9mm Revolvers

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PapaGrune

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Any thoughts on 9mm revolvers. I already have a couple of 9mm pistols with plenty of ammo. Am a revolver guy too. I would want a native 9mm gun, no clips, half moons.

I think there may be some 9mm, .357 magnum cylinders but I am not sure about those. I do have a S&W model 66 that I like. A Ruger Blackhawk in .45 colt too.
 
I could be wrong, but I believe that only 2 9mm revolvers have been made that do not require moon or half moon clips. The S&W 547 no longer in production (only 10,270 of the 547s were made by S&W between 1980-1985), and the Charter Arms Pitbull 9x19.

The Pitbull uses coil springs on the ejector star to grab the case rims for ejections.

All other 9mm revolvers use moon clips so that the ejector star can eject the spent cases. (Except the Blackhawk and any other SAA pattern revolver that used an ejector rod.)
 
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S&W 547
Charter Arms Pitbull
Phillips & Rodgers Medusa 47

Off the top of my head, these are the only 3 I can recommend.
 
If you like the Blackhawk look at another one in .357 with the 9mm convertible cylinder for it. I was lucky enough to snag a spare cylinder a while back for 9mm.

Not a huge fan of the idea but it does add some versatility and I like to be able to shoot whatever ammo I have on hand or is the best price at the time.

Ruger is making their LCR now in 9mm. I think it has moon clips but I would look at it. Without clips you may have issues with case length which isn't a concern with the clips. That would be my first look since it is readily available. Moon clips are also much faster on reload than anything else which is a plus.
 
What about the ruger blackhawks in .357 that come with the 9mm cylinder? I don't believe that they use moon clips, don't the cartridges headspace on the case mouth?
 
Kyle M. said:
What about the ruger blackhawks in .357 that come with the 9mm cylinder? I don't believe that they use moon clips, don't the cartridges headspace on the case mouth?
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As I said in post 2, the Blackhawks and any other SAA pattern revolver use a rod for ejection. They don't have an ejector star so they don't need moon clips.
 
funklord12 said:
S&W 547
Charter Arms Pitbull
Phillips & Rodgers Medusa 47

Off the top of my head, these are the only 3 I can recommend.
Click to expand...
Oh, yes. the Medusa. Interesting gun in that it will fire just about any .355-.358 straightwall cartridge, and you can mix and match.

9 x 17 Kurz (.380ACP)
.380 Revolver
9 x 18 Ultra
9 x 18 Makarov
Patronen Browning 9 mm (long)
9mm Glisenti
9mm Largo
9 mm IMI
9 mm Mauser
9 x 19 Parabellum
9mm Rimmed (hard to find)
9 x 23 Steyr
9mm Win Mag
9 x 23 Winchester
9 mm Federal
R Japanese 9 x 22
.38 ACP
.38 Super
.38 Long Colt
.38 Short Colt
.38 S & W
.38 Special
TS & W .356
.357 Magnum
 
I finally got a Charter Arms 9mm PITBULL.

I also have the S&W 929 and the PITBULL is nice in that you don't have to use moon clips. I will give a full review of it when I find the USB cable for my camera but what I will say now is that there is a trick to loading it. You have to put the cartridges in at an angle facing away from the axis of the cylinder, otherwise the case mouth gets hung up on the extractor

I have one chamber that is difficult to load, I'm not sure if it is the chamber diameter or the spring tension is greater on that chamber or what.

I have to hold the revolver up and eject the brass like I would with any revolver, if I try to eject the brass up, sometimes the extractor jumps the groove and leaves the spent brass in the chamber.
 
My reason for not wanting the clips and such was that it one more thing to break or loose. Is the .357 .9mm cylinder swap Okay? I have never used a swap the cylinder to change the cartridge. Shot a lot of .38 spl in .357's but that is not the same thing.

I know sometimes revolvers can have cylinder timing issues. It makes me wonder if this could be a problem with different cylinders.
 
I agree a gazillion times on bent moons being an issue. I had a taurus 405 (40sw) and it was a dream to shoot but I couldn't keep moonclips in it. They would bend on load, unload, eject...pain in the neck. Truly was the ONLY reason I traded if for the m44.
 
PapaGrune said:
My reason for not wanting the clips and such was that it one more thing to break or loose. Is the .357 .9mm cylinder swap Okay? I have never used a swap the cylinder to change the cartridge. Shot a lot of .38 spl in .357's but that is not the same thing.



I know sometimes revolvers can have cylinder timing issues. It makes me wonder if this could be a problem with different cylinders.
Click to expand...


Not an issue at Ruger fits the extra cylinder at the factory.
 
I was looking for some internet videos on a few of the guns mentioned. I saw the Blackhawk, which could be a nice gun and the LCR. I think the Blackhawk would be more what I would look for. I do not need it to be a carry gun. That would be ok. I

The S&W 929. Woooo, I could put my grand kid through college for that... Well I could buy a few books. Or a semester. Old Jerry Miculek sure likes it. I
 
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I have a Blackhawk 357 with a conversion cylinder in 9mm, it works just fine. I usually shoot 38 spl wadcutters in it cause I like the nice holes they make. After I put the Hogue grip on it I enjoyed shooting it much more. Being able to hit the target adds to the enjoyment of shooting.
 
It would be nice to have those options . About 1/2 the time I shoot .38 spl in my S&W. It is easier to get , if I don't want to dig into my stash. Like I can use 9mm stash ammo or go to the localized wallyworld. But. " we dont have any .22 bullets"
 
I had a taurus 405 (40sw) and it was a dream to shoot but I couldn't keep moonclips in it. They would bend on load, unload, eject...pain in the neck. Truly was the ONLY reason I traded if for the m44.
Click to expand...

The Taurus stellar clips are notoriously bad.

TK Custom moon clips are much sturdier. You have to count the cost of getting third party moon clips as part of the cost of owning a Taurus that uses "stellar" clips. It is usually thirty or forty dollars for 10 clips.
 
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Using moon clips is the only real advantage I see to shooting auto pistol cartridges in a revolver. It is proven and reliable and allows for faster reloads. I kind of like thinking of it as a necessary evil to owning a revolver such as this.

The S&W 547 did it right. Those are quickly becoming collectors items.
 
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