Smith & Wesson 625 JM or Model 65 with 3" Barrel

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YankeeIronSights

New member
Hi Everyone:

A local gun store had a Smith and Wesson Mod. 65-6 with 3" barrel in very good condition selling for $429.00... Next to it, there was a Mod. 625 JM with 4" barrel with 30 moon clips and blue case in "like new" condition selling for $599.00...

My budget only allowed me to buy one... Tough choices. So, I placed the 65 on layaway for a couple of days... while disposable cash flow becomes available.

My rationale was based on the fact that finding S&W 65s 3" in good condition at such a low price in my area is quite unusual. The 625s are still being produced and used ones are easy to find. I plan to use this revolver for home defense and at the range.

Today, I had second thoughts and was wondering if I should have purchased the 625 JM.

Any thoughts?
 
I often carry a 3" 65. And, I have many great guns to choose from. I like it so much I have one in reserve in the safe. They are getting hard to find and command a premium price.

The 3" 65 may be the pinnacle of a concealed carry revolver.

I think you can alot worse for an all purpose revolver.

That said, they are very different guns. Do you have a specific purpose in mind?
 
I do not have a particular use for either one. I just like to collect Smith and Wesson revolvers. The selected model would become a range gun and a home defense backup gun.
 
Where are you shopping? Those prices are very reasonable to dam good relative to my local market.

IF you can't buy both.....

Buy the 65, they are not making more. The 625 JM they are.
 
You played it the way I would have.

I wish I had a 65 3". I'd carry it. They're kind of rare - and a virtual impossibility to get here in California :(

625's are more abundant. They will be available when the time comes for you to fill that spot in your collection.
 
I stopped by the LGS today, and as expected, someone bought the 625 JM without delay. The price and gun condition were great... I wish I had been able to afford that revolver too. The good thing is that my LGS always has great bargains and there will be other opportunities to buy a 625 at a low price.

In the meantime, I will enjoy owning a 65 in 3". As soon as I pay off the layaway, I will test it and share the range report.

Thanks for all your comments.
 
I have the 625JM and really like it, although I replaced the grip with a Hogue grip. It is a wonderful handgun. Great fun to go to the range and shoot against guys with 1911s. A whole different way to shoot .45 caliber.
 
Speed vs reloadability

I think the 3 inch Model 66 one of the best six-shot fighting guns around. After the first six rounds the 625 four inch 45 ACP comes into its own. Full moon clips and a short round make all the difference. All six rounds eject together and you can just about throw a full moon clip at the cylinder and be reloaded in seconds. Speed loaders for the .357 Mag could be more accurately named "slight faster than d---ed slow loaders". Ever get a round caught under the ejector star? In the middle of a gun fight would not be the time to call a time out to clear your revolver.
Having said all this, I'd be saving up my pennies and get both guns. I don't have the S&W 65 but my 3 inch S&W 66 isn't for sale. Come to think of it, neither is my PC 625 5 inch 45 ACP/AR. The JM grips are a love/hate thing. I love to carry them but when shooting the Hogue finger grove grips don't require repositioning in rapid fire or with heavy loads.
 
Redhawk500 said:
All six rounds eject together and you can just about throw a full moon clip at the cylinder and be reloaded in seconds. Speed loaders for the .357 Mag could be more accurately named "slight faster than d---ed slow loaders". Ever get a round caught under the ejector star?
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In the real world, reloading speed is more a function of the user. Many people are under this common (but false) impression that a mooned revolver will allow them to instantly "just about throw a full moon clip at the cylinder and be reloaded in seconds". Not true. Your typical revolver shooter will bumble moons about as much as they'll bumble speedloaders. True, a skilled moonclip shooter will reload a bit faster than a similarly-skilled speedloader shooter, but the latter will still reload faster than the great majority of moon users. Whether you've got moons or speedloaders, practice (lots of it) is still the key to fast reloads.

And getting a case stuck under the ejector star is also usually a user-issue. Learn to eject the rounds correctly and with authority. And don't chamfer the ejector star when you chamfer the charge holes.

A 3" 66? Yeah, they're rare, but pricey, too. A 3" 65, which the OP asked about, is just "uncommon". Both are great guns.
 
I had a very short fling with a Model 625 (was not a Miculek model) and I sent it away with no regrets and, while ya "never say never...", I don't see me ever playing around with another .45 Auto moon-clip revolver again.

To say that the mooning & de-mooning was an annoyance is, at least in my opinion, a genuine understatement. Dealing with those moon clips was a horrendous experience. And yes, I'm also certain that a pricey and attractive little $50 hand tool would have helped greatly, but I didn't have one.

At $599, if the JM they were offering was in terrific shape, it sounds like a purchase you wouldn't lose money on if you found later that you didn't LOVE it and you ended up selling it.

But yeah, I'll go with most others -- a 3-inch Model 65 at that price is a fine buy. As I absolutely love revolvers but have no plans to carry one, a three-inch in mostly lost on me, I prefer a 4-6 inch revolver, but a 3-inch 65 has a great feel to it. I've got a buddy with one and I like it.
 
Well, I already have a 3" 65 and 13, so, I would have went with the 625 if it would have been a model without the lock, but since it was a JM model it would have had it. I no longer own any Smiths with the lock as I find them unattractive.
 
My Model 65 3" is one of the most comfortable shooting revolvers I own. I put Crimson Trace grips on this one, which resides in the nightstand next to the bed.
 

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To say that the mooning & de-mooning was an annoyance is, at least in my opinion, a genuine understatement. Dealing with those moon clips was a horrendous experience. And yes, I'm also certain that a pricey and attractive little $50 hand tool would have helped greatly, but I didn't have one.
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Yup, the Moon Clip Tool makes all the difference. It loads almost as fast as Safariland COMP loaders for other calibers.

The 625 is a great gun. It's worth it.
 
Are we talking about Model 65s or Model 25s vs. the JM 625?

I have a couple of Model 25s, .45 ACP using moonclips. If I don't want to fiddle with metal moonclips, I use RIMS. Gotta be careful with the RIMS and make sure that they're still in good shape.
 
I use RIMS. Gotta be careful with the RIMS and make sure that they're still in good shape.
Click to expand...

They can crack and dump rounds when dropped at times. Spent a lot of time messing with them in my 325...
 
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