Initial (and Possibly Final) Review: Smith & Wesson 325PD .45ACP

Cross Posted at Daddy Hawk's Toy Box

Those that know me well know I like guns. I like all kinds of guns. Big guns, small guns, wheel guns, long guns, shotguns, giggle switch guns, quiet guns, loud guns…pretty much any kind of gun will do. Okay, maybe not a Jennings or a Lorcin…maybe. I have a wish list of guns that runs fairly long, and today’s item up for review has been a longtime resident on my wish list. In fact, I’ve been looking for one of these for at least two years. It had become a bit of a Grail Gun for me in that it was only made for three or four years in what I can only assume are small quantities because I never saw one for sale (until recently).

I present to you the Smith & Wesson 325PD in .45ACP with a 4 inch barrel:

You won’t find technical specs for this gun on the Smith & Wesson website any longer as it is a discontinued gun. According to the Blue Book of Gun Values (the freebie info available without paying for the full enchilada), Smith & Wesson only made this model from 2004 to 2007 in two and a half inch and four inch barreled versions. It weighs in between 21 and 25 ounces. I assume (because I do not have a scale handy) that the four inch version is the 25 ounce “heavy” weight. This is possible because of the “airweight” scandium frame and titanium cylinder. Smith & Wesson has also done .357 Magnum (the 327PD) and .44 Magnum (the 329PD) versions. For reasons that escape me, the 329PD is still in production while the 325s and 327s are not.

The gun comes equipped with nice but not gorgeous wood finger groove stocks as well as a Hogue replacement should you so desire (…and, truthfully, you probably should). The sights are fully adjustable. The front sight is a HiViz fiber optic which you would have to be blind to miss. The rear sight is a simple, black V-notch. Since it fires the .45ACP cartridge, moon clips come as standard equipment (five, I think). It has the dreaded and much maligned Infernal Lock complete with two keys. Supposedly, the lock can be removed and the hole plugged; however, I have no plans to mess with it. I think it’s a completely stupid idea to have a lock on a firearm, but no one asked me.

The finish is matte black on the frame and barrel and matte grey on the cylinder. The only shiny parts on this gun are the trigger and the end of the barrel (which is just begging for someone to engrave “smile and wait for the flash” into it).

Speaking of the trigger, let’s talk about the important stuff now. Supposedly, the scandium framed PD models were Performance Center guns. I can’t find anything specific from the horses mouth to confirm that; but, based on the smoothness of the trigger, I believe it. I don’t own a trigger pull gauge, but I would estimate the single action pull somewhere between a loud thought and a quiet whisper. Seriously. It’s a Rule One violation waiting to happen. Do not put your finger on the trigger in single action unless you are really sure you want what’s in front of the barrel destroyed. My first two shots out of the box were high as I was not prepared for the trigger pull and hadn’t fully lined up my sight picture. In double action, the trigger pull is very smooth, controllable and predictable. I would estimate it somewhere in the eight to ten pound range.

So, how does it shoot? I have heard/read the recoil described as being “snappy”. Some have reported problems with ammunition backing out due to the recoil. Personally, I am not recoil averse. I have shot .44 Magnum from a Smith & Wesson Model 29, .357 Magnum from snubbies, .45ACP from 1911 platforms in several sizes, .45 Colt from a Single Action Army, 9MM and .40S&W from Glocks and other stuff besides. Point being, I am no stranger to major caliber handguns and their recoil.

Having said that, the 325PD is a different animal in recoil altogether. This is not a gun for a new shooter. Using standard 230 grain FMJ rounds, I would put recoil on par with or slightly more powerful than the .44 Magnum. A firm grip is a must. Limp wrist this gun at your own peril. Some people have said this is a gun you carry a lot and shoot a little. I can see why. The Hogue rubber stocks may tame the beast somewhat; however, I have not tried them as yet to verify that theory.

Accuracy is mixed based on my abbreviated range outing yesterday. I was able to run about 26 rounds through it at seven yards before I needed to be elsewhere. I am accustomed to one ragged hole groups at that distance using other guns. The first cylinder was shot in single action. Aside from the two learning curve shots mentioned above, the last four shots from this cylinder grouped well enough to ruin a bad guy’s day but were still high.

The next two shots were 230 grain, hollow point, self defense rounds (I can’t remember which brand as I type this). They grouped more to my expectation, and I would probably chalk that up to better quality control in the hollow point manufacture over that of ball ammo.

