Why Arent 9mm Revolvers More Popular?

[weblance]

I just bought a Taurus 905. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=678182
Its a rimless 9mm revolver(9x19,9mm Luger). I think the idea is brilliant. I have wanted a 9mm revolver ever since I realized that they were available. Ruger made the SP101 in 9mm, S&W made 9mm revolvers. They have both since discontinued offering them and Taurus is the only one that has one available. I know Charter Arms has said they are going to make one, but so far, its vaporware. I like the idea of factory $10/50 ammo, as it gives me affordable trigger time with a snubby, and I really need that. I dont reload, so I am stuck with buying factory ammo. 9mm in a revolver is equal to .38+p, so power isnt an issue. I have 9mm autoloaders, and I protect my house with autoloaders, but when Im outside, its a revolver. Im not going to argue autoloader vs revolver for CC. I already have my mind made up... revolver. So the question is... Why arent 9mm revolvers popular?

[dom1104]

They dont sell well. Thats the only reason.

People dont want them, and if they DO want them, every time they are released they dont buy them.

[weblance]

Sure, I understand supply and demand, but the idea is brilliant. Ammo is cheap, performance is excellent. 9mm ammo is $11/50. 38 sp ammo is $16/50. 9mm has better performance than 38sp. I just understand why they dont sell...

[bikemutt]

Unless we're talking about the Charter Arms where cartridge ejection is possible without moonclips, it's just more work to shoot the thing. And, in the case of the Charter, the ejectors are just 5 more things to go wrong with the revolver.

I know a lot of folks like moonclips; I'm not one of them.

[bigtubby]

I shoot my S&W 625 45ACP with moon clips and just love them easy to load in the gun with the chambers chamfered and easy to eject. My one complaint is you can run thru some ammo quickly.

[ApacheCoTodd]

'Cause there are literally millions of .38/.357 revolvers that don't have ejection/headspace compromises.

I get the question though as the clips often used are significantly less hardware than speed loaders are. One of the reasons I still think 1917 .45s are valid defensive weapons.

[mesinge2]

Originally Posted by bigtubby

I shoot my S&W 625 45ACP with moon clips and just love them easy to load in the gun with the chambers chamfered and easy to eject. My one complaint is you can run thru some ammo quickly.

I share that same problem!!

[MedWheeler]

And now Taurus has out another revolver in .380ACP. Might be nice for someone who already has a TCP or similar pistol, and wants some "versatility" from the round..

[oneounceload]

They aren't more popular because folks figure if they are going to shoot a 9mm, they want a 10 round bottom feeder. Personally, I would like to see a 642 in 9mm, even more than the all steel 940 which now go for over 1k in a lot of auctions

[TennJed]

Ruger still makes the Blackhawk convertable in 9mm. Comes in 4.62" & 6.5" barrels. And the best thing is, it does not use moon clips and comes with 2 cylinders. A 357/38sp and 9mm. (They also make a 45LC/45ACP version.).

3 ammo choices. and IMHO the most fun you can have with a gun. Talk about versaltility, you can have big magnums or inexpensive 9mms in the same gun

http://ruger.com/products/newModelBl...le/models.html

[weblance]

Unless we're talking about the Charter Arms where cartridge ejection is possible without moonclips, it's just more work to shoot the thing. And, in the case of the Charter, the ejectors are just 5 more things to go wrong with the revolver.

I know a lot of folks like moonclips; I'm not one of them.

I find it hard to understand how inserting cartridges in moon clips is any different than inserting cartridges in magazines... Granted, a standard style revolver requires nothing but dropping the cartridge in the chambers of the cylinder, but I think the savings of $5 per 50 is worth the inconvience. I guess those of us with rimless revolvers should enjoy our little "secret" and just be happy.

[rcmodel]

9mm revolver wisdom = If you build it, they will come.

But they never do.

Everybody jumps up & down screaming they want to buy one.
But when the major firearms manufactures make them, nobody buys enough of them to pay for the tooling.

Thats just the way it is.

Both S&W and Ruger have done it enough times to learn from their mistakes.
And neither will probably ever do it again.

rc

[weblance]

Ruger still makes the Blackhawk convertable in 9mm. Comes in 4.62" & 6.5" barrels. And the best thing is, it does not use moon clips and comes with 2 cylinders. A 357/38sp and 9mm. (They also make a 45LC/45ACP version.).

Kinda apples and oranges here. The Blackhawk is Single Action and requires each empty cartridge to be plucked out one by one. You can shoot the Taurus 905 without moon clips, but will have to punch out the empty cartridges one by one, just like the Blackhawk. Also the Blackhawk doesnt have a barrel optimised to the 9mm, and doesnt have the load/unload advantages of a Double Action. It is a nice gun, and I do enjoy my Single Six convertables, but I dont really think it merits comparing it to the DA rimless revolvers, even though it is a 9mm revolver... kinda...

