.45 acp revolver recommendations

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Rimz moonclips are made of engineering plastic. They don't break, and they bend back if flexed. (They are designed to break rather than go out of spec.) They are by far the easiest load/unload, and they do not require any sort of tool or aid.

If you don't like the clips you can shoot .45 Auto Rim. I can't imagine why someone wouldn't like the clips if they had actually tried them. They are faster than changing magazines in some models.
 
Glockman19,

That is funny, because if I were planning to carry a big-bore revolver for defense (and I have done so in the past), I would carry a .45 acp. Why?

Moon clips!

Loading a revolver using moon clips is not significantly slower than loading a semi with a magazine. And with a moon clip pouch on the belt, reloads are easy to carry and handy to access when needed.

But to each his own. I guess those differences of opinion and interest are what make the world an interesting place.

Boarhunter
 
Several issues here
1. a .38 SPecial is .357 Bore DIa.
2. .45 ACP bullets are usually .451

THe case length of .45 ACP = 0.898"
THe case length of .45 Colt = 1.28"
That's nearly 4/10ths of inch and the reason why
Ruger SA Revovlers with two cylinders are
not known for accuracy in .45 ACP.

Full Moon clips beat speedloaders Period.
an added benefit is it keeps spent rounds gathered
for tossing into a baggie to take home for de-mooning
Wilson Combat De-Mooner is $3 If when loading I
have a tough one to get in I have a leathermans tool
with needle nose pliers to snap them in.

THe short .45 ACP rounds, unlike the long magnum and
.45 Colt, .44 Special have another advantage, they don't hang
up on extraction.

I have a 625 5" Bbl. -Dropped Jan 1. 2008 now there's a
625 5 1/4" Bbl.Pro Shop offering.besides the previously
mentioned
625 JM - 4" Bbl. MG style not the full underlug
Model 22 4" Bbl Fixed sights this pistol as well
as the other Model 22 have the front of the frame
trimmed just a bit to resemble A. the 1950 Military
and B. the Model of 1917 with a 5 1/2" Bbl. to resemble
the original US Army Model 1917. with square butt.

The newest is the 315 Night Guard
Stainless steel cylinder and scandium frame
2 1/2" two-piece Bbl. gets the weight down to
28 oz for a carry piece,

My 625 has the S&W Perf. Center Master Revolver
Action Job - very smooth DA and break glass SA.
along with Hogue Rowsewood grips. It's very accurate
and sometimes I shoot it better than my 1911, some
days the 1911 wins.

.45 AUto Rim has a rim thickness of approx. 0.910"
to take up the same headspce in relation to the
firing pin. The .45 Colt and regular rimmed case rims
thickness is approx. 0.615"

My next S&W .45 will probably be a 25-2 - these are
blued guns with the high polish, square butt and a 6 1/2"
Bbl. aka the 1955 Target. ALthough if I ran into a Jovina
or a Lew Horton with the 3" Bbl. I couldn't say no.

I only get HD/SD/Hunting loads for .45 AUto RIm. The narrow
and shallow rifling prefers jacketed bullets.
 
I knew nothing about needing moon clips before, good to know :) That doesn't really affect my decision to purchase a wheelie .45 acp slinger.

That 625JM looks very nice, do they still manufacture those? I'll be looking in a second.

As usual you guys are very generous with your wealth of knowledge, much appreciated :D
 
Website prices are retail plus some $$. Talk to yer dealer, it shouldn't be that much. Don't sweat the moonclip thing, the key is to buy 100 of them and load in front of your TV. Then when you go to the range you spend your time shooting instead of loading. Also you collect 100% of your brass. :)
 
neviander,

If you're mostly looking for performance, you can get pretty much identical performance as .45 ACP from a .44 Special wheelgun (depending on how it's loaded). There are five shot .44 Specials out there, so you might be able to find a nice L frame size that can be concealed should you ever feel the desire.

Additionally, prices should be lower on some of these guns, and you don't have to use moon clips.
 
I have carried a Jon Jovino custom Model 25-2 in .45acp for years. It has a 2 1/2 in. barrel & a round butt, with Pachmayr Presidential rubber grips. It's a sweetheart and a manstopper. Very intimidating gun that has never failed to win first place in a gunfight. It's not a light weight but I carry it concealed in the small of my back in an inside the pants holster (use a sturdy belt) and a couple of speed loaders with .45ARs in my pocket when on foot in unknown territory. Otherwise it's usually in my brief case or in a holster attached to the side of my car seat. I learned early in my military time that a double tap with a .45acp puts an enemy down for the count, so why fool around with anything less.
 
I've had a Model 22-4 like mnw42's for a year and a half. It's a sweet shooter and I like the clean lines. For me, reloading a revolver with moon clips is a good idea that really works.
 
