S&W Mod. 25-3, .45 ACP & Moons?

[Capt. Charlie]

First off, I have never even seen, let alone owned, a revolver designed for a rimless cartridge. A few weeks ago, I picked up a S&W Model 25-3 in mint condition for a darned good price. Couldn't pass it up.

On the barrel is simply "45 caliber". The owner's manual says the gun is chambered for .45 ACP (I had originally thought it was .45 Colt).

So, once I got this gem home, I went to load it, and the rounds simply slip down out of sight into the chambers. "Hmmm" thinks I, "I probably need moons". So, I ordered a 10-pack of full moons, and just got them today.

The problem? Well, with the moons, the cylinder won't close. What the heck am I doing wrong here? Are there modifications to the gun needed to use moons, or do I have the wrong owner's manual, and the darned thing really is chambered for .45 Colt. Or is there something else I'm missing altogether?

Any help appreciated.

 

[steveno]

it looks like you have a 45 colt. without clip a 45 acp rounds would not have dropped out of sight. the clips are for ejection only otherwise you would have to pull the acp cases out one at a time

 

[Ranger61]

Sounds to me like you have a 45 Colt Smith. As said earlier the 45 ACP will chamber and fire fine in the Smith revolvers you just can't eject the cases and must push or pull them out of the cylinder. At least thats the way it works with my 25-2 in 45 ACP and my 25-5 in 45 Colt.

 

[WIL TERRY]

The S&w M25-3 Always Was A 45colt.

Unfortuneatly it was also made with the N-frame original short cylinder and will NOT chamber the common handloads with the superb KEITH 454424 bullets.
This is also the reason why S&W switched to the longer M29 style of cylinder when they began production of their M25-5 45COLT sixguns right after the M25-3 sixguns sorta fell on their snoots in the market place.

 

[Jdomin]

Look in the cylinder if there is a line in the center its a 45 acp cylinder, if not you have a 45 colt. Which is a very sought after for S&W collectors. I hope its a 3 inch bbl.

 

[Capt. Charlie]

Unfortuneatly it was also made with the N-frame original short cylinder...

That was the other thing that had me puzzled. Just eyeballing the cylinder, it did look a mite short for the .45 LC.

I hope its a 3 inch bbl.

Nope. It's the S&W 125th Anniversary model with a 6 1/2" barrel.

Thanks for the help, guys .

 

[Jim Watson]

Yup.
The 25-3 (and engraved 25-4) commemorative guns are .45 Colt with short cylinder, just adequate for factory loads or equivalent.

You CAN have the .45 Colt cylinder clearanced for clipped .45 ACP with enough cylinder face remaining for use with .45 Colt. Not .45 Auto Rim.
http://www.pinnacle-guns.com/revolver.asp
"Moonclips and a conversion produce a clean and useful alteration making your revolver easier and quicker to reload for competition, defense, hunting & recreation.
Smith & Wesson, J-Frame 5 Shot, K-Frame 6 Shot, L-Frame 581,681,586,686 & 686 plus, N-Frame 27/28, 57/657, 29, 629, & 625 LC. $75.00 (.45 LC cylinders can be cut to shoot both ACP and LC)"

I don't know what the accuracy will be.
And the 25-3 is uncommon enough that if you caught the eye of a collector, you could probably turn it into a 625 and avoid all doubts and questions.
"A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist."

 

[Capt. Charlie]

"A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist."

Boy, did you bullseye that one, Jim!

I doubt I'll convert it, but thanks for the info. I've been known to change my mind on more than one occasion . I'll probably play with it a little, see how it shoots (feels great in my hand), and decide later if I want to dicker with a collector.