Les Jones

Guns > Homer's Range Report for His New Smith &Wesson 625

The other week I mentioned I was interested in a revolver chambered for .45 ACP. Homer joined in the discussion and wound up buying one at a gunshow that very weekend. He emailed his range report for his five inch Smith and Wesson 625 and gave me permission to post it here. - LJ

Said I’d send my impressions of the new 625, so here they are (I’m the “Homer” commenter). Finally got to shoot it yesterday, and I think I’m in love. Started with UMC 185 grain FMJ, and had to keep cranking the rear sight up to get them to print at point of aim at 30 yards; original holes were too low. 30 yards is an odd distance, but I tend to sight in at longer distances because that extends the point blank range, and I’m used to longer distances with handguns (when I lived in Virginia nearly all my hunting was done with handguns – a 629 for deer, a Model 17 for squirrel, and a Python for woodchuck, at least until I ran out of stupid ones and had to switch to the 220 Swift; but that was back when I had eyes that worked at distances greater than across the table…..). That, plus, I shoot IPSC at my club, and usually put together one of the stages. I like to add one long precision shot in the stage to slow the racegunners down and make everyone use the sights. IPSC rules limit maximum distance to 35 yards, so one of my favorites is an 8 inch steel plate 2 feet in front of a no-shoot at 25-35 yards. Yeah, everyone hates it, but you see that sort of thing at regional and national matches, and if you’re practicing for Real Life one never knows when one might have to make a precision shot. Never too soon to start loving your front sight.

Anyway, switched to 230 gr Winchester white box, and had to crank the sight back down. I know that lighter, hence faster, bullets print lower because they exit lower in the muzzle lift arc, but I was surprised at the difference between 185 and 230 – about 6 inches at 30 yards. I had only one box of 185 and a half-box of 230 with me, so I ran out of boom food before I could do any useful comparisons. Next time, I’ll alternate between the two weights and compare.

The action on this thing is the best I’ve ever seen out of the box. I cycled several 625s before selecting this one, and they all felt about the same. I let one of the other RSOs (I’m an RSO at my club) who was there yesterday try a couple of cylinders-full, and the first thing he asked was “how much did the S&W custom shop charge for the action work.” He was incredulous that it was off-the-shelf. I think I’ll look into a spring kit for it to lower the DA pull a couple of pounds, but it is that smooth. The only thing I’ve seen smoother is my Python, and that was the result of Colt’s factory hand fitting and $150 of action work back in the 80s so I could use it in PPC. The 625 is that good. Smooth DA, glass-rod letoff. I’m glad I got the 5 inch rather than the 4 inch. Haven’t shot the 4, but my 5 has, to me, just the right balance. FYI. Galco makes N-frame, 5-inch hip holsters. I’ve got one on the way from Arizona Gunrunners.

Accuracy wasn’t quite what I expected. At 30 yards I was looking for some near-silver-dollar-size groups, and didn’t get them, even off sandbags. Came close, though. Had one three-shot group that was barely a cloverleaf, then ruined it with numbers 4 and 5. #6 went through the hole from the first three. Mostly, though, groups were in the 4 inch range. Acceptable, but room for improvement.

Which may be because of this: Tam said 45 ACP revolvers headspace on the case mouth, and this one does, but the case sits just deep enough that the firing pin barely indents the primer and it won’t fire. I was trying to improve accuracy by taking the variation of the moon clip out of the equation and letting the cases headspace more consistently, but that didn’t work. I suspect the accuracy problems might be related to inconsistent placement of the case in the chamber from the moon clips, and/or bullet jump because of the extra space in the chambers. I thought of using only one moon clip to improve consistency, but ran out of ammo. I’m going to scrub the thing clean tonight and take some measurements, then contact Smith. I think not being able to fire it without moon clips is a bug, not a feature, and it’s possible the chambers were cut a tad too deep on mine. I realize S&W has to plan for variations in ammo case length, but .015’-.020” shallower chambers (I’m guessing, not having taken any measurements yet) would allow the brass to headspace on the mouth, and let the moon clip “float” rather than the clip supporting the case for firing. I probably need to try some different ammo without moon clips to see if the issue is with UMC brass of the gun. Measurements will tell.

Other than that, the thing is a winner. I discovered that none of the gun shops in the Orlando area (and I called them all) had moon clips in stock, and most don’t stocke them at all. The gun comes with four half-moon clips, and I solved the problem with the great folks at Midway and express mail. I plan on stocking up on moon clips since that’s a key component. Loading and unloading the clips is a pain; I ordered a “de-mooner” but Midway was out, so I turned down a length of � inch hardwood dowel to fit in the case and pop it off the clip. Works, is cheap, but I’ll make a Mark II that will be better. Brownell’s has a clip loader/unloader tool, looks like a fancy set of pliers and costs $42. I don’t know that I’ll shoot it enough to justify that.

There’s an IPSC match next Saturday, and I’m considering using the 625 in revolver class if I can get a chance to re-sight it with my reloads and the holster gets here (I usually shoot either a Para 14 or my ex-duty H&K USP in ISPC Limited). There doesn’t seem to be a plethora of carriers for multiple moon clips – Brownells has a plastic belt-clip one that holds two clips by two of the rounds on each clip. It looks fragile, and I’d like to see one before springing $29 for it. If I use the 625 I’ll just dump some moon clips in my right front pocket, which would more closely approximate what I’d wind up with in a household “repel boarders” exercise anyway. I dislike betting my life on any handgun that I haven’t shot an IPSC match with (in my opinion, the 18-round limit on IDPA stages unreasonably limits the scenarios, and therefore, the stress of having to think your way through a problem), because I want to see, against cardboard and steel, what kind of mistakes I’ll make with the gun, and practice reloading under the time stress of a match. Once I get past that, I just might make this the nightstand gun.

If you’re thinking about a 625, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. It’s as accurate as any out-of-the-box revolver I’ve bought (save the Python), the action is great, and it’s darn fun to shoot.

Cool. I was glad to hear the trigger is so good out of the box, and I think those groups would tighten up with premium ammo. Thanks, Homer - LJ

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