625-4 S&W Springfield Armory Commerative

[gunnie]

625-4 S&W Springfield Armory Commemorative

i have a .45ACP S&W of above style, but can't find ANY info about it. it has a 4" mountain (light) bbl, black adj. sights, color case hardened carbon steel trigger and hammer, and very loud gold plating of the crossed cannons springfield armory logo on the right side. it also has yet more, "arms for the nation" commemorative writing on the bbl.

see pic of same model for sale @:
http://armsbid.com/8webpix/316.jpg

does anyone know who ordered/released these for sale? can't find a thing about 'em info-wise, even in the blue book.....

gunnie

 

[.41Dave]

Per the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson...

"Model 625-4 Springfield Armory Bicentennial Edition: Caliber-.45 ACP, special production from the Performance Center for Lew Horton Distributing. A specially designed commemorative for the Arsenal of Democracy, the Springfield Armory N.H.S., Springfield, MA. Stainless steel with 4" barrel, in mountain revolver size with gold etched bicentennial logo on the sideplate and Arms for the Nation etched on the barrel. 500 manufactured with special serial number, SAC0000 to SAC0500 serial range... Product code 100931. Produced in 1994."

 

[gunnie]

thanks .41Dave

'preciate the info bud. after reading your message i went back and looked in the fjestad 28th edition blue book under "Springfield Armory Bicentennial Edition" to make sure i hadn't missed it before. still nothing.

seems odd that other lew horton offerings mfgd in as little as 150 unit total runs were listed, but this may be due to only cosmetic/aesthetic changes in the 625-4 from previous mdls.

thanks again,
gunnie

 

[KurtC]

Performance Center guns start with 17 in the product number. These revolvers were a limited run for Lew Horton, before the Performance Center even existed (as we know it today). It is unsure who actually put the "bling" on the guns. S&W did have a custom shop back then and they were experimenting with laser engraving.

There is nothing in the gun to seperate it from a standard production 625-4, except:

These are the only pre-lock, pre-MIM mountain guns factory made in .45 ACP.

Bead blast the "bling" off and you have an exceptional handgun.

 

[gunnie]

KurtC

"These are the only pre-lock, pre-MIM mountain guns factory made in .45 ACP."

please define "MIM" for itself, not familiar with the acronym.

gunnie

 

[cslinger]

Metal Injection Molded parts. (MIM)

Basically MIM parts use a sort of metal powder that is injected into a mold and then super heated. Once cooled you have your part.

Pros
Faster
Cheaper

Cons
Not likely finished as nicely as a forged or well cast part.
If the process is not done incorrectly the part is more likely to be brittle and fail
Thats not the way we have always done it so it must be bad.

At the end of the day many gun makers, including SIG, have been using MIM parts for a long time and when done right they are typically as strong as any other. I do have to admit to preferring forged parts though.

 

[gunnie]

cslinger,

"Thats not the way we have always done it so it must be bad."

ROGER THAT. i can recall all of the disclaimers i was given upon purchasing an Imbel/Springfield Armory (Inc.) FAL back in the early '90's. of all the FALs i ever owned, same is the one i wish i still had.

in defense of KurtC's post, and yours, i would have preferred milled internals in that'n, also.

gunnie

 

[gunnie]

"bling"

KurtC,

bling=

A- colonel cooper's "cure for a problem that doesn't exist"

B- other than BL{UE}ING

C- Ballistic sLang for INdecently Gay

D- all of the above

i agree, my least favorite feature on this revolver....

gunnie

 

[KurtC]

It is not so much the use of MIM parts, as they can be made well or poorly (Smith ones tend to be made well).

However, Smith began using MIM revolver parts when they introduced the engineering change to an internal firing pin. So when we use "pre-MIM" as a milestone, we are referring to the hammer mounted firing as well. It is just easier to type "pre-MIM" than it is to type "hammer mounted firing pin."

 

[gunnie]

KurtC

i did some repair work for a young man soon destined to represent us and the US Army in the sandbox...i told him his 44M mdl 629 would be a poor choice for use there, showing the miniscule return spring for the pin block mechanism. i also told him how easily it could become hoplessly frozen by fine sand, and how i thought horace and danny would roll over in their respective graves if they could see this "improvement".

gunnie