# Mod 25-2 Question



## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

I recently run across a Model 25-2 Smith 45 ACP revolver. I have seen these several times in the past but always with a 6" barrel and squared bottom. This one has a rounded bottom and a 2" barrel.It has a Serial N845xxx leading me to believe it was made around the 80's(?) The grip is rubber and as I said rounded on the bottom. 

Anyone seen one like this?:?:


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

That does it for me I am going up and ordering the The Standard Catalog on S&W. That way I can tell you guys what year your guns was made. I got a few I would like to pin down myself.
Tell you one thing for sure Mr DevilsJohnson if that 25-2 is in good shape I would get it. They are a very good shooting revolver. As near as I can figure is it was made around mid-80's. Having a round but may have been done by somebody as I think they came from the factory with a square butt.:smt033


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Heh, 
Yeah - I got it more as a novelty than anything else. I have seen several other mod 25 revolvers...Just not one like this. I need to get a few books on stuff like this. I'm pretty good with 1911's but wheel guns I do not know a lot about.

I was thinking the same thing about the grip situation. It appears to be some after market thing. I've never seen a Smith look like this one. I'll get off my round but and get a pic snapped and posted ASAP:anim_lol:


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Here's a quick snap..(I put these in the wrong place earlier..)brokenimage


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

Looking real good there and I see what you mean by the round butt. I know the old M10's that had RButts were sold to the LAPD and to the Hong market. I have never heard of a M-25 being done except as a custom. I'd shoot it and enjoy it. If you really want to know you can get a letter from S&W for $30.00 Call frist. Good luck.


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

I think you're right. I am going to send the 30 bucks and get a letter on it. I never thought it was some one of a kind of super rare got to keep in in kryptonite box type thing:smt082 but it is kind of funky looking. I plan on using it as a around the house shooter. I have some moon clips around here somewhere if this wonderful Kentucky weather will break for a day or so I'm going to see how it prints on paper. Stay tuned. I'll put up a range report as soon as I can :smt1099


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

The gun distributor Lew Horton commissioned several short production runs of similar large-frame S&W snubbies in the mid-to-late 1980s. I owned a model 624 .44 Special set up just like the M25 in the photo (got it in 1989, I think). It's possible that the gun in question was one of those, and if so, the S&W letter should mention it.

It could also be a custom gun, shortened front and back by a gunsmith. This was also popular around that time-frame. Does the gun have the standard spring-loaded center pin guide (called the Locking Bolt in most exploded views/charts) in the shrouded portion of the barrel's extractor rod cutout, or is there a ball-detent lock on the top of the cylinder crane? If the guide is missing or non-existent and a ball-detent lock has been added, it's probably a custom job. Same if the caliber stamp/rollmark on the barrel is missing or way off-center.

I jokingly called my 624 "The Grapefruit", because that's what it felt like you were carrying when you stuck it in an inside-waistband holster. :mrgreen: 
Lottsa fun to shoot, though, and more accurate than most folks thought they should be.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Further research indicates it could also be a John Jovino "Effector" model, which pre-dated the Lew Horton guns by a few years. More info here:
http://home.comcast.net/~parslowb/2008/02/s-m625.html


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Yeah..there is no caliber stamp on the barrel

Reading that article it appears that it is a John Jovino "Effector", I'm still going to get with S&W and get some paper on it. Thanks a lot for the info. It was very informative.


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## milquetoast (Nov 25, 2006)

According to Fjestad's Blue Book, the 25-2 was made with 6.5" barrel, and later, 6" barrel. Never made with a 2" barrel, or with a round butt. Yours is a custom, but certainly a nice one.


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

My lazy rump still haven't sent off to smith but all my research leads me to it being a John Jovino If it's anything else someone got the round but Pachamar grips that was used in a Jovino. It's a blast to shoot I have to say. I don't think I've ever had a shorter barreled wheel gun group so well.


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

DevilsJohnson said:


> I recently run across a Model 25-2 Smith 45 ACP revolver. I have seen these several times in the past but always with a 6" barrel and squared bottom. This one has a rounded bottom and a 2" barrel.It has a Serial N845xxx leading me to believe it was made around the 80's(?) The grip is rubber and as I said rounded on the bottom.
> 
> Anyone seen one like this?:?:


I got the Standard Catalog on S&W and they don't tell you a lot about serial numbers. They go by model and production codes.
Ok yours is a M/25-2. Your serial number begins with a N so that means it was built from 1969 to 1977. It is a custom build as the production guns were at least a 4" barrel. A lot of these guns were commemorative's to all kinds of things and people. They were also built in .45 Colt. So far as price it's worth what you can get as the values in the book doesn't have customs. Good luck. :smt033


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## Oldman (Apr 16, 2009)

*Model 25*

I have a model 25-5 in my collection. It is a .45 LC.

To my knowledge, the 25 was never a 45 ACP.

That said, I have never fired my model 25. It was made in 1989 and I love the feel of it. When I got the gun, I had a custom shop do a trigger job and install adjustable sights on it.

The trouble I have is in locating ammo for it. There appears to be a large shortage of ammo in any caliber but .45 LC is diffuclt to find when ammo is plentiful. I try to have at least 1,000 rounds for any caliber in my collection. Right now, I have a single box of 50 rounds for the model 25.


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## rfawcs (Feb 11, 2006)

According to the Standard Catalog, Model 25s were made in .45 ACP and .45 Long Colt. Barrel lengths included 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 6 1/2-, and 8 3/8-inch; no mention of 2-inch barrels. N-Frame serial numbers N820001-N932100 were produced in 1981.


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Oldman said:


> I have a model 25-5 in my collection. It is a .45 LC.
> 
> To my knowledge, the 25 was never a 45 ACP.
> 
> ...


Well, it is a model 25-2 and it is a 45 AP It has the space on the back end of the cylinder to accommodate the moon clip. The head space isn't right also unless the moon clip is present. Here's some links showing the same weapon
(It's the second article)
http://shootingwithhobie.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c288/TheRealHobie/Firearms/SW625/P3140008.jpg

I don't do much with it anymore but it's a fantastic shooter.


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## Bob Wright (May 10, 2006)

The Model 25 was first known as the Model 1950 Target, then the Model 1955 Target, both originally .45 ACP. Prior to the Model 25 appelation it was something like the Model N451T, or something on that order. Smith & Wesson Model numbers have only recently (since 1950 or so) been published in the catalogs. Prior to that, only the name of the model was cataloged.

Bob Wright


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