9mm / .45 ACP revolver options

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I read a review on the Korth and it really does seem pretty cool. I like that they designed the frame for the shorter cartridge, and it seems like it could be a viable CCW with a few tweaks. But it's not what I'm looking for in terms of size, and it also doesn't use moon clips.

Thanks for bringing up the Governor. I have looked at it but while the overall size is getting to where I want I can't really get over the long cylinder. Obviously that's so it can take .410 shells, but when you realize that a .45 ACP is going *maybe* 1/3 of the way in, I can't really imagine buying it just for that.

If the 625 looked really nice to me in general and it was just the stainless finish, or if it was several hundred dollars less than the 325, then yeah, I could probably just deal with it, but as it stands I just can't go for it.

As far as the 325's weight goes, I've seen a lot of concern for that and some varying reports of how comfortable it is to shoot. In my case, 90% of the time I'd be shooting reloads that are lighter than factory, so I'm not too worried about it unless it's really pretty brutal, and I haven't got that impression so far.

I had assumed I'd go for the plastic moon clips as far as reloading them at the range, as opposed to the metal ones which I gather would be a better choice for reload practice or competition, maybe because they hold the rounds tighter (less wobble when trying to load the clip)? Good to hear that the plastic ones hold up well.

Ruger Speed Six in 9mm: Yes! ... at least if I can find one of the fabled blued ones. I want to believe that if I found such a unicorn it would be in the $600 range, because if it gets much higher I imagine I'd start leaning towards the Thunder Ranch again. This Armslist record doesn't inspire confidence, though. =( Question, though: Are there full moon clips for it? I recognize that the half moon clips were pretty standard but I can't imagine that the cylinder would somehow mechanically preclude full moons...

The PD version of the 325 seems a little too small to be comfortable for large volume shooting, It seems like they were going for something concealable but that's a handbag gun if anything. I can't imagine a 6-round .45 cylinder is going to be concealable in typical circumstances.

As for the 325 coming with chamfered cylinders, that's nice just because it's $75 extra I don't have to spend for something I'd want anyway. It's another reason that I have a really hard time looking at the 625 for this particular purchase.

I should mention that this is a long-term investigation. I'd probably be buying in January or February of next year. I have to stay on a budget and I've already bought 3 guns this year. My goal is to find out what to keep an eye out for, and maybe get the information consolidated for others who may be on a similar quest.

Thanks a ton for the insight so far, guys.
 
I think you cut out some pretty fine guns with the 'no stainless' factor.
1. Smith 625jm
2. Smith 929
3. Ruger redhawk 45acp/45colt

These are more modern, cutting edge technology firearms. I have an lcr in 9mm, & it is a great pistol. ..small enough to carry, fun to shoot, & pretty accurate for a snubbie. I seldom shoot 9mm +p loads in it, just standard. The moon clips are great & easy to load/unload with fingers.

I want to get the smith 929, & probably will someday... but at $1000+, it is a big investment. I have the smith 625jm, & the new redhawk 45acp/45c, & they are both great pistols. very fun & accurate. They have won me over to moon clips.

My dad had an old smith 45acp revolver, that used the different sized moon clips, but he sold it before i was of age, & i never got to shoot it. He let me squirrel hunt with his k-22 masterpiece, which i still have, thankfully! He got it right after the big war, & shot it competitively for a while. I don't know if he shot the 45 revolver competitively, but he probably did.

I think both 9mm & 45acp make great revolver rounds. They are versatile, reliable, & you don't have to pick up brass! :) I only have one 9mm revolver, the aforementioned lcr, but i'd like to get the smith. I already shoot the 45s in revolver more than in autos.. & i have a glock, xd, & 1911s in that caliber.

IMO, the biggest bang for the buck is the ruger redhawk in 45acp/45 colt. ~ $100 cheaper than the smith, a better d/a trigger, still plenty accurate & reliable, about the same size/weight, & can shoot hot 45 colt loads, which gives you the equivalent of a 44 magnum. With a 4" barrel, it is versatile.. not too heavy, not too light. You can plink with 45acp all day, or shoot a few big banging 45 colt loads.. just a few, for me. :) If i could only have one 45 revolver, this would be it. Camo spray it, if the stainless is a problem.. :eek:
 
How about a blued Ruger GP100 and have TK Customs, or Pinnacle do a 9mm moon clip conversion. Or either of these companies will cut your cylinder, and supply moon clips for .38 Special / .357

They will do most major brand revolvers
 
S&W made Model 25's for decades, the majority being .45acp. Plenty of them out there, just do some shopping around.
 
Looks like having a stainless gun blackened would run about $200 after shipping and such. That'd be pretty cool, but for the added expense I guess I'd probably go for the 325 again anyway. A Redhawk or a 625 would be more expensive than the 325 after blackening.

