Smith & Wesson Model 625 .45 Colt Stainless Mountain Gun

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

August 31st, 2006

Updated March 5th, 2008

 

 

 

UPDATE!

As a limited-production item, these great Model 625 .45 Colt Stainless Mountain Guns have been very hard to get. As of March 5th, 2008, Lipsey's has received an exclusive run of 300. If you want one of these, act quickly!

For a list of dealers where you can buy this gun, go to:

The Smith & Wesson .45 Colt Mountain Gun is certainly nothing new. They have been around for a few years, being an on-again off-again production gun. It seems that they run off a batch of these Mountain Guns in .45 Colt every few years.  S&W has produced several calibers of the Mountain Gun, including .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 ACP, but my favorite has always been the .45 Colt Mountain Gun. It is just the right combination of bore size, power, weight, and bulk to make it one of the best double-action holster guns available for either woods carry or for social work.

While semi-auto pistols outsell revolvers by a wide margin, there is a lot to be said in favor of the sixgun for self defense. As a rule, they are very reliable, but in fairness, good autos are also. The revolver is not picky about bullet shape, and the use of good wide hollowpoints or heavy blunt lead bullets do not hinder its function. Also, the revolver does not leave empty cartridge cases lying around the scene. That may or may not be important, depending upon the location and situation.

For woods and field carry, I greatly prefer a revolver. A .45 Colt or .44 Magnum loaded with heavy cast lead bullets will penetrate very well on most any threat that one might encounter, and is also very reliable at taking game. The Mountain Gun is built for holster carry. The sample gun weighed in at just 36 ounces. Carried in the Bob Mernickle PS6-DA holster pictured, it rides high and tight, out of the way for field carry. Also, the PS6-DA holster is perfect for carrying a big revolver concealed under a shirt or light jacket. It offers quick access and good concealability. Like all Mernickle holsters, the quality of the leather and craftsmanship is superb.

Quite often, I hear shooters gripe about the internal locks that Smith & Wesson has installed on their revolvers for the last few years. Here is the scoop on that: they are here to stay! Not buying one of these fine sixguns because of that lock means that you are cheating yourself. S&W revolvers are built better today than they have been for many years. The fit and finish is excellent. The front sight on this Mountain Gun is, thankfully, made of blued steel, with no red insert. The action is very smooth. The seam around the side plate is almost invisible. The timing is dead on. The internal lock is easily ignored, or available if you choose to use it. If it really bothers you knowing that it is there, it can be easily removed in about five minutes without altering anything in the weapon, and re-installed later if desired. Just remove the side plate and the hammer, and pluck it out. Personally, I do not use the lock, but it bothers me not at all being there.

This 625 Mountain Gun came supplied with a good set of Hogue rubber grips. They work very well, are comfortable, and look good on the gun. However, for concealed carry, I prefer the Secret Service grips available from Eagle Grips. The Secret Service grips really change the feel of the Mountain Gun, offering compact size and good control of the weapon. They are much easier to conceal than the Hogue grips supplied. The Secret Service grips shown here are made of checkered ebony, and fit perfectly to the Mountain Gun. In my opinion, they are the very best grips available for the big N-framed Smith & Wesson revolvers, especially for concealed carry.

The action on this Mountain Gun is one of the best in the industry for an out-of-the-box double action revolver. The double action pull is typical Smith & Wesson; butter smooth and weighing just under seven and one-half pounds. Perfect. The single action pull measured a crisp three and three-quarters pounds. S&W does a very good job on the triggers of their large-framed sixguns.

Shooting the Mountain Gun proved to be a real pleasure, as expected. I did the initial testing of the gun back in early July, and concluded the accuracy work using a new Ransom Rest just recently.  The sixgun proved capable of fine accuracy from the bench, placing five shots of handloaded target ammo under one inch at twenty-five yards, and fifteen shots of plinking ammo into under three inches at the same distance.

Reliability was perfect throughout the testing.

I really love these Mountain Guns from S&W, and especially the .45 Colt.  The fit and finish is excellent, they are accurate, powerful, and reliable. Currently, they are not in production. However, I just recently got this one, and a few are still in the dealer supply pipeline. Get ahold of one while you can.  In my opinion, it is just about the perfect big bore double-action packing gun.

Check out Smith & Wesson products online at: www.smith-wesson.com.

To order the beautiful and highly functional Secret Service grips, go to:  www.eaglegrips.com.

To view the extensive line of quality Mernickle holsters, go to:  www.mernickleholsters.com.

Jeff Quinn

Ed. Note: Gunblast.com does not advocate de-activating any safety device on any firearm, and neither the author nor Gunblast.com assumes any responsibility for the misuse of the information contained in this article.

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Click pictures for a larger version.

 

Smith & Wesson Model 625 .45 Colt Stainless Mountain Gun.

 

 

Smith & Wesson's Model 625 .45 Colt Stainless Mountain Gun comes with a nicely-designed set of Hogue soft-rubber finger-groove grips.

 

 

S&W's internal lock is easy to use, easy to remove (if desired), and easy to ignore. Like them or not, internal locks are here to stay!

 

 

 

 

Sights are just as they should be: blued steel with no colored inserts.

 

 

"Secret Service" grips from Eagle Grips make the Model 625 much easier to conceal, while leaving the gun easy to handle.

 

 

 

 

Bob Mernickle's PS6-DA is a great concealed carry holster for any large-frame revolver.

 

 

The 625 Mountain Gun proved to be capable of fine accuracy right out of the box.