revolver in 45acp

**okie john** · 07-26-12, 13:08

Originally Posted by far9mm

I like the ideal of the moon clips acting like speed loaders. And I just have a lot of 45acp and wanted a wheel gun. May carry it ccw from time to time.

I had a 4” 625 for a while. I bought it to standardize on ammo between my 1911 and a revolver that was legal for deer hunting in my state, but I never found a load that shot well in both guns. I had to use .45 Auto Rim brass and 250-grain SWCs to get groups that I felt comfortable using for hunting with the revolver. At that point, I ended up treating the .45 AR like any other rimmed revolver cartridge: trimming cases to length, roll crimping, headspacing on the rim, and using heavy cast bullets and slow powder. When I did all of that, it was superbly accurate. But I didn’t have a ready supply of .45 ACP ammo and the Model 625 didn’t do anything that my Model 29 wasn’t already doing with a lot less hassle, so I sold it.

Moon clips aren’t necessarily good either. You have to dump everything in the gun to top it off and getting a partially loaded clip back in the gun is a hassle, so tactical reloads are problematic. Moon clips are a bit smaller than speedloaders but they’re still bulky. They’re also fragile. Bent clips can tie up the gun, so you can’t just drop them in a pocket and have them emerge unscathed. To keep them from getting bent, you need carriers that conceal about as well as a Russet potato. Most people bend the clips by loading and unloading them without a de-mooning tool. Brownells and other places sell the tools, but it takes a hacksaw and 10 minutes to make one from a 6” piece of copper pipe. Instructions are all over the internet.

.45 ACP revolvers that headspace on the case mouth will fire ACP ammo without moon clips. Those that headspace on the moon clip let cartridges fall too far into the chamber to fire reliably. There are trends as to which makes and models headspace on the mouth, but it's really a gun-by-gun thing. And you still have to pick the brass out of the chamber with your fingernails...

Long story short, it would take a boat load of free ammo to make me reconsider a .45 ACP revolver when I already have a .44 Magnum. But if you've got that, rock on...

Hope this helps.

Okie John

**Suwannee Tim** · 07-26-12, 21:03

I have a Model 1955 made in 1954 and given as a trophy at the National Matches. It is worn slap out. One of these days I'm going to have it restored.

**Alaskapopo** · 07-26-12, 21:29

Originally Posted by okie john

I had a 4” 625 for a while. I bought it to standardize on ammo between my 1911 and a revolver that was legal for deer hunting in my state, but I never found a load that shot well in both guns. I had to use .45 Auto Rim brass and 250-grain SWCs to get groups that I felt comfortable using for hunting with the revolver. At that point, I ended up treating the .45 AR like any other rimmed revolver cartridge: trimming cases to length, roll crimping, headspacing on the rim, and using heavy cast bullets and slow powder. When I did all of that, it was superbly accurate. But I didn’t have a ready supply of .45 ACP ammo and the Model 625 didn’t do anything that my Model 29 wasn’t already doing with a lot less hassle, so I sold it.

Moon clips aren’t necessarily good either. You have to dump everything in the gun to top it off and getting a partially loaded clip back in the gun is a hassle, so tactical reloads are problematic. Moon clips are a bit smaller than speedloaders but they’re still bulky. They’re also fragile. Bent clips can tie up the gun, so you can’t just drop them in a pocket and have them emerge unscathed. To keep them from getting bent, you need carriers that conceal about as well as a Russet potato. Most people bend the clips by loading and unloading them without a de-mooning tool. Brownells and other places sell the tools, but it takes a hacksaw and 10 minutes to make one from a 6” piece of copper pipe. Instructions are all over the internet.

.45 ACP revolvers that headspace on the case mouth will fire ACP ammo without moon clips. Those that headspace on the moon clip let cartridges fall too far into the chamber to fire reliably. There are trends as to which makes and models headspace on the mouth, but it's really a gun-by-gun thing. And you still have to pick the brass out of the chamber with your fingernails...

Long story short, it would take a boat load of free ammo to make me reconsider a .45 ACP revolver when I already have a .44 Magnum. But if you've got that, rock on...

Hope this helps.

Okie John

I don't carry my 625 for carry but if I could not carry an auto loader I would carry it over any other revolver because its so much faster to reload. Tac reloads are very over rated. Dump it and go. For the fun of it I have shot IDPA matches and USPSA matches with my 625 and my model 19 and I am much faster with the 625 because the reloads are so much faster. That sold it for me. Speed loaders are SLOW.
Pat

**Mr. Smith** · 07-27-12, 09:10

I love the Smith and Wesson 625 I do lots of them in the shop.

The 625 is one of the guns I will have till the day I go.

**dewatters** · 07-27-12, 21:52

Originally Posted by Suwannee Tim

I have a Model 1955 made in 1954 and given as a trophy at the National Matches. It is worn slap out. One of these days I'm going to have it restored.

FWIW: According to Roy Jinks, the first .45 Model 1955 wasn't completed until March 3, 1955. Jim Clark, Sr. won one of the first at the National Mid-Winter Championships in Tampa, FL. Clark later claimed that at the previous year's match, he had ticked off S&W's Carl Hellstrom by telling him everything that Clark thought was wrong with the .45 Model 1950.

**Shabazz** · 08-12-12, 15:41

I have found moon clips to be a hassle.

**charmcitycop** · 08-12-12, 18:56

......

**jmoore** · 08-12-12, 19:40

While I have a pair of nice pre-lock 6525s, my "go to" revolver is my 4" model 22. I've castrated it and installed "the plug" where that damned internal safety used to reside. Down side? Still looking for a good holster.

John