The last two targets were a mix of single action (two cylinders) and double action (one cylinder). By then, it was time to go. I was a little disappointed in the results; however, that may be attributable to the fact that it was a sauna in the range (I tried out an indoor range near my inlaws’ place that I’ve driven passed for years), and my glasses were steaming up from me sweating like a pig. That’s another story. Suffice it to say, Texans go to indoor ranges to get away from the heat. I won’t be back there for the range, but they did have reasonable prices on guns (I didn’t price their ammo).

Some final thoughts. For me, the fantasy of this gun was better than the reality of this gun. I had an idea in my mind’s eye of using this gun for IDPA competition. Unfortunately, the recoil using factory makes that a pipe dream without more practice than I can afford. I suppose hand loading a lighter round might make that feasible, but I don’t have the reloading experience nor the free time necessary to make that happen. Additionally, this is not a casual plinker by any stretch. This is a serious weapon for someone who wants serious firepower in a light weight platform.

My question is: who in their right mind buys the 329PD in .44 Magnum?

It's Teaser Time Again....

What does this...

Plus this....

Equal?

More to follow....

Why Safe Gun Handling Is A Must

Some of you might know that I put my horse down last week.  I did it, not the vet, and I did it using my Para.

I was thankful for the knowledge and ability to end her suffering quickly.

I was also thankful for years of gun handling.  Now, I've never been in a fire fight, and I don't ever want to be, but I did learn some things when I put Estes down.  Stress works in funny ways.  On one hand, I was worried because all I had with me was target ammo and I was worried about over-penetration.  (It was days later that I remembered I had an eight-round magazine full of defensive rounds in my bag.)  I also worried that the wound channel and hydrostatic shock wouldn't be sufficient to immediately incapacitate the medulla.

Turns out, the target ammo did the job and I compensated for the over-penetration by angling my shot so that the projectile had the length of her body to stop it.  I did not look for an exit wound, nor did I hear a second impact, so I'm going to assume there was no over-penetration.

Good gun handling made doing the job easier, but I was most thankful for it in the moments immediately after delivering the shot.  Even overwhelmed with grief, my finger was straight and along the frame and I had engaged the safety without thinking about it. 

When my step-father came to take the gun from me, I unloaded and showed clear without a second thought.  Muscle memory took over.  (I never did hand over the gun, though, I stowed it myself.)

In moments of grief and high stress, it's exceptionally important to have good gun handling skills, not only for your safety, but for the safety of those around you.

Practice good gun handling yourself.

Insist those around you have good gun handling skills.

Because you'll never know how you'll react in a high-stress situation and having those skills without ever "cheating" or taking short cuts will continue to ensure your safety.

Class Video

We had a YouTube blogger in class on Saturday, and he put together a video of the class.  Hope you enjoy.

Tactical Rifle Skills, Take II

In April, I took a class from Double Tap, taught by the guys at 13 Zulu and struggled through the entire course.  In retrospect, part of the reason I struggled was that I was sick and on a ton of cold meds, so while I could see Mike and Casey's mouths moving and I could hear noises coming from them, not much was sticking.  Add the pharmaceutical help to my apprehension about making a fool of myself and I created my own recipe for disaster.  This became perfectly clear to me when I woke up excited to go to class, instead of dreading dragging myself out of bed.  I went into yesterday's class with a much better attitude.

I came away from the class in April having learned a lot, but I didn't realize exactly how much I learned until yesterday.  I was much more comfortable handling the rifle and was better able to make the connection between how I manipulate my pistol and how I manipulate the rifle.  Pretty much everything is the same, just on a bigger scale.  I sort of began to grasp that concept in the first class, but the light bulb went on this time around.  Suddenly, everything made sense.

I use a car analogy a lot when teaching pistol classes.  I'm constantly telling my students that if they can drive their car, they can get into pretty much anyone else's car and drive it.  It's just a matter of taking the time to orient themselves to the controls and such in the other car; otherwise, it functions the same way.  Just like pistols.  The pistol might look different, and the controls might be in different places than the controls in your car pistol, but it works the same way.

Now why the hell couldn't I make that connection between a semi-automatic pistol and a semi-automatic rifle?  Because I'm an idiot, that's why.  Once I made the connection, everything else just fell into place.  I didn't have to think about what I was doing when I had a double feed.  I already knew what to do from clearing them in my pistol - I just had to learn where the controls were.  There was nothing magical or difficult about it.

