Why hunt down a buy a Medusa if I can make one?

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The_Antibubba

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Many of you know about the Medusa, a revolver designed to shoot almost every .38/9mm cartridge interchangably, and eject even the rimless ones easily. Idl love to have one, but even when they come up for sale they're nearly 1K if not more, which is way over my limit. From what I've read about it it might very well be worth the price--a lot of new design went into it. Still, I can't justify spending the dough.

So would it be unfeasible to adapt a current revolver to fire a number of those cartridges? What I'm thinking is, why not have moon or half-moon clips made for the various rounds? Like 9mm and .380. It isn't going to be as eclectic as a Medusa, which can chamber six completely different cartridges in one cylinder, shoot the shooter so choose. But it would allow me to expand the types of ammo I can shoot in it, with a bit of planning ahead, i.e, having the moon clips made ahead of time.

Experts, please tell me what I'm overlooking.


Medusa links:

http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Revolvers/Medusa_Model_47.htm

http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/1277301.html
 
I saw a Medusa for sale recently and I want to say it was $425. Send me an email and I'll be happy to tell you where.

Ah, just noticed your location. I'm guessing you can't just have one sent in.
 
IIRC, Phillips and Rogers was producing cylinder kits that would let you convert most 6-shot S&W 357s into a Medusa revolver, but I haven't seen any for sale. It should certainly be a big seller.
 
cyl

What a hit the cylinder kits would be now-a-days, 380acp 38spl 38super 357mag 9mm ......one gun to clean at the end of the day! priceless!
 
Don't try firing any 9mm cartridge in a .38 Special or .357 chamber. A lot of accidents were reported when people tried firing the semirimmed .38 Auto and Super Auto rounds in .38 Special chambers.
The bullets swell up to fit the rest of the chamber length then when they hit the end of the chamber they either plug it to produce excessive pressure or leave a ring of the jacket material inside the chamber.
A similar problem was reported when short cased 7mm Cartridges of 53mm length were included in shipments of 7X57mm ammo to the Boers.

The multicaliber chambers are taper reamed so if the bullet swells to fill the chamber it is swaged back to size before it leaves the chamber mouth.

The Chamber is patented no doubt. Getting ahold of the specs might be a problem. Could be its a standard taper pin reamer size though. If so give it a shot. Just be prepared to lose a good cylinder if you don't get it right.
Maybe you can find a rusted and otherwise not usable cylinder for one of your guns that you can experiment on first. I've often seen parts like these at gunshows, usually a Gunsmith cleaning out his parts bins.

PS
The Israelis built a few S&W M10 clones that used 9mm Parabellum and halfmoon clips. Don't know whether they worked well or not.
The Federal 9mm rimmed cartridges are much like the old .45 Auto rim.

You can get 9mm Cylinders for some .357 revolvers.

The ability to use several different cartridges would be good for third world use or in a post apoctalyptic scenario. Also if a gun ban made ammo supplies problematic.
 
Hmm, after seeing this thread when I got up this morning I gave some consideration to the Medusa design.

It is a cool feat of engineering, and expands the possibilities for someone who wants to own one revolver, and who wants to be able to walk into a store and have the assurance he can dig up some ammo for his handgun. So this is a matter of convenience.


But after thinking about it I don't see much point to it for someone who reloads. I can load my .357 as light or hot as I see fit. This also simplifies brass management.
Considering the cost of a Medusa (I'm assuming you're correct about the $1000 price tag Antibubba) I can buy a Ruger SP-101, and a pretty cool progressive turret, or a decent set of various presses and a whole lot of bullets for that price.

Am I missing something?
 
Yes, he is posting from PRK (i.e. South Korea). Read the Popular Mechanics link and you will find:

Medusa's suggested retail price is $599, which includes a protective, foam-lined case. For more information, contact Phillips & Rodgers, 680 FM980, Huntsville, TX 77340; 409/435-0011; fax: 409/435-0022; e-mail: [email protected].
Click to expand...

I have never heard of these guns before, but i am very interested in learning more.
 
South Korea is the Republic of Korea. ROK. PRK = People's Republic of Kalifornicatia. I'm guessing Sac = Sacramento.
 
Here is a picture of my Medusa conversion on S&W model 66........bought it last year from PA, paid 800USD..ouch....but well worth it.
DSCF0038.jpg
 
Awesome concept, but I agree with Risasi. For a non-reloader, it could be awesome, but to a reloader...just neat to tinker with.

I would love to see someone's reaction though when you stuff it full of a handful of "whatever" is in your range bag!
 