Certainly if my goal is just to put out as many rounds as possible in a short time I'd opt for a double stack 9mm semi-auto, but I'm just looking to diversify my revolver lineup. I've got single action, standard double action swing-out style, break action, did black powder for a while, and now it's time for a smooth, fast-reloading revolver that could theoretically be used for light competition if I decided to do that later on.

Also I'm a fan of being able to reload light rounds and hot rounds and with a semi-auto you would typically have to switch recoil springs when going between them. Who wants that?

One other thing that seems cool about moon clips is that they're inexpensive. Assuming a 12-round magazine in a semi-auto, if I want to do some competition or just get into more action shooting, I need 4 or 5 mags, and that's over $100 right there. 10 moon clips does the same job for under $20.
Click to expand...

One thing I also like about moon clips, in a 2 speedloader pouch, you commonly can stack two loaded full moon clips in one pouch. SO, you can go with 4 reloads in a 2 loader pouch. :D I'm pragmatic about it, though, would rather carry one of my autos if I'm in THAT rough a neighborhood. LOL

I wanted a 625 for a while when I was into pin shooting. We did that in the gun club on match weekends and there was an auto and a revolver class, usually. .45ACP has momentum, carries the pins off the table with less recoil, therefore faster, than does .357 magnum. I could have played with 200 grain magnum loads in the 1000 fps range and I'd have been shooting at the same momentum, about, though. :D

No matter, don't shoot pins anymore.
 
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Some of the model 25s look pretty awesome. I'm a big fan of this one:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e204/superpelly/25-245ACP.jpg

But they're harder to find, similar price to the 325, and more of a wildcard simply because they're used. Still.. hard to pass up that classical styling....

I know people like their 625s and their performance center nines, but when I'm dropping $1000 on something that's 95% for recreation, I sure as heck better like how it looks. I'm not against stainless steel guns in general or anything, I just for whatever reason don't like "flashy" on a revolver.

The Redhawk is pretty appealing, though. I'd have a hard decision in front of me if they made them blued.
 
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I have liked the idea of the 45 ACP revolver for nearly 50 years. I started with a 1917 made for Brazil and then a M25-2 I used in competition. I wanted a 45 ACP revolver for duty but none were being made by S&W (at least none with a 4" skinny barrel) and the few available on the used market were POR, priced out of reach. I sent the barrel from a M28-2 out to be bored and rifled for the ACP and fitted a 25-2 cylinder to the frame. Also removed and replaced the frame lug, rounded the grip frame, and did an action job. I ended up with my dream revolver. Recently, S&W offered the Model 22-4, this is a 4" skinny barreled, 45 ACP, with fixed sights. If I were in the market for an ACP revolver, that is the one I would be seeking. I would switch out the front sight to a McGivern Gold Bead and swap stocks to something a bit finer but it is a great revolver.

I find the S&W revolvers to be about the perfect size for the cartridge. In my hand, the Redhawk is a big clunky revolver that has no soul. I had one in 44 Magnum and sold it after 2 years. I liked the idea of the revolver but not the execution nor the action.

Kevin
 
...to shoot high volume at the range. Also, this would be the first time I've used moon clips. Is there more I should know besides the obvious, such as needing a tool to load most of them and such?

Because I expect someone will ask, my main reasoning for wanting a 9mm or 45 ACP is fast reloads with moon clips,
Click to expand...

I have a a few 45 ACP revolvers for gun games but really dont use them a lot other than that.

The moon clip or speed loader is only faster than dropping the rounds into a cylinder one at a time after they are loaded. In the time it takes you to load the moon clip/speed loader you could have already reloaded a "normal" revolver.

You will need a lot of moon clips for "high volume" range shooting or you will be loading and unloading moon clips most of the time. Ranch products has the best price on them that I know of, 100 for twenty something bucks last time I bought them.

You will need tools to moon and demoon steel clips but someone does sell plastic ones, they just don't load as well or last as long as steel (assuming you don't bend a steel one by stepping on it).

One other option, if you reload, is to use 45 gap brass instead of 45 acp, you can moon/demoon by hand with gap brass as the extractor grove is just a bit smaller diameter than acp.
 
jmorris said:
The moon clip or speed loader is only faster than dropping the rounds into a cylinder one at a time after they are loaded. In the time it takes you to load the moon clip/speed loader you could have already reloaded a "normal" revolver.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, a moon clip loader and demooning tool are a necessary. It is too much work and hard on the hands to do mooning/demooning by hand. But, I have not tried any plastic moon clips.

Yes, fiddling with mood clips takes longer overall when you factor in the time to load or unload the moon clip than just using a conventional revolver loaded one chamber at a time. I consider it similar to loading magazines for semi-autos.