We started the day zeroing the rifles at 25 yards.  Most of my classmates were using optics of some sorts, but there were a few of us using iron sights.  After a couple of quick adjustments, I was where I wanted to be on target, then we started in on the lecture portion of the class.  Mike and Casey have a ton of real-world experience and it's always enlightening to listen to them.

I struggled with the fighting stance.  Having been primarily a Weaver shooter my entire shooting life, squaring up to the target is difficult for me.  It was much easier the second time around, but it's still a matter of re-training muscles that have been doing things one way for ten years. (I'm using pictures from the class in April, as I don't have any from yesterday's class)

I tried to square up, I really did, but I couldn't help cocking my shoulder back.

I don't have any pictures from yesterday's class, so I can only go by feel, and I was conscious of squaring myself up to the target and keeping my shoulders squared.  It felt awkward, and hopefully, it was correct.

The controls on the rifle are quite a reach for me, so I modified the techniques to work for my hands.  My thumb is sore today from constantly rotating around the tang - I had to move my hand forward to reach the mag release and then move it the other way to work the safety.  We learned two ways to "tac" reload: the "L" reload and indexing (I think that's what it's called).

The "L", required lots of concentration.

"Indexing" required even more concentration.

In the end, I modified the indexing reload.  My hands aren't quite big enough to go around the mag in a "beer can" hold, so instead of holding the mags like a beer can, I grasp them on the bottom and keep my index finger between as a spacer.  That method worked out very well for me yesterday, so I think I'll keep it.

I love the way the class started with the fundamentals: grip, stance, etc., and them moved us forward rapidly.  We covered far too much in six hours for me to write about it all, so I'll give you some highlights.

The 9-hole.  Oh, it's a bitch.  But it's an excellent way to encourage us (the students) to break out of the standing on the line and shooting mentality.  The 9-hole requires some creative problem solving and unorthodox stances.  It's an excellent training tool. My class mates with optics definitely had the advantage here - shooting iron sights was challenging with some of the positions. No two people shoot this the same.  Heck, I didn't shoot it the same way no matter how many times I ran through it.

We also did side-to-side rifle transitions.  I did okay with them in April, but got a lot more practice yesterday, because I can't follow directions.  Our directions were to load up two magazines with ten rounds apiece.  I had a brain fart and thought, "okay, twenty rounds" and then happily loaded up two twenty round magazines.  The drill was to complete the 9-hole, then stand and engage the steel targets utilizing side-to-side transitions until we were out.  Awesome!  I run through the 9-hole with only one make up shot, do my tac reload and start my transitions.  And kept going and going and going.  I was beginning to believe that I had stumbled across a magical Hollywood magazine like they have in the movies.  Ten rounds is a goodly number of transitions to do.  Twenty is torture.  But, by God, I went until I was dry.  I couldn't hold up my arms and it was taking me longer and longer between shots, but I did it.

Afterward, I was very careful to double check what we were supposed to be loading. I wasn't sure I had it in me to overcome that kind of a mistake again.  My arms are aching now just from the memory.

The "capstone" or "final exam" of the day is an exercise that encompasses all of the skills we learned throughout the day.  We partner up, engage our targets while moving, transition to our secondary weapon if necessary, cover each other on the reloads and then continue attacking our targets.  It's supposed to look something like this:



Mike and Casey make it look effortless because they are two halves of the same whole, I swear.  They've been working together long enough that I'm fairly certain they have their own telepathic communication going on and that they were only talking back and forth for our benefit.

It was a great class, and I'm glad I took it a second time.  So much more clicked for me and my confidence level with the carbine is much higher.  I'm looking forward to taking the next level of this course when it's offered.

If this looks like a class you'd be interested in, be sure to contact Double Tap.  It's worth every penny.

Why Can't We Just Have Fun?

One of the biggest selling points for me when teaching others to shoot is that it's FUN.  I've always said if you can get the giggle, you've got the shooter.

It never occurred to me that there was an attitude out there that it wasn't okay for women to have fun shooting, that it was only okay for them to shoot if they choose to for self-defense.  That the only reason women would want to shoot is because they're afraid.  I can't say that I've ever run into that. 

Obviously, other women have run into that attitude, as Natalie Foster discusses in her new video "Welcome to the Present".

She makes some valid points, go check out the video.

Revolver P0rn

I think I've mentioned before that I have a problem with gun lust. So, I thought I would share my unrequited lust with others.

Go here: https://www.geminicustoms.com/ruger-revolvers/

Drool.

You're welcome.