By Jim Dickson | Contributing writer
Upon taking delivery of a Smith & Wesson Model 25 revolver chambered for the legendary .45 Colt cartridge for review at Reeves Ace Hardware in Clayton, Georgia, I was immediately delighted with this gun.
The S&W M25 is, in my opinion, the finest gun in the S&W line. It has impeccable fit and finish, the lock work functions smooth and easy, and it is chambered for the finest centerfire revolver cartridge ever made, the .45 Colt. A cartridge with the perfect balance of stopping power and controllability in rapid fire, the .45 Colt also has a much lower decibel level than the magnums which means you are less likely to have permanent hearing lose when you shoot it in an emergency or when hunting and cannot take time to put in ear protection. It performs perfectly on man or beast without having to depend on expanding bullets, which may or may not expand, for its stopping power. This is reliability that you can stake your life on as countless men have successfully done for 152 years ever since the cartridge debuted in 1873.
This revolver is built on the same “N” frame as the Model 29 S&W .44 Magnum and except for caliber is identical to the famous magnum that I recently reviewed. It weighs 42 ounces, has a 6 ½-inch barrel with a Patridge front sight and adjustable rear, is 12 inches overall, 6.1 inches high and 1.7 inches wide. This is a big gun and the 6 ½-inch barrel adds weight for stability in shooting, even though a 4-inch barrel would be a lot easier to wear when you have to sit down.
The old 8 3/8-inch barrel that S&W used to put on their M29 was even more steady and personally I would prefer either a 4-inch or 8 3/8-inch barrel on this gun. A strong side holster can be moved to the opposite side and used with a cross draw when you have to cope with a long barreled pistol. This also keeps it from scarring up your rifle stock when hunting with a long gun.
The Model 25 is a good gun for the deep woods for those wanting a double action revolver. I cannot stress enough how important a handgun is there. You simply cannot chop wood and do many of the things you have to do in the wilderness with a rifle slung on your shoulder. So you have to put it down. It will often be out of reach for fast use now.
Years ago a friend of mine was skinning out a caribou that he had shot when he suddenly sensed danger and turned to find a polar bear in the final stage of stalking him before the rush for the kill. There was no time to fetch his out-of-reach rifle but fortunately he had a handgun on his hip. He made a fast draw and killed the polar bear at the last possible moment before the animal would have had him in its jaws.
Animals, both four legged and two legged, are acutely aware of whether you are armed or not and that often determines whether or not you face attack. Wolves and even coyotes have been known to treat humans as prey. If push comes to shove the sidearm can provide a most effective defense. If you see the alpha male make him your first target as that tends to break up the attack much better than randomly shooting pack members.
The ability to fire a .45 Colt revolver faster than a .44 Magnum can be a lifesaving advantage in one of these encounters as they happen at blinding speed once they move in for the kill. They often circle in order to attack from multiple directions so keep that in mind if you ever face a pack. If they start circling or even following you it is time to start shooting. These pack animals have a long history of preying on humans.
Occasionally you may run into a two legged predator far from civilization. A rush for a long gun is confrontational. A pistol on the hip can be drawn and fired quickly if you are suddenly attacked without you being forced into a confrontation. After all, you can’t always be sure of the threat and you don’t want to start something unnecessarily lest you be in the wrong. A lot of us old backwoods sourdoughs can look quite a bit rough to a cheechako when we come out of the woods and unexpectedly meet another.
Bears are another animal famous for their attacks on humans. You can take comfort in the fact that the .45 Colt cartridge was designed to stop a cavalry horse at 100 yards with one shot. It has been used for bear defense ever since 1873 and not found lacking. It is important to remember that the .45 Colt is the biggest cartridge that the average person can shoot well. When dealing with an enraged grizzly you really don’t want a gun that you can’t handle reliably and accurately. You absolutely do not want the bear up close before you can start hitting where you need too. Many folks will empty the more powerful handguns at a longer range than they can hit precisely then end up with an enraged bear in their lap. That is a very bad thing.
The specimen I reviewed had a 5-pound 1-ounce single action trigger pull and a 10-pound double action trigger pull as measured with a Lyman mechanical trigger pull gauge from Brownell’s Gunsmithing Supplies. Everything was smooth and crisp. Fit and finish was flawless. This gun represents Smith and Wesson’s finest work and it is chambered for the greatest revolver caliber of all.
Shooting this gun was something I looked forward too. I had 850 rounds of ammunition to fire through it consisting of:
- 500 rounds of Black Hills Cowboy Action 250 grain RNFP at 725 FPS
- 100 rounds of Remington 250 grain lead at 750 FPS
- 50 rounds of Steinel 200 grain Cowboy Action @ 590 FPS (A very soft recoiling target load)
- 100 rounds of Armscor 255 grain lead Cowboy Action @ 847 FPS (A great all-purpose load for serious encounters. Don’t let the Cowboy Action label fool you. This is a powerful load I trust)
- 100 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 185 grain FTX @ 920 FPS
The gun worked flawlessly, accurately shooting whatever I fed it just as you would expect from such a high quality revolver. This is Smith and Wesson’s finest and it is a gun that you can depend on.
For law enforcement, the double action .45 Colt revolver works great. You have the stopping power for drug crazed felons and you have the safety of the long double action trigger pull when you are holding a gun on a suspect. Accidentally shooting an innocent is a scenario all too common with nervous police aiming automatics at a suspect.
For the homeowner wanting a home defense handgun, the double action revolver is best for the non-shooter. It is simple. All you do is point and pull the trigger. Range will be normally no more than across the room and there are no safeties to remember to take off, no slide to be manually cycled back for the first shot, and no list of other things to remember.
At cross-room distances with some of the large economy size drugged up criminals we have today you really may need the stopping power of a .45 Colt. Some women may protest that it is too big and heavy but most folks shoot a pistol with both hands these days.
For the record, Betty and I always used a pistol with just one hand and she had no trouble with the even more massive and heavy Ruger Redhawk .45 Colt revolver despite being only 5 foot 2 and 105 pounds. If she could easily handle that big pistol with one hand then most any woman should be able to easily handle this revolver with two hands.
Whatever you need a revolver for the S&W Model 25 .45 Colt will fill the bill. It is the best centerfire revolver in the whole S&W line.
