Practical firearms discussion: Revolvers fitted with moonclips

Where is the issue stood upon regarding practicality by those within the firearms community? Do their advantages over revolvers fitted for rimmed ammunition outweigh their disadvantages?

Without the specialized clips designed for holding the cartridges in place, the ammunition cannot be properly extracted, and it is possible to lose the individual clips as they are a separate component. But at the same time, a revolver set up for rimmed cartridges is of no use if the appropriate caliber of ammunition is simply not available when it is needed.

 

Moonclips can be used for rimmed and rimless cartridges. Typically the ammo fits so tightly into the moonclip that losing them isn't the issue - getting the empty casing free to reload the clips is. I had a Ruger LCR in 9mm that required moonclips, and in the 1.875" barrel, a 9mm +P round isn't that far off of a .357 and significantly faster than a .38 Special.

I've seen them mostly used in rimmed cartridges in timed competitions. Jerry Miculek is wicked fast with a revolver using moonclips for reloads - he's fired 12 shots in less than one second reloading with one.

 

If you train with them, moonclips really are the fastest way to reload a revolver. There are conversions that can be done to most conventional revolvers to enable them to run with moonclips. I have a S&W 65 that can run .38 Spl. or .357 out of moonclips. The clips are expensive when you get them for conventional revolver cartridges, but it's amazing how fast reloading can be done, and with less fumbling.

Miculek is fast but not that fast. He is amazing to watch. He set a world record firing 8 shots out of an 8 shot S&W 627 at a single target in 1 second flat. He used the same gun to fire 2 shots on each of 4 targets in just over a second (1.15 or thereabouts). He then switched to a 6-shot .45 ACP 625 revolver and fired six shots, reloaded, and fired six more shots in 2.99 seconds.

Amazing to watch!

 

I am a really good steel shooter but I don't compete with revolvers. the top revolver shooters in this part of the country use the moon clips over even the safariland spring loaded speed loaders. the empties come out faster with a moon clip in my experience

 

Many of the old Webly versions worked with half and full moon clips for the .455 and later many MKVI’s were cut for the ample supply of .45acp also used moon clips... need to be careful with modern ammo or reloads however, the cylinder walls are not very thick.
If I an not mistaken, TK Customs will convert nearly any DA revolver for moon clips, at least they used to.
I didn’t compete with revolvers, so for a couple of mine, I carried Speedloaders.

 

Enter:
The Phillips & Rodgers Medusa M-47 was ahead of its time.
This revolver actually shoots more than 25 calibers in the same gun. It is the best choice when times get tough and you have difficulty finding ammo.

 

The Medusa was a great idea! I read about them and immediately went on the hunt for one... only to have the company go out of business before I could find one.

 

Gun broker and others list them.

 

Yes, but the prices they go for now are a wee bit out of my financial capabilities!

 

Phillips & Rodgers Medusa 47 Revolver With NO moon clips or attachments needed shoots 380acp, 9mm, 9mm win mag, 38 special, 357 magnum, and over 100 other calibers. Single and double action. 28C Rockwell Hardness 86,000 psi per cylinder. This is the strongest, most well made revolver ever produced. Intended to be the ultimate survival gun. Carry it around and use pretty much any ammo you come across in the 38 caliber/9mm range. Only around 500 made, around 250 stayed in the United States. NO trade offers, cold hard cash only, serious inquiries only. I will NOT trade on this one. Must ship to FFL, no sales tax if out of Ohio.
$4850.00 plus tax

 

Yep; makes me wish I'd bought the one I saw way back when that I thought was expensive at $850!

 

The 9mm Rimless Revolver PITBULL uses the same unique rimless cartridge extractor assembly system as the Charter Arms .40 cal Rimless Revolver. A dual coil spring assembly located in the extractor allows insertion and retention of a 9mm cartridge in each chamber of the revolver's cylinder. After firing, the shooter can easily eject the spent cartridges for immediate reloading.

Nick Ecker, President of Charter Arms, added, "Shooting enthusiasts will appreciate owning an American made revolver in 9mm and finding ammo is readily available and affordable.

 

The bullet diameter of both the 9mm and the .380 ACP is the same. Is there any practical reason the smaller round cannot be used in a revolver chambered for the larger round?

 

That is exactly the purpose of the Medusa revolver, to chamber many rounds of approximately the same diameters and varying cases.

 

Can it not be done in current production revolvers chambered for such? Both the Sturm Ruger and the Smith and Wesson company produces revolvers chambered for such.

 

Sure, the only hold back is cost v limited production runs, or custom shop cost v what people are willing to pay v profit margin and reliability and warranty of such guns.

 

It would appear there is a breakdown in communication somewhere.

https://ruger.com/products/sp101/specSheets/5783.html

Is there a reason the revolver in the provided link cannot utilize .380 ACP ammunition in its stock configuration?

 

A quick search revealed that the 9mm case is slightly tapered while the .380 is straightwall, meaning that the .380 