There are lots of options. Tomorrow is 45acp day at the range for me. I won't take an autoloader.
625-2 5"
625-6 3"
325PD 2 3/4"
625-10 2"
IMG_1249a.jpg
 
You guys have improved my opinion of revolvers; not that it was bad before, but more than "well, they go bang every time"
 
I've been enjoying a new Thunder Ranch 325. It'll be a "sometimes carry" once I am more used to it. Very accurate and the light rail makes it a great bedside gun, too. It is my first N-frame and my first experience with moonclips. A moonclip loader makes it faster to load a clip than a magazine, and brass pickup is a breeze. I like them!
 
These are no longer in production, but if you can find either one of these
45acp's used, you would do good to buy one.
tauruss2.jpg
 
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When I carry my TRR I typically have 1 full moon clip on my belt and a couple of 1/2 moon clips in my pocket. The full moons just don't sit quite right.
 
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Sorry, I missed this thread but if your interested here is one of my 2 45acp revolvers. It the Jovino 25-2, I love it. The other is the 625JM. I carry the Jovino with me quite a lot.

Jovino4.jpg

jim
 
You guys have completely changed my next purchase. I actually started a thread on advice for a .357, but now that I have read all of the praise for the Smith 45acp revolvers, I am gonna change my search. I have always prefered shooting the 45 acp in my autos. I prefer the recoil characteristics and I shoot it well. If I can scratch my revolver itch and have 45 acp too, well, I think I must.
 
Fell in love with the 625 first time I fired one. Had some desire to obtain a 1911 but the 625 wiped that feeling out. Now have both but hands down, the 625 is a nice handling accurate hand gun.
 
So, how long does a moonclip last for? I've been considering a .45ACp wheelie also. Thanks
 
if you do not bend the moon clips probably a long time! bend one and well there is a tool to straighten them! I have 400 from Ranch Products and well they are still going strong!
 
Thanks a lot guys.

While I have always wanted a 45 acp revolver I have always kept it down the "to be aquired list".

Now I have to rethink it.


:rolleyes:

Don't throw me in that briar patch

maybe on old Smith 1917 and then a Thunder Ranch and then a...:evil:
 
The 22-4 is a great combat revolver.

I just shot my CCW mid-term qualification with it last weekend, and open carried it all day yesterday. The Bianchi Cyclone holster and an EPS double moon clip holder ride well on the belt.

I would NOT feel undergunned carrying this revolver.
 
The .45ACP Smith revolvers are some of the most accurate around!

-They are kinder on the ears in case of a self defense need inside the house vs. a .357 magnum.
-They have far less muzzle flash to temporarily blind you vs. the .357
-They can be less penetrative vs. the .357 with the correct loads (so you won't take out the bad gun and then a kid two rooms past that point.
-The moon clip makes 'em totally foolproof to load under stress vs. fumbling with a speedloader.
-All the rounds come out together and the reload time can be scary-fast! I'm as fast reloading my .45ACP Smith revolvers as I am my limited 1911 race gun.
-Accurate, a "nicer" recoil characteristic (a firm push rather than a sharp slap), and great accuracy.


Yes, I have plenty of handguns in .38, .357, .44 mag., and .45ACP . . . but when things go bump in the night I grab for my .45ACP S&W 25-2.


In the 1980s Jovino and others cut down the 6" Model 25-2 .45ACP target revolvers and made 'em the ultimate SD gun, IMHO. Mine's not a Jovino, but it was modified during that era too and sports a 3 1/4" barrel, a radically narrowed and smoothed double action combat trigger, and the most incredible trigger pull one will ever experience. It is my favorite handgun of all kinds.


A TRUE STORY OF THIS GUN'S PROWESS VS. HIGH CAP. 1911 AND GLOCK BRASS CHUCKERS . . .

Heck, I once won a steel match, open to any iron sighted handgun . . . with the following revolver!

-All guns would start UNLOADED
-The fastest time dropping all EIGHTEEN steel targets (round plates and poppers at distances out to 30 yards) won.
-Shooters were required to make ONE manditory reload.

If ever a match favored the high cap. autos, this was it. Everyone else used single stack 1911s with 10 round mags, double stack 1911s, or Glock 17s w/33 rnd. magazines and I took a lot of kidding when I came to the line from about 30 shooters. I wiped that smug smile off their face in about 44 seconds!

Yep, I had to make TWO reloads (IF I didn't miss dropping a single steel) to their manditory one reload to drop 18 steel targets.

Well . . . I didn't miss, and I shot real fast and smooth . . . and I smoked all those bottom feeder guys. Yep, this is the gun I want in my hand if the SHTF!

T.



Here's my gun . . . with a BUNCH of loaded moonclips, always ready for immediate action!
2256768new25-2plusmoonclips-edited.jpg



Typical 10 yard accuracy of this chopped wheelgun (standing/unsupported). Heck, this wheelgun ALWAYS puts 'em all into a ragged hole at 10 yards!!!:
2216017M25-2.jpg
 
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