9mm revolver and 45acp revolver?
- Thread starter mooseman1
- Start date
I am not certain who chambers revolvers in 9 mm at present, perhaps Taurus still does. At one time Ruger chambered their Six revolvers in 9mm and S&W made the 940 and 547.
The latter may be difficult to find and prices for the S&Ws are very high. I like all my 9 mm revolvers and the 547s are fun to shoot and more accurate than my S&W 65s.
The latter may be difficult to find and prices for the S&Ws are very high. I like all my 9 mm revolvers and the 547s are fun to shoot and more accurate than my S&W 65s.
heavenIsAlie
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if you can find a 547, grab it. im always on the lookout for one. the less caliber to reload for the better in my books
+1, well said.
If you research the S&W 9mm you'll find out that it uses funky little spring fingers on the extractor that lift the cases out by flexing out into the rim grooves. The reading I did on these guns suggests that the spring wires they used were a weak point and unless the chambers are kept very clean so the brass slides in and out easily you can run into issues with the spring wires bending if the cases stick badly. Also due to the format of the extractor and spring wires the guns could not be adapted to use moon clips. They were also not in production for long so they are rare and seem to command a big price when they do show up. And due to the issue with the extractor wires reliability and parts could well become an issue.
The S&W hand ejector models that use .45ACP are all set up to use moon clips. Or optionally .45Autorim cases. This makes them much faster to load up for any sort of competition shooting where you need to worry about such a thing. I don't have such a gun yet but I'd like to get one.
They also make a couple of guns in 10 mm that can optionally shoot .40S&W. I believe those come set up for moon clips as well just like the .45acp guns.
But really if your only worry about shooting with the far more usually found .38Spl is brass it's not really an issue. As mentioned the brass doesn't go flying and even if you do dump it on the ground you'll find that it stays within a pretty small area and you can easily pick it up from a single crouching position. It may take a little longer to accumulate it but once you have it the .38 brass is good for many more reloads than the higher pressure 9mm stuff. A guy I know that loads his to "wadcutter target load" velocities has had to retire his old brass due to the headstamp rim area wearing and peening to where it's too thin. The case sidewalls rarely split on this stuff even after many dozens of reloads. So it may well be easier to stick with what is common than to try to get something as specialized and rare as a 9mm revolver.
The S&W hand ejector models that use .45ACP are all set up to use moon clips. Or optionally .45Autorim cases. This makes them much faster to load up for any sort of competition shooting where you need to worry about such a thing. I don't have such a gun yet but I'd like to get one.
They also make a couple of guns in 10 mm that can optionally shoot .40S&W. I believe those come set up for moon clips as well just like the .45acp guns.
But really if your only worry about shooting with the far more usually found .38Spl is brass it's not really an issue. As mentioned the brass doesn't go flying and even if you do dump it on the ground you'll find that it stays within a pretty small area and you can easily pick it up from a single crouching position. It may take a little longer to accumulate it but once you have it the .38 brass is good for many more reloads than the higher pressure 9mm stuff. A guy I know that loads his to "wadcutter target load" velocities has had to retire his old brass due to the headstamp rim area wearing and peening to where it's too thin. The case sidewalls rarely split on this stuff even after many dozens of reloads. So it may well be easier to stick with what is common than to try to get something as specialized and rare as a 9mm revolver.
BCRider,
This photo shows the extractors and I can attest to the fact they are not weak. This attestation comes from shooting five 547s over the past 25 years. Extractors are available from several of the larger gun parts houses in the USA. You are correct in that the cylinder cannot be machined to accept moon clips. Perhaps that should be should not be machined to accept moon clips as it may be possible. Another feature of which I do not have a photo on hand is the rebound pin that strikes the base of the cartridge to prevent the case from setting back and binding the cylinder. Remember the 9 mm case is tapered. I have read that shooting 9 mm cartridges without using moon clips may result in cases setting back and binding the cylinder. However, I have not had this happen in my S&W 940 nor in my Ruger Speed Sixes.
My 547s are more accurate than my S&W 65s using either .357 or .38 rounds and a joy to shoot.
Tekarra, I'm glad that your guns are working well. But I did run into a fairly big number of posts on forums about the wires being a weak spot. But then it's the same old internet deal where you only read about the failures and not the masses of successes.
But still your pictures suggest to me that keeping things clean and slick would actually be a good idea. And if things get jammed it's likely not a great idea to really smack (relatively) the ejector shaft like I've had to do on occasion with the .38/.357 stuff.
But still your pictures suggest to me that keeping things clean and slick would actually be a good idea. And if things get jammed it's likely not a great idea to really smack (relatively) the ejector shaft like I've had to do on occasion with the .38/.357 stuff.
+2, you got that right
BCRider,
I have had to smack the ejector rod hard a few times and, after a moment of thought, I carry a 15 cm piece of dowel to drop in a sticking case and punch out the offending case. It has not happened to me, but I have read where the ejector slipped over the rim which leads to a whole bunch of other problems.
I have had to smack the ejector rod hard a few times and, after a moment of thought, I carry a 15 cm piece of dowel to drop in a sticking case and punch out the offending case. It has not happened to me, but I have read where the ejector slipped over the rim which leads to a whole bunch of other problems.
Tekarra, that was one of the issues I read about as well. Good idea for carrying the stick.
You're obviously enjoying your gun and I know that many others that have them have written that they would not part with them. The fact that they are so rarely seen for sale says a lot. If they need some more frequent cleaning to keep them working well it sounds like this is more of a very minor inconvenience for owning a unique gun.
I just wish that we'd see some more 9mm revolvers that come set up to use with moon clips. A full moon clip of the rather compact 9mm rounds would fit into a holder or pockets very easily compared to the far more bulky .45ACP or even .40 S&W. And with the possibility of the much shorter cylinder and over all lighter gun you'd think the US makers would be all over the idea. But it seems like wheelgun shooters are mostly stuck in the past with their "classic" revolver rounds which all have HUGE cases. Even when we do see revolvers such as the Model 22 they leave the cylinders the full length so they loose out on some key advantages of making the gun smaller in the cylinder and frame.
You're obviously enjoying your gun and I know that many others that have them have written that they would not part with them. The fact that they are so rarely seen for sale says a lot. If they need some more frequent cleaning to keep them working well it sounds like this is more of a very minor inconvenience for owning a unique gun.
I just wish that we'd see some more 9mm revolvers that come set up to use with moon clips. A full moon clip of the rather compact 9mm rounds would fit into a holder or pockets very easily compared to the far more bulky .45ACP or even .40 S&W. And with the possibility of the much shorter cylinder and over all lighter gun you'd think the US makers would be all over the idea. But it seems like wheelgun shooters are mostly stuck in the past with their "classic" revolver rounds which all have HUGE cases. Even when we do see revolvers such as the Model 22 they leave the cylinders the full length so they loose out on some key advantages of making the gun smaller in the cylinder and frame.