Note that the Popular Mechanics article is from 1997, and the other link from 2000. The Medusa is long gone. Gary Reeder picked up the design for a while but does not now show it amongst his single actions.

I think it was Finn Aagard who shot one and reported it did pretty well with the claimed mix of ammunition except .380 which was too small in O.D. for the tapered chambers and trick extractor.

A .357 magnum can be converted to take assorted 9mms in moon clips; Pinnacle says
S&W 6-shot L-frame cylinders
Rechamber to 9x23 and shoot-
9mm, .38 super, & 9x23!
$250.00

Ruger GP 100, $255.

It should also handle 9mm Largo and Steyr if you found some on a back shelf, maybe some others. You got some 9mm Glisenti? I don't know what .380s would do on the clips.

Pinnacle says putting .38 Special or .357 Magnum back in the tapered chambers would lead to stuck cases. But when Tom Kilhoffer was doing them, all he said was that the brass would be expanded too much for reloading.

A Google found this sort of thread back in 2002 and I made the same reply. But a lot of the links and references from five years ago are no longer there.
 
A .357 magnum can be converted to take assorted 9mms in moon clips; Pinnacle says
S&W 6-shot L-frame cylinders
Rechamber to 9x23 and shoot-
9mm, .38 super, & 9x23!
Click to expand...

What is involved in a conversion? For the record I'm mostly interested in 9mm parabellum--cheap .380 doesn't really exist, and 9X23 and .38 Super are pricey too. And Largo is too hard to find.

As for reloading, it's something I'm trying to ease into, but I need to do a major reorganization of my living space--I just don't have the room for anything but a hand press, and looking at the mess around me makes me doubt the wisdom of adding powder and primers into the mix. Another 25 square feet would be perfect...

Best to err on the side of caution on that one.
 
I always thought that a .357 that could load 9mm, .38 super, etc. would be the ultimate survival/SHTF gun. But, yes, it is expensive.
 
I think Colt even owned the patent for a while (not that they are actually building guns these days).

If you're still on the ROK then you know the rules well. Not sure of a good way to go or if the Medusa would gain you much. I stuck to air pistol while I was there to keep things simple and cheap.
 
ABubba- Been a while, how've you been?

There are 9mm revolvers out there that would probably be cheaper than such a highly sought after collector-especially here in Ca. Ruger Blackhawk convertible is pretty cheap if a single action would work for you.

A reloading outfit with a hand press can fit into a .50 caliber ammo can. I used one for a year in Alaska and it worked great.

I've got a .357/9mm Convertible Blackhawk and a 9mm SP-101. If you want to get together and play with them, give a shout.
 
How accurate is 9mm ammo through a true .357 bore? The short cartridges would certainly reload quicker through moonclips.
 
FSCJedi ,

Sorry...I have gotten used to checking my lil' girls chats and e-mail that i have started typing like her.....I got it from Philly, Pennsylvania.
 
My 9mm cylinder in the .357 Blackhawk is as accurate as I can hold it. I've not tried it beyond 25yds but it'll eat out the 10ring at that distance.
 
Does anyone know what happened to Phillips & Rodgers? The Medusa sounds like an excellent carry piece. I can't believe that they wouldn't have had plenty of sales. Maybe they got some political pressure?

Anyone have any advice or leads for finding one of these?
 
I remember seeing a couple of those back in 1999 or 2000 in my local gun store, but at the time I didn't give them any serious thought. To me, they were too gimmickey. Now that I'm much wiser (read older), however, I really wish I would have picked up one instead of some of the other guns I bought, and later sold. Oh well, such is life. At least I still have my 21-year-old Python, and I'll leave it before it leaves me.
DAL

P.S. I really like the look of the slab-sided barrel on the Medusa.
 
Does anyone know what happened to Phillips & Rodgers? The Medusa sounds like an excellent carry piece. I can't believe that they wouldn't have had plenty of sales. Maybe they got some political pressure?
Click to expand...

I don't know why company shut down. When poking around the dim recesses of the 'net a month or two ago, I remember stumbling across a site for some company, want to say it was a custom gun building/parts supplier type deal, that was now employing one of the fellows who founded Phillips & Rodgers to begin with. I also noted at the bottom of the page it said that they were considering re-releasing the Medusa. Unfortunately, I can't remember the site where I found the info. I'll do some poking around again and see if I can dig it up. Or maybe someone else might know what I'm talking about? (doubtful... I don't know what I'm talking about myself most of the time!) :)
 
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