Jagermeister:
I've owned a number of .45 ACP revolvers over the years, including the Colt and S&W 1917s (two different S&Ws) and the S&W 625 (two different ones - one pre-safety, the current one is post-safety). In my experience, both the Colt and S&W 1917s have real issues with accuracy, particularly because the cylinder throats tend not to be sized correctly for the bore diameter. In my S&W 1917s, they tended to run tight so the bullet was squeezed down, then hit the forcing cone and expanded and then was squeezed down again. The Colt I had had terrible accuracy issues, even though it had a King full length rib with adjustable sights. I don't know if the cylinder was slightly out of time or what.
On the other hand, both of the S&W 625s were tack-drivers. The throats seem consistent and run (by my measurement) right at 0.453 inches, about perfect for the cast bullets I shoot. On those (very) rare occasions when I'm on, the revolver will chew the center ring out of a 50-foot slow fire pistol target. The groups will be so tight you can't really score the 10-shot string.
If you're buying a shooter rather than a collector, I'd highly recommend the S&W 625 over the 1917s of either flavor.
