<This will come in installments.>
Today I took possession of a brand NIB Smith and Wesson 625JM. It's the first "new" (21st century) S&W I've purchased since 1984. All mine others are pre-2000 made except this one. I got it from Bud's in KY and it costs, $788 out the door. Bud's price was $780 and shipping was $8 (I think their on-line checkout made a mistake). My dealer charged me nothing for the transfer. Even at $30 this would have come in a $818. Learned something about Bud's. They don't stock most of the stuff in their on-line "store" but have it dropped shipped from the distributor or the manufacturer. Also learned that the distriubtors may stop doing that and Bud's will have to actually stock the merchandise. That could cause their prices to go up.
So I was anxious as to how I would like it. Would the "infernal lock" bother me as much as I feared? What changes have they made. Is this something I could shoot in competition? (IDPA and Bowling Pin)
Went straight from the sales counter to the my lane on the range. Everyone in the store, including the employees came to drool over it. Pretty wood grip and of course nice matte stainless steel finish. Many had never seen a gold bead front sight, and they were impressed how easy it is to sight. A few had never seen moon clips in action nor understood their purpose, so we had a little lesson.
Here's the basic picture:
The grip is a ONE piece wooden grip and feels really good in my hand. I ended today's practice with several "Bill Drills" and not once did I notice it slipping or twisting during the rapid fire.
The double action pull is stiff but clean and crisp. I had no problem with it and was doing some fantastic groupings. The single action pull (not something you use a lot with this type of gun) was a little harder than I'd like. More so than in my other Smith's. I must keep in mind it has only had 180 rounds through it ... so far.
And yes, the gold bead front sight is great. Requires less light than an fiber optic. It doesn't do a lot for long range single action sighting, but again, that's not what this gun is for.
Now to the problem. As this board encourages each to learn from our mistakes, I'm having doubts whether this is a good purchase. I needed a 4" gun for IDPA, but I'm not sure this is going to live up to what I'd expect with JM's name on it.
The problem is in the chamber chamfer (bevel). Or should I say the lack of bevel. Without a bevel it makes the straight walled .45ACP cases hard to line up and feed. Here's a picture of the older, standard 625-2 (left) next to the 625JM.
Now here's a close-up of the older gun where you can see the bevel. Also notice how the extractor ends fit pretty well with the chamber edges and how the extractor ends are cut at six different angles. Almost circular.
Now compare this to the new 625JM. No bevel. Look closely at the ends of the extractor.
No bevel and the ends of the extractor don't fit at all. Plus notice how S&W now only cuts/mills the extractor at 4 different angles not 6. Square shaped. That's not a problem per se, just a change in manufacturing and fitting, but the lack of bevel is definitely a negative.
I've posted a question the S&W Forum and sent an email to S&W factory customer service. If this is on purpose then I'm very disappointed in the JM and might even try to get a message to him about it. If it's an oversight, I'm hoping S&W will correct. If not, a chamber chamfer tool is $101, or (better option) I could take it to my gun smith ... for about $100.
Otherwise I do like the gun and think I could have fun shooting it in competition. I've got the moon clips "holsters" I just need to order the holster (Bianchi) for IDPA.
<more to follow>
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