[TennJed]

Originally Posted by weblance

Kinda apples and oranges here. The Blackhawk is Single Action and requires each empty cartridge to be plucked out one by one. You can shoot the Taurus 905 without moon clips, but will have to punch out the empty cartridges one by one, just like the Blackhawk. Also the Blackhawk doesnt have a barrel optimised to the 9mm, and doesnt have the load/unload advantages of a Double Action. It is a nice gun, and I do enjoy my Single Six convertables, but I dont really think it merits comparing it to the DA rimless revolvers, even though it is a 9mm revolver... kinda...

As far as the barrel being optimised for a 9mm, a 6.5" Blackhawk with be more accurate than a snubbie in the vast majority of shooters hands. They are some differences between the 2, but there is no kinda about it, a Ruger Blackhawk 9mm convertable in a 9mm revolver. The big differences I see are

Unloading, equal
Quicker loading, Taurus
Easier to carry, Taurus
Accuracy, Ruger
Quality control/customer service reputation, Ruger
Resale value, Ruger


They are different and depending on what a persons need are either may work. But the thread title was about 9mm revolvers, which this is absolutely one. A lot of peopel reading this thread may be under the impression that Ruger does not make the Blackhawk in 9mm. I just wanted to make sure that was cleared up. There is another 9mm options in revolvers

[Guillermo]

perhaps it is because one cannot buy a top quality 9mm revolver.

[R.W.Dale]

I think this thread is part of a larger trend where folks who actually have owned and shot a 9mm revolver become great fans of the cartridge gun combination much like the 45acp s&w fans.

I really think this is a case of until you shoot it you just don't understand. Perhaps this begs for the idea to be better sold.

Ruger could do it. There's really no tooling costs to allow for if they follow tauruses lead and base their 9mm clip on a 38 rim thickness (supposedly a 38 Taurus 85 can shoot 380 using the clips for the new m380). Smith and Wesson on the other hand can't pull it off because of their annoying habit of doubling the price of a model if they use a reamer other than 38/357 while making it.

[bikemutt]

Originally Posted by weblance

I find it hard to understand how inserting cartridges in moon clips is any different than inserting cartridges in magazines... Granted, a standard style revolver requires nothing but dropping the cartridge in the chambers of the cylinder, but I think the savings of $5 per 50 is worth the inconvience. I guess those of us with rimless revolvers should enjoy our little "secret" and just be happy.

The only thing that makes placing rounds in a moonclip a similar level of effort to placing those same rounds in a cylinder is to use of a mooning tool. Of course it can be done by hand but that last round can be a bear. Then there's extra step of placing the moonclipped rounds into the cylinder.

Then there's ejection to deal with. Whatever a person decides to do with the spent brass, having them captured in a moonclip now requires five, six, seven or even eight more steps than the single press of the ejector rod.

No matter how you cut it, the use of moonclips is not for labor savings.

I'm sure moonclips are indispensable to timed event shooters, for weekend range warriors like me, not so much. Rimless ammo may certainly represent a cost saving but those savings become marginal if one adds in the time to utilize them in a revolver which requires the use of moonclips.

[rcmodel]

perhaps it is because one cannot buy a top quality 9mm revolver.

But, when they could, they didn't.

See, that right there is the problem.

If they had of, we would still see Ruger SP101 and S&W 9mm revolvers.

But they never could sell enough of them to pay the bills when they made them.

rc

[Certaindeaf]

I think Ruger could put rails on a banana and it'd be back ordered for two years these days.

[R.W.Dale]

Originally Posted by Certaindeaf

I think Ruger could put rails on a banana and it'd be back ordered for two years these days.

LOL that's the truth.

Two years ago folks would have laughed at the notion of an $800 modern new production bolt action mauser carbine. But how long is the gsr on backorder?

[B33fC8k]

I have people keeping an eye out for me in 4 states for a 9mm snubbie.

[Arp32]

Buy a 642, send it to Pinnacle or Cylinder & Slide to have it converted to 9mm, problem solved

[iyn]

I used have a sw 625, but it was too big for my hand to shoot accurately. A 9mm revolver would be good idea with the cost of ammo these days.

[56hawk]

As far as I'm concerned the main benefit of a revolver these days is to be able to use ammo that is too long to fit in a pistol magazine. A 9mm revolver isn't any smaller than a 357, and it's way less powerful.

Of course as others have noted reloads are very fast with moon clips. I use a 625 in competition since it makes major power factor. Not sure a 9mm would have any real benefit there.

Guess the main thing is that they don't fill any niche. Unless you have a bunch of 9mm ammo and like revolvers, there isn't anything that something else doesn't do better.

[VA27]

I bought a 940 when they first came out. Very cool, up until I tried some CorBon +P ammo. The thing locked up tighter than Dick's hatband. The very slight taper in the 9mm case let it jam against the recoil shield and it had to be pounded open. I sold it.

The 547 had a double firing pin that prevented that type of jam from happening and why they didn't use it on the 940, I can't figure out.

No more 9mm revolvers for me.