Is the JM S&W a performance center product?

[krs]

Smith & Wesson doesn't list the Jerry Miculek .45 acp revolver as a PC gun, and I'm wondering if it has advantages in accuracy over a regular product line model 625?

Does anyone know if the gun is more than a cosmetically tricked up gun?

I'm wanting a shorter .45 acp revolver than my 6 1/2" Model 25-2. It's a beautiful thing but not the type of gun you want for any kind of fast action.

Part of me would prefer the 3 1/2" twin to my Lew Horton model 27-8, but I think that their Model 25 is sold and gone in either blue or nickel.

So I've been on the verge of ordering the JM pistol but I can't get past the idea that I might be buying the name only - a type of association that has never been something I go for. You know - like a Nascar lookalike Buick, or a Shelby phony Mustang - this gun makes me feel like I'm gonna' be a wannabe.

Do you know what I mean?

 

[Hawk]

That certainly opens a can. It doesn't help that S&W models are sometimes changed frequently and what was valid in 2007 may not be for sure in 2008.

That said(c), here's a Grant Cunningham from 2/07 detailing the differences:
http://grantcunningham.com/blog_files/e8b998dd63b440b469dd8c5d4d262aed-150.html

In addition to the (older) 625 and JM625 in the Cunningham entry, there is a PC 625 cataloged now.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...ted=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=15714

In fact it would appear that the non-JM 625 is now the 625 which happens to be a PC offering. The JM never was and still isn't the PC version. That neatly inverts reality does it not?

Also, the PC / non-JM version has no MSRP - presumably a distributor run, and has the conventional ("forged") hammer, trigger and pinned sear. The JM version, assuming it hasn't mutated from the 2/07 Cunningham example, has plated MIM plus conventional. I'd also bet, based on similar product, that the PC 625 has about a 250.00 "bump" on the JM MSRP.

Perhaps I looked it up wrong but it seems that the "plain Jane" 625 is, for the time being, a PC product at about a 25% premium over the JM version which has taken up station as the "pedestrian" 625 with spiffy front sight and stocks.

I'm sorry I went down that road - my head hurts now. Hopefully, I got something crossed up. If not, you've nothing to worry about vis-a-vis paying extra for the JM - it's the bargain of the current litter. Suddenly, inexplicably and probably temporarily.

Doesn't make sense they'd jettison the "standard" 625 but all I'm seeing is the Lipsey's Mountain Gun and the 325TR in addition to the PC and the JM.

 

[krs]

Yeah, I notice that a 4" pedestrian 625 doesn't appear, or I missed it amongst too many look-a-likes, and saw that there is a PC version in black paint with their Hi-Viz sight and an, ugh, tactical rail. Talk about the wannabe gun!

I hadn't even noticed the 5 1/2" PC gun that you linked to, Hawk, probably because I was filtering too thoroughly in my hope for a shorter barreled version.

So what does a person do who'd like to squeek in on the $50. rebate that has but what, eight days to go? Buy the JM for $700. from Bud's.

 

[Hawk]

I have one of those 325TRs and wouldn't object to your characterization except to note that the rail is optional - it even comes with little screw-hole-filler things similar to those provided for scope taps on rifles. Also, it's the same gold-bead sight that's on the JM. The 325NG has a tritium front and no provision for a rail. The PD may have had hi-viz but that thing appears to be history as well.

The spousal unit actually wanted a revolver with a green laser but the jury is still out on that. I have to admit that I've grown to really like the 2 pound weight of the 325 but haven't fed it anything other than standard fare yet. That, and the spouse still thinks it's hers. There's something about a 1917 design wheelgun with a Viridian laser / light on a rail - sort of like Ben Cartwright carrying a light saber - or one's great-grandmother in go-go boots. One is jarring, the other sad and jarring - I haven't decided where I am yet. I have learned I get along well with PC triggers and I can forgive a lot for that.

I also bought it with the rebate in mind only to learn that I missed the date requirements in the fine print - bought it exactly one day too early. Another thing is that, rail attached or not, the ejector rod is abbreviated presumably due to the rail - I expect this will irritate some folks.

So you've got a rebate form burning a hole in your pocket? Let us know how it goes.

 

[krs]

It looks as though the biggest objection in the Cunningham observation is the flakey hammer of the JM pistol. The trigger serrations aren't much work to remove but apparently a new (hopefully forged) hammer is needed to absolve that flaking problem and that's why I called it "the biggest objection". Cunningham mentions a new hammer but not what hammer he uses.