I keep a range session's worth of loaded moon clips for my M25 and M986 on hand. I just consider it part of the reloading process those guns. I can moon or demoon while multitasking in front of the television set.:)
 
S&W 45ACP moon clips, sturdy, easy to roll on, easy to remove (using small pliers)... every tool box has a small pair of pliers, I guess if arthritis is a problem you could use one of those new fangled 'special tools.'

I have a pair of 45ACP S&W 22-4s, one in blue, the other in Turnbull color case. Really like the looks of the 22-4, wide front site, 1905 style grips, wide hammer, underlug barrel, beautiful blue, easy shooting, super accurate, whats not to like? Also have a blackened 45ACP S&W Night Guard 325. All of these handguns are carried in the CCW rotation.

Another plus is 45 Super cases work just fine (for hotter loads).

PS: Also have a 45ACP blued Ruger Birdshead Vaquero, picked one up because it looks good, and slows down the shooting (no moon clips). With moon clips I can keep up with the Glocks. Luckily my Vaquero does not have any of the horrid writing on the barrel, it is discretely hidden under the barrel.

Don't have any 9mm revolvers, why? when there is the flexible .357 cartridge?

Best of luck in the search, there are a lot of 45s out there.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=197286&d=1397399291

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=200078&d=1403808628
 

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@StrawHat and Combat Engineer
The 22-4 looks pretty nice, but it doesn't quite pluck the right strings for me. For some reason I never did like the revolver styling from that period. Older style single actions look nice in a smooth, functional, holster-friendly sort of way, and the bigger 70's-style revolvers just look "right" and fit my hand well, but the 1917 and similar... I don't know, maybe it's the amount of frame showing between the back of the cylinder and the top of the grip. Or maybe it's the feeling that there "should" be a rear sight poking out somewhere up there because I'm used to the larger guns with target sights. Or maybe it's just because I'm a pretty young guy (only about to hit 30) and I didn't grow up seeing them. The color case is really nice, though. Always liked that on newer or reproduction guns. I have a Buffalo Classic (single shot 45-70) and the color case hardened receiver takes it from a cool budget gun to awesome eye candy.

@jmorris
Thanks for the reality check on moon clips. I've done enough research to have seen some of the trouble people have had with them. I enjoy reloading during the week since I can only shoot on the weekends, and loading up 15 or 20 moon clips is no big deal. My goal for "speed reloading" is to do the "gun games" as you say, or pretend to be a competitor for a while. I also just love the feel of handling ammo directly (that's a primary reason I'm becoming a revolver guy), and moon clips are a way to reload fast without losing that "close to the action" feel. Getting the .45 revolver won't keep me from enjoying slowly loading my .357 or Webley from time to time. =) My favorite rifles are single shots -- it's not all about putting lead down range. I want to branch out.

I'm guessing I'd end up with 20 or so metal moon clips to load at home and another 5 or 10 plastics for loading at the range.

Side note: I spotted a 325 for $650 on Armslist. Obviously that already reeks of either a scam or a really beat up gun. Started talking to the guy, can't confirm the scam just yet, but then I noticed the picture was identical to one from an auction on GunsAmerica, being sold by a high volume, good feedback seller (so not just a guy posting his gun in two places). So yeah, 99% likely to be a scam. I went ahead and flagged it on Armslist but I'm gonna see if I can get an address out of this guy so I can report him to the local authorities at the off chance that they're willing and able to do something about it.
 
Actually, the newer spring steel moon clips are not bad. You can load & unload them with your fingers. I have them in ruger 9mm & 45acp, & some for my smith 625.
This is what they look like:

I made a tool from a piece of copper pipe to do the old style smith ones, & it works ok. I seldom use them anymore, but use the plastic ones. They would not be sturdy enough to carry loose in your pocket, but they are fine to toss in a range bag. I forgot where i got them.. ez clips or something.

And naturally, the ruger clips do not fit the smith, nor the smith the ruger. But mags don't cross brand names, either.. the ruger have a smaller hole in the middle, & the smith ones are wider overall.
 

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Esoteria said:
@StrawHat and Combat Engineer
The 22-4 looks pretty nice, but it doesn't quite pluck the right strings for me. For some reason I never did like the revolver styling from that period. Older style single actions look nice in a smooth, functional, holster-friendly sort of way, and the bigger 70's-style revolvers just look "right" and fit my hand well, but the 1917 and similar... I don't know, maybe it's the amount of frame showing between the back of the cylinder and the top of the grip. Or maybe it's the feeling that there "should" be a rear sight poking out somewhere up there because I'm used to the larger guns with target sights. Or maybe it's just because I'm a pretty young guy (only about to hit 30) and I didn't grow up seeing them. The color case is really nice, though. Always liked that on newer or reproduction guns. I have a Buffalo Classic (single shot 45-70) and the color case hardened receiver takes it from a cool budget gun to awesome eye candy.
Here is a photo of three of my ACP revolvers. Something for everyone!

