Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Smith & Wesson 325 Night Guard .45 ACP

Someone asked me on another thread to post my impressions of the S&W 325. I found very little written about the model on the Internet, so I thought I would contribute my 2 cents.

I have been interested in a .45 ACP revolver since an older friend, now deceased, showed me his original 1917 revolver and half moon clips full of ball ammo. Then there was this nice Cajun named Jerry who started showing up at the south Louisiana IPSC and steel matches in the mid-80s and gave weekly demonstrations that captivated the crowd. But, I usually only buy what I will carry, and it just never fit into my conceptual scheme for carrying. But, if I take enough time, I can justify anything.

I hate carrying heavy handguns. It�s just not going to happen. I also never open carry a handgun, so it has to be concealable. I�ve been carrying a Ruger SP 101 3� as a trail gun/archery backup. It is very concealable and handy, and packs a good punch when loaded with Buffalo Bores, although the 180 grain .357s are a real handful. To me, it is perfect. But, if I can find the same size package with a little more punch, I would consider it. We had a real ornery black bear and a lot of mountain lion sightings around the cabin this year, and the bear made a feeble attempt to break into the back door.

Enter the S&W 325. I saw a LNIB one on Gunbroker at a good price, so I snagged it even though I had heard some not so favorable things. First, I read that S&W had shortened the firing pin to satisfy California drop test requirements, which resulted in light firing pin strikes. Then there are the scare stories about �the lock,� especially with light guns shooting hot ammo. When the gun arrived, it did not appear to have been fired. I liked the sights, including the big dot front sight, and had no trouble bringing the gun up with my eyes closed and having the sights aligned when I opened them. The rubber grips covered the backstrap and made the trigger reach a slight bit longer than I prefer. That is easily solvable with new grips and a Tyler T-grip. The DA trigger pull was a little heavier than I prefer, but nothing a few thousand dry fires won�t cure.



The trigger pull is not as heavy as the SP101, and I should be able to get more leverage on it and have a much better pull after I change out the grips and shorten the pull. A new grip that is flush with the backstrap should shorten the OAL about .35�. Loaded with 6 200 grain SWCs, the Smith weighs 31.5 ounces, compared to 29 for the Ruger loaded with 158 grain Buffalo Bore .38 special +P. The cylinder is about .36� wider than the Ruger, which should not interfere with IWB carry because the cylinder is only 1.54� long. The frame is bigger to accommodate the larger cylinder. The 325 fits into my front pocket, but I can�t get a good, discreet firing grip on it without some effort. It probably will fit better when I get the slimmer grips, not that it would be a preferred carry method.



I would have wrapped it up and put it under the tree for Christmas, but I wanted to be sure it wouldn�t be taking a trip back to S&W just after the holidays. I also didn�t want to order a Milt Sparks VMII and have the gun gone months before the holster arrived. I used the money I �saved� on the gun and bought some new essentials-a demooner, a remooner, and a ton of moon clips. I dug through my supplies and pulled out some bottom of the pile 200 SWC ammo that I accidentally loaded too long for auto magazines. I loaded 10 moon clips with the stuff.

I was pleasantly surprised at the range. My first set of 6 fired at the head of an IPSC target at 10 yards grouped well, a slight bit lower than my point of aim. I backed up to 25 and that went well. I had a little more trouble at 50 yards, but I can figure that out. I then went to a steel range that runs from 20-45 yards and it went well. Recoil was not as stout as I expected. The Federal primers were all nicely indented. I loaded 6 without a moon clip and only the first two fired. (I had read that it would not work without the moon clips.) I did learn to test all loaded moon clips in the gun before attempting to load it for real, because anything that hangs up one cartridge from loading will tie up all 6 loaded in the moon clip.

Next up is to order some Buffalo Bore 255 grain hard cast Auto Rim and see how that works out, and torture test with that load and other ammo to be sure the lock doesn�t puke. Then it will be decision time. As a field gun, I envision carrying it with Auto Rim ammo, at least for reloads, as I like to carry spare ammo in Quick Strips

I am happy enough with the gun that I will be on the phone to Milt Sparks tomorrow ordering a VMII. It�s a keeper and probably will test my loyalties to my Ruger.

I will update later.

Great write up; should look great with a Tyler-T Grip adapter

I run auto-rim in my Smith 25 no-dash, and prefer it to ACP in that gun because I'm not concerned with speed reloads, and the auto-rim brass will take a tighter crimp allowing for good loads using a 255gr bullet. Geez, typing that out reminded me I haven't fired my 25 in almost two years! Have to remedy that soon