CSC Blog

Nope, it’s not a 625cc motorcycle.   This is another gun story.

It starts with the 1911 .45, the US Army’s semi-automatic handgun adopted that same year. Then came World War I, and suddenly the Army didn’t have enough of the .45 autos to go around.  But they loved the cartridge.  The answer was to have both Colt and Smith & Wesson adopt their existing large-frame revolvers to the .45 ACP cartridge and issue those revolvers to our troops to backfill the handgun need.    The Government designated the new revolvers as Model 1917s.

A US Army Model 1917 Smith and Wesson revolver.

After the war, Colt stopped making new Model 1917s, but Smith & Wesson continued the line and it became their Model 25 target revolver, which is still in production today.

After World War I, the War Department released the Model 1917 revolvers as surplus guns for sale to the civilian market. The used military guns were super cool, with their massive size, lanyard rings on the bottom of the grips, and “US” markings.  I bought a military surplus Colt M1917 when I lived in Texas 40 years ago for, I think, $100.  Then I sold it for about the same amount, and as has been the case with nearly every gun I ever sold, I’ve been kicking myself ever since.  I really liked that old Colt and I wish I still had it.

Somewhere along the line, a funny thing happened.   Shooters realized that the .45 ACP round in a revolver just flat works, both as a target proposition and for defense work.   I’ve been hooked on the concept for a long time.

Which brings us to the point of this story, and that’s my Model 625 Smith & Wesson. It’s a 4-inch-barreled stainless steel N-frame revolver chambered for the .45 ACP, it’s a direct descendent of the original US Army Model 1917 Smith & Wesson, and I love it.

My 625 Smith & Wesson and the .45 reloads it shoots so well.

It’s one of Smith & Wesson’s “Performance Center” models (that’s their specialty shop for producing precision custom revolvers).  Mine is a real honey.  At the police target combat distance of 7 yards, it literally puts those big old .45 slugs through the same hole, which is what I intend to do when we get together for our next milsurp match on the 21^st of May.   If you’re in the area and you want to shoot with us, drop me a line.  We get more than a few CSC riders at our milsurp matches, and we always have a great time.

I’m going to guess most of you are too young to remember a late 1960’s TV series called Then Came Bronson.   It was one of those TV weekly dramas about a good-looking young guy who encountered and solved one impending human tragedy every 7 days (no matter where he went on that Sportster).   Then Came Bronson starred Michael Parks, who died today, 10 May 2017, at age 77.   He was born in 1940 just down the road from us in Corona, California (my good buddy Matt’s stomping grounds).

For those of us old enough to remember Then Came Bronson, the opening scene is the one we remember best.   His encounter with the guy in the station wagon is classic…

I think a lot of guys my age were influenced by that scene.   The idea of just getting on a motorcycle and riding around America (or around the world, for that matter, as the RX3 is fully capable of doing) is a thought that stuck.   For all of its predictability and weekly drama (and the use of a thinly-disguised enduro bike for the scenes Bronson’s Sportster couldn’t manage), it was a good show.  It led to a lot of dreams in a lot of young minds, and for many of us (men of a certain age, like yours truly and probably a lot of you folks reading  this blog), it led to a lot of great adventures.

Godspeed, Mr. Parks.

…is on the new RXR motorcycle, and you can read it here!

We sure do get some interesting trades and consignment bikes in here at CSC.  I was walking around with my Nikon this morning and I snapped a few photos of the latest iron to come in…a Triumph Scramber, a Honda chopper, a KTM 690, a vintage Yamaha triple, a big old Kawasaki roadburner, and a 750 naked Aprilia.

These tend to move quickly, so if you have an interest in any, please give us a call at 909 445 0900.

Whoa, another TT250 review!  This is relatively well done by Brandon Jackson, who bought a low-mileage used TT.   It’s very good and mostly spot on.  Brandon likes the bike, he likes CSC’s customer support, and he likes the online maintenance tutorials.   You can read Brandon’s review here as it was published in WebBikeWorld.com.

The weather guys are all saying it’s rain tomorrow morning, folks, so we are pulling the plug on the Angeles Crest ride on 6 May.  Watch the blog for our ride in June!

Yep, we’re riding to Newcomb’s Ranch, and we hope you can ride with us!    You can get more info and sign up for the ride here!