Kevin
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 

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usfan,

WHere can I get me some of those Christmas ornaments for my 1917?

I have not had much luck with the plastic and my hands are getting so they do not heal as fast as they use to from using plain old steel clips by hand.

-kBob
 
kBob said:
usfan,

WHere can I get me some of those Christmas ornaments for my 1917?
I have not had much luck with the plastic and my hands are getting so they do not heal as fast as they use to from using plain old steel clips by hand.
-kBob
Click to expand...
I'm not sure who makes them, but i got some on ebay a while back that fit the smith perfectly. I have a pile of the newer plastic ones, & they are actually fine for a range bag. I can load up a bunch & put them in the bag & they hold together. Drop them, & they will come apart, but general handling they're fine. I don't know the source of the split steel ones.. might just do a google search. i had a pile of the hard steel ones, & use a tool to unload them. But these are a lot easier.

I just did a quick search, & i can't find them anywhere.. they were used, the ones i got, & labeled as 'taurus' which are 5 round clips. These were definitely 6, & fit the smith perfectly.. but not the ruger. It was a bag of 6 with no labels. Perhaps someone else knows of a source.
 
I just ordered a sample pack of plastic moon clips from ezmoonclip.com at 10 for $25. They make two kinds; one which is easy to load, but which will lose rounds if dropped, and one, which is slightly harder to load, but which is said to withstand dropping. They are about $2 each if bought in larger quantities, but I wanted to try both kinds (got 5 of each).
 
judgedelta said:
I just ordered a sample pack of plastic moon clips from ezmoonclip.com at 10 for $25. They make two kinds; one which is easy to load, but which will lose rounds if dropped, and one, which is slightly harder to load, but which is said to withstand dropping. They are about $2 each if bought in larger quantities, but I wanted to try both kinds (got 5 of each).
Click to expand...
I got the newer ones. they work fine, but will still fall apart if dropped. But they are a heck of a lot easier to take to the range than the steel ones. I've carried a few in my pocket at the range & walking around, & they stay together.

I tried to trim one to fit the ruger, but they don't stay in well. he'll have to make them for the ruger, which will probably not have the demand. I found the ruger ones at cheaper than dirt for $10 for 3.. still too much, but better than $15 for 3 everywhere else. With 9 clips for the ruger, i'm set. I usually don't take all of them when i go, but just load & unload them at the range to shoot more. That is the nice thing about these, you don't need the tool to unload them.
 
Here are some photos of a tool I made to help load and unload. A simple tube with a ledge cut into the end. In use, I slip the tool over the empty and roll it to pull the case from the clip. I can also use the same to to insert loaded rounds into the clip.

I can not load the photos but they are in post 12 of this thread.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=283261

Kevin
 
There are quite a few in the used category

I found this at Cabela's in the used case for $170 a couple years ago
Locks up tight, shoots good and has kind of a cool factor (in my opinion anyway)
1917 Colt Army in 45 acp.
GEDC1203.jpg

Or a used S&W 25-2?
IMG_0730.jpg
 
A couple of questions:

1. How long a barrel?
2. What will be the main purpose of the revolver? (Target, plinking, competition or self-defense)

The most common, and most fun to shoot would be the S&W Model 1955 (later called the 25-2. Today it is generally a stainless model with the number "6" (for stainless) preceeding "25."

Back to the 1955/25-2 - ALL were made as tack-driving competition target revolvers. Most had 6 1/2" barrels with a rarer number of 6" barrels near the end of their run in the early '80s. These aren't that rare, for you see 'em all the time at gun shows, but they never were very common either.

Back in the day S&W saw no need for a huge, honking full size revolver for self defense, so various gunsmiths offered cut down Model 25-2s for discerning wheelgunners. Many were shortened to 2 5/8," 3," or 3 1/2" revolvers.

In later years S&W has offered several models of blued Model 25 .45 ACP revolvers, including a beautiful 3" version a couple or three years ago.

Here's my 1980 Model 25-2, chopped early on to a 3 1/4" tube. It is a tackdriver and has the most jaw-dropping trigger job you'll ever find on a revolver. With moon clips I can reload it in matches as fast as I can reload a single stack .45ACP auto. It goes with me virtually everywhere.

This revolver will be the last one I would ever let go. Wow, what a marvelous revolver!!!

These revolvers change hands on occasion, and aren't super high, since they are modified, so if you can find one you'll probably like it a LOT!!!
5430384896_a8db5a286b_b.jpg
 
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