgot to mention is they do make "Rimmed" 45acp brass.

Madmax,

I looked everywhere for rimmed cartridges and couldn't find anything new production. The only thing I could find were some old model solid lead ball stuff and it was partially corroded. It was given to me, the guy wouldn't even sell it. I fired it, some went "BANG", some went "poof".

I really liked the pistol, but didn't like removing the spent brass from the moonclips with a pair of needle nose pliers! After I got rid of the thing, I found out that the model of 1988 is a highly sought out piece and collectors will usually pay a premium for the one that started the 625 line. Oh and I never had the wheel cylinder problem you mentioned above. Mine was tight, but I don't think my uncle (who bought it new and subsequently sold it to me) fired it much. I probably didn't fire more than 3 boxes of ammo through it. Pain in the ass.

Recoil out.

Nope, There's not a big calling for commercially loaded Rimmed cartridges in 45acp...I was speaking of the brass only for reloading - StarLine and a few others used to carry it.

No problem Ranger.... Glad I could help! :)

I have a Uberti Thunderer in .45 Colt with a .45 ACP cylinder. It shoots both pretty well, but like you said, it's not very quick to load/reload. Makes for a good cowboy action gun though...

-Tac

Ranger..​. Yeah the Thunderer is the name given the gun by the importer (Cimarron). It is a 4 5/8 in barrel with a birds head grip, blue with color case hardened frame. Very pretty gun.

I think you will like it if you like the colt SAA style guns.

-Tac

The demooning tool makes a big difference in the "user friendlyness" of this gun... I amaze a few people each time I go to the range with this gun because of the speed of the reloads with a gun that uses full moon clips. For a revolver, I can keep pace with alot of average semi-auto shooters when it comes to reloading speed.

-Tac

I've got a 5" version 625-4, These things are amazing to shoot. Probably why they are so popular w/ competition shooters.

One day I hope to replace a 25-2 model of 1955 that I foolishly sold years ago