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I have owned a few Model 25 Smiths in my life, but foolishly sold them for some unknown reason.

I recently wanted one to keep and started looking for a clean sample.

I finally found one at a reasonable price and bought it.

Here it is.

This fine pistol is a typical S&W "N" frame pistol.

It is a beautiful piece.

It is chambered for the .45 Colt, also sometimes called the .45 Long Colt. Many will say that it ought to be called simply the ".45 Colt", as there is no ".45 Short Colt". But to distinguish it from the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) cartridge and the .45 Schofield, I believe the .45 LC is a good name. I have even seen cartridge boxes from major manufacturers labeled ".45 Long Colt".

This round was very common, especially after Sam Colt designed the .45 Colt Peacemaker, also known as the Colt Army Revolver. It is said that a cowboy was once asked why he carried a .45. His answer was, "Because Sir, Mr. Colt doesn't make a .46."

It is still a very fine round and can be extremely accurate in a high quality pistol.

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The pistol has the old S&W very deep bluing.

It has a 6 inch barrel, which I prefer.

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It also has white outlined rear sights and a red insert front sight.

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It has a target trigger and hammer.

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The pistol is heavy and is a joy to shoot.

Here I am shooting it this morning.

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Here's a typical 6 shot group at 7 yards.

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I handload for the pistol and use several types of bullets.

For target loads, I use a Missouri Bullet Company 200 grain RNFP over some WW-231.

I also load a heavier 250 grain RNFP which is very accurate.

Probably the best lead bullet for this cartridge is the 255 grain Keith SWC.

For hunting, I can load a JHP if desired.

But I believe the SWC putting a .452 hole completely through a deer would be pretty effective.

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The wife caught a picture of me shooting that I saw when I got home.

It shows me reverting back to putting my left trigger finger in front of the trigger guard.

I know this is not the best grip, but I used it for so many years that I sometimes revert back to it without thinking.

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I have a speed loader for this pistol.

It has to be designed specifically for this caliber.

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To use it, you eject the empties, than insert the cartridges in the speed loader into the cylinder.

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And then your turn the knob to release the cartridges and they will fall into the cylinder.

I'm no Jerry Miculek, but even for a slow guy like me, this can be done in a very few seconds.

Almost as fast as loading a magazine into a semi-auto pistol.

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Let's look at the pistol. The barrel is marked ".45 COLT CTG".

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The other side of the barrel is marked "SMITH & WESSON".

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The pistol has a beautiful finish.

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And the hole in the front of that barrel looks like it means business.

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It is a joy to shoot.

Conclusions:

If you ever get a chance to acquire a Model 25-5, don't let it get away from you. You will love it.