S&W 625JM - shoot'n with moon clips

J

jwise

New member
I have a few bad habits. I feel a strong compulsion to purchase every new bottle of whisky I find (especially old and rare ones), and I have to mark every great achievement with a new gun (or, just to mark a day that ends in 'y'!). It started when my dad bought me a Winchester 1894 Trapper in .44mag when I graduated from High School. I've carried on the tradition ever since.

Kimber Pro CDP: graduated college
Les Baer TRS: when I hung up the badge
Custom Colt: graduated law school
S&W 586: won a six figure verdict
Uberti 1873 Cattleman El Patron .357mag: won a six figure verdict

There are others, but those are the big events. Well, I hit another major professional milestone that had to be marked.

For hitting this milestone, I picked up a S&W 625JM.



The 'JM' stands for Jerry Miculek, famous for his exploits with all manner of firearms, not the least of which the 625.

The 625 of course is a .45acp handgun, which I first saw in action back in my shooting sports days. It always intrigued me, but after I picked up a Colt M1917 a few years back, it really got under my skin. I enjoy shooting the big revolver, even if the trigger is heavy and the grips make it difficult to hold.

The M1917 was the US Army's answer to the 1911 shortage when World War I started. S&W and Colt switched their revolver production to make the big bore handgun and fitted it to shoot .45acp in moon clips, so it and the 1911 would have ammunition compatibility.

The S&W 625 is just the modern day 1917. Both even use the same moon clips!the 625 is built on the N frame, with the JM sporting a brass bead front sight and smooth grips (a JM specification). My Colt M1917 and S&W 625JM are pictured below:



I've only got a handful or so of clips for these big revolvers. I guess I need to place an order for more. Any recommendations? I also would like to try some 45 Auto Rim at some point just for fun!
 
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Ranch Product clips are cheap and work great. No need to spend the extra money on the expensive ones. I bought 100 and haven't bent a clip in many years buy having someone step on it.

The 625 is the FASTEST revolver to reload. Use a round nose bullet and they seem to just jump into the cylinder.

I don't like the feel of the Miculek grips but Hogue makes a lot of nice replacements. I like the Big Buts because they fit my hands and have a base on them which is good when going prone.

Good luck with your new gun. You will love it.
 
The gun itself is a Round butt, but those grips look to be (round-2-square) "Conversion" grips. I'm glad there's such a thing as conversion grips, as the SB profile fits my hand better, and many people (myself included) seem to think the SB profile is better for shooting (whereas the RB is better for carrying/concealing).

Nice gun, btw. I used to have a 5" 625 & enjoyed it very much.
 
I thought those were the Miculek grips?

I shot a bunch of auto rim back in my bullseye competition days with my Smith 625. Really liked them. Just .45 ACP with a cartridge rim. Fat little suckers.
Found this way more convenient for the type of shooting I was doing than moon clips.
 
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I haven't found any issue with the couple of brands of moon clips I have. My issue is that 45 ACP is pretty boring in a gun this big. I expect a rapid fire shooter would value it more. Also, a big fella might like this as a carry gun with a relatively quick reload capability.

Note that both of the lock key holes have been plugged.
 
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As for boring, I like to shoot .44 Russian in my M29 4", so maybe boring is what I like. I'm not much of a magnum shooter.
 
As for boring, I like to shoot .44 Russian in my M29 4", so maybe boring is what I like. I'm not much of a magnum shooter.
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Exactly. My best shooting however, is with a 44 Magnum 5" Smith 629 Classic. My greatest challenge seems to be 38 Special. Maybe it's the difference in firmness of my grip, based on expectation of recoil and perceived need to manage the gun. I'm working on it. The 45s seem like just going through the motions, too accurate to be a challenge, short of competing in some target match...something I never do, not wishing to be reminded how much I suck compared to the younger guns.
 
Great looking gun that Smith 625 JM...I imagine it's as accurate as my old and much loved Smith 1955 .45 Target and with a far better DA pull. Only thing that I don't like besides the much despised IL, is the front sight. Why put a post and bead on what is a superb holster/duty gun. I'd much prefer a Baughmann quick draw in flat black. Rod
 
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