.45ACP / AR revolver question

[J Miller]

Since I've gotten in on the group buy for the Lee 6 cavity copy of the Lyman 452423 mould I realized that other than my .45 Colt revolvers and Trapper, I have nothing appropriate to shoot these bullets out of.

So is there any SIX shot revolvers being made by anybody other than S&W and Taurus?

Since the key locks came into the picture I won't buy a new one, so I'm just trying to find out what might be out there.

I haven't seen a 25-2 or any used S&W .45ACP revolver for sale in dacades.

Joe

[350mag]

Joe,
Just to note that the Taurus 45ACP is a 5 shooter with full moon clips. I got one for my wife and really like it. The key lock on the Taurus is very nicely done. It is in the back of the hammer and is so easy to ignore that I nearly forgot it was there until you mentioned it. I have never even tried it and I "misplaced" the keys where my wife doesn't see them around and she has never asked about the lock either.
Ken

[slughammer]

If a double action revolver is what you want, go find one. Perhaps its time to start haunting different shops. If I had a need and the money and no one to give that money to, I'd start looking at auction sites for what I wanted.

There are a couple of shops round here where I have never seen one; but there is one shop where a used one pops up every 6 months or so.

[J Miller]

350mag,
Thanks for the info about the Taurus being a 5 shooter.
As for the key lock, it's just the principle of the thing. Don't matter how well it's done, I just won't buy one.

slughammer,
In this area, there is very few "real" gun shops. And they don't real have much inventory. But I keep looking.
I don't like the idea of buying from the internet auctions, kind of like buying a pig in the poke. I prefer to physically examine my purchases before I buy.

Joe

[BruceB]

Well, there are almost always a few 25-2 revolvers for sale on Gunsamerica.

There are usually about thirty pages of S&W revolvers for sale there most of the time....what a walk through history that is! My wife got my newest old S&W (Model 19-3, 4" .357) from a seller there just last week, and I've obtained quite a few other good guns from folks who use Gunsamerica. No complaints whatever, so far (touch wood!).

If nothing else, careful reading on the site will give a very good idea of current values. There are always a few rip-off artists, of course (one "Steve Kramer" comes to find) but they are easy to pick out.

(break)

I just took my own advice and went through all 26 pages of S&W revolvers at

www.gunsamerica.com

There are at least a couple of dozen .45 ACP revolvers, with barrels of 2", 2.5", 3", 4", 5", 6", and 6.5". Frames run from blue steel through stainless steel and scandium. The condition of the vast majority is at least excellent, with many being outright new.

My preference is always for the old blue guns; in the case of the .45 ACP these are the Model of 1950 and the 1955 Target. However, I suspect the best buy of the bunch is the stainless 625 Model of 1989, 5" barrel with underlug.

Prices for any of these guns, including the 625 of 1989, start around $500 and go up...WAY up. Still, one can easily recover the vast majority of the money if resale becomes necessary.

I wouldn't even consider a gun of lesser make, being a truly addicted S&W man at this late date.

They're out there, Joe. Just bring money....

[J Miller]

Bruce,

"They're out there, Joe. Just bring money...."

Ayep, just bring money. Ain't that the truth. I suppose I could try GunsAmerica. I just have trouble with enternet gun buys. Must be cuz I'm a scardie cat. I'll keep it in the realm of possibilities though.

Especially since from what I'm being told, S&W is about the only game going for ACP / AR wheel guns.

Joe

[Dan in Wa]

Have to agree with Bruce B. They are out there. The 625 5" that I'm coveting on Guns America is selling for $630. OUCH !!!! One of these days I will talk myself into itand it will probably be long gone. As a side note a shooting buddy just bought a new S&W model 625 4" (with the lock) for less than $500 and it shoots great with the white box (cheap) Rem. factory 230gr. loads. Have not tried any of my Lyman RN cast loads yet. I'm talking around an 1" at 20 or so yards off the hood, sometimes smaller. Finally get a great shooter out of the box and my eyes are heading south. Such is life.

[45nut]

My Favorite 45's at the moment. Randall SS Service Model -C- {Commander Size} I picked up for 500. and my S&W 625 Model of 1989 4" I got for 350.
Nice handsome SS 45's ,almost makes me as proud as Bruce but I had to buy them myself.

[J Miller]

45nut,

I could get along real well with that 625 of yours. Right smart looking revolver. Same grips as I use too. Now if I could only find one for the same price, I'd be tickled silly.


Joe

[mroliver77]

Joe, I have bought and sold quit a bit on the internet. It is relativly safe. You need to research the product you are looking at and look at sellers feedbacks. Some guys have literally 1000s of positive feedbacks. You cant do that and be a ripoff. You will pay top dollar to these guys but get few surprises. There are some really sweet guns out there yet.
I have made up my mind to get a nice S&W .38. I can find them really nice for about new gun price. Seems like every new gun I have bought lately needs worked on. I will prolly be better served by something "built with pride" than these mass produced things we have now. Jay

[J Miller]

Thanks Jay,

I agree about the new guns. I guess we, well a lot of us anyway are stuck in the past when it comes to guns. There isn't much on the market that interests me anymore, and like you said, a lot of needs work just to do what it should do. Sad state of affairs.

I'll keep my eyes open around here. It will be a while I'm afraid before I can really do much about getting another gun.

Car repairs are taking all our extra, ha, cash right now.


Joe

[9.3X62AL]

Jay--

It's not so much that we as a group here are stuck in the past--it's more like S&W and others don't get it. Rather than produce more generic multi-purpose "classic" variants, the company insists upon draping full length underlugs on barrels--laser sight mounts--scope mount drilling and tapping--idiot safety locks--and "specialty" features that render the piece useful in only a narrow range of circumstances.

It would be difficult to produce a better 38 Special revolver than the Model 14 and Model 15 "Masterpiece" models that were extant from the end of WWII to the early 1980's. They are no longer produced, in fact S&W makes very few 38 Special models any more, most being sub-compacts. Lo, this is the age of the thinderguns and wunder-nines, complete with laser sights, compensators, and other superfluous hand-rifle idiocies.

Rant over--and we return you to your regular scheduled programming.

[BLTsandwedge1]

Joe,

I have a 625 that has been re-worked with a bull barrel and Aristocrat sight- about as acurate as I've ever seen a handgun- with moderate loads of 231/Clays/Bullsesye/Unique/Red Dot. It'll shoot any bullet well but favors the old Lyman 185g WC- 452389? I use AR brass- no substantial difference in accuracy or reloadability over the ACP- I jus' like ending up with a reloaded round that looks like a big, fat .22 short. I have found that the revolver can be fussy with case length and crimp. A taper crimp seems best- especially if you intend to use the same ammo in a 1911 or other bottom feeder. I tried no crimp and, with the AR and ACP brass, had a few that wouldn't chamber.

Regards...............

[C1PNR]

Joe,

I have a 625 that has been re-worked with a bull barrel and Aristocrat sight- about as acurate as I've ever seen a handgun- with moderate loads of 231/Clays/Bullsesye/Unique/Red Dot. It'll shoot any bullet well but favors the old Lyman 185g WC- 452389? I use AR brass- no substantial difference in accuracy or reloadability over the ACP- I jus' like ending up with a reloaded round that looks like a big, fat .22 short. I have found that the revolver can be fussy with case length and crimp. A taper crimp seems best- especially if you intend to use the same ammo in a 1911 or other bottom feeder. I tried no crimp and, with the AR and ACP brass, had a few that wouldn't chamber.

Regards...............

Ah, umm, I know you can use a sand wedge in the sand or off the grass, a multi-tasking tool, so to speak.

However, as to multi-tasking the AR brass, I'm having just a little trouble envisioning that AR brass in a 1911. Perhaps I'm missing something new that could help feeding in the Para P14?

Thanks for your pioneering efforts.

[9.3X62AL]

The "most mourned" sale of a revolver I ever made was my Model 25-2 in 45 ACP/AR. WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING ABOUT??!!

One of the 625's would be sweet to get, as would another 25-2. These are rather shallow-grooved beasties, and might require harder-than-average boolit metal to do the right things downrange.

I remember assembling 45 AR ammo with Lyman #454490's on board. Reflecting on BLT's "22 Short" overture, those rounds looked like fattened-out 22 Shorts From Hell.

[Buckshot]

.............Back when the Brazilians or Argentine's surplused those S&W 1917's or 1935's or whatever they were I sold one to a friend. I think it cost $125 or somesuch. A friend of HIS saw it and bought one from me too. I never shot it but I did shoot my friend's. Commercial cast 230gr RN and Unique. Right out of the Lee info sheet. Ungodly accurate thing. I was thinking about getting one myself but by then there were no more available. My buddie's house was burglerized not too long after that, and they stole the pistol and a couple other nondescript guns.

..............Buckshot

[Swagerman]

45nut, I've got one of those fine ole Randalls in the 1911 full size models.

I use to shoot liter bottles of water up hill at near 100 yards, first shot would tell me where the boolit hit and the second one would nail it. A guy next to me was banging away with a scoped deer rifle before I got set up to shoot at my target that I set up. My second shot blew it wide open.

Guy got up and left.

But the secret to my hard shooten Randall was I had a custom made .44 auto pistol cartridge that I develope myself back around 1988, had a smith make me a sleaved .44 barrel that fit into a bored out .45 acp barrel. So, all I had to do was drop in the barrel and start shooting. Still have this barrel and lots of cartridge brass I made myself from .308 rifle brass. The brass was cut, reamed, and trimmed to .937 of an inch.

I thought I was going to make a zillion bucks on this invention, but about that time evey one came out with a freaken magnum type cartridge for both revolver and pistol...then is was no use wasting any more money on the project as too many magnums.

I made this caliber right after Dean Grenell came out with his .45 Super.

But it is a mighty impressive shooter. Have used .429 boolits of 145 grains to 215 grains. Velocity for a 175 grain cast bullet could obtain 1500 fps. Foot pound energy figures were unbelievable.

However, I have mellowed over the decades and find non magnum velocities to be more in tune with my nature these days.

Swagerman

[Char-Gar]

Yes they are out there. I sold a 25-2 about a month ago. I still have another, plus a 5" 625, plus a pair of 1917s. 452423 also works well in 45 ACP autopistols, Ruger SAs with ACP cylinders, and any pistol chamber for 45 Colt. It really is an all around bullet.

[longhorn]

Heed Deputy Al- I found my 25-2 a wonderful launching vehicle for those (several thousand) very hard cast 200 grainers I had bought and squrreled away for CAS-trouble was, they leaded horribly and wouldn't reliably hit a tin can at 40 feet from _any_ of my cowboy guns-with light cowboy loads. Fine accuracy, but still some leading in the Smith.