Ya, now I see that the rail is removable and that's good, but I'd rather a stainless gun than another one painted with whatever frail stuff they use, or a nicely blued one like my Lew Horton gun. I have the black paint on a little 442 and it hasn't worn all that well.

I was looking for someone to assure me that the JM revolver has the Walther barrel of the other PC revolvers, really, because I want an accurate pistol first, but I guess noone knows. This is what bothers me about the pistol - is it all show and no go, or what? Or is accuracy not a prime factor in the type of shooting that the pistol purports to be designed to do? It's made for speed, I guess.

 

[Nipit]

I would also like a non-JM model 625 in 45 ACP- just like those they offered a few years ago, in 4" and 5". Or a 625 Mountain Gun in 45 ACP. Regarding the 625 Performance Center model - I think it is a great looking gun and, hoping it might be somewhat affordable, tried to get a price from local dealers with no luck.

According to an email from S&W this morning:

"Hi,
Currently we are not manufacturing a Performance Center Model 625 revolver

Thanks
kf"

Of course it is still on the website. So there you have it - the one company that makes a 45 ACP revolver only makes one version. Maybe they will have something else at the 2009 Shot Show...I hope.

 

[45ACPUSER]

Keep pushing S&W they brought back the 610, so there is always hope. 625's 5in bbls seem to be fetching a bit of premium right now....I gave the S&W rep the biz at an open house this year!

 

[krs]

Well then, Nipit, that puts one question to rest. The pistol linked from their catalog of PC guns is not to be had at all.

Hmm, I didn't expect this much travail from what to me seemed to be a pretty simple question.


I guess I could mill the topstrap for an adjustable sight and put in an SDI gold bead front. Those things, a set of grips and this model 22 and I'm almost there.....http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/72/products_id/43743

 

[Hawk]

I gathered from the GC post that the replacement was a non-plated MIM hammer but there's a good reason I'm not paid to write about this sort of stuff.

Similarly, I thought Lothar-Walther was behind the sleeved barrel but that design has failed to impress certain old-timers around here and I'm not qualified to make a judgement on whether, for sure, it's Walther and secondly, if it's worth a wet slap in any event.

One thing for certain: I've not bolted the 325TR into a Ransom rest and don't see myself doing so in the foreseeable future - it just doesn't seem to be part of the thing's marching orders.

I like it reasonably well but can't picture myself ever "pitching" it to the uncommitted - it's weird on a number of levels. It does shoot well for me though. Not as nicely as the 627 with the "normal" barrel but nice nonetheless - that "almost a Dan Wesson except you can't have the tools" barrel is something I don't know what to make of regardless of its pedigree.

 

[20nickels]

The JM is a fine and very accurate (S&W barrel) gun, but the hammer flaking issue is real. You will have to send it in with a copy of GC's article and request a non-plated hammer. If you like the front sight, it is a bargain. You can still change the grips if you do not like the JM billboard.
If this is a range toy, find a five incher (what JM actually shoots most) or a model 25. If it will see carry get the Horton 3"er. Personally I would get the Horton if you can still find one, that is one mean 45. Good luck, Nickels.

 

[20nickels]

I would not alter the front sight on that Model 22. That would look ......well, strange. Be patient you'll find what you want.

 

[krs]

I kick myself for wanting a blued Lew Horton gun when I was offered the nickeled version for $700. if I bought it along with the LH M27. I thought that I'd be able to settle on it later if necessary but it turns out that the one I could have had was one of only two left unsold and both are gone now.

There's a guy in GB wanting $1149. for a blued one but that's such a large markup that it gripes me.

Yeah,, 20 nickels, I wasn't really serious about the change to a model 22 "classic". It'd need to be a ribbed barrel at least.

Come to think - where can .45 revolver barrels be had anymore? Brownell's has listings for all kinds and lengths of .38/.357 and .44 barrels for many S&W models but not one .45. i've got a M1917 frame and cylinder that could make a nice short barreled .45, but what barrel? I could turn and mill a PPC style bull barrel....a yoke lock, etc. But does no one make such barrels anymore?

I'm living in the past....maybe I need to give up .45 acp and start loading .44 special.

 

[ravencon]

There is such a thing as a Performance Center 625 with the Michulek style grips, 4"bbl, gold bead front sight. It say "Performance Center" on the bbl.

One of 'em is sitting on my desk as I type this. It is a very nice gun. If you get one I suspect you'll like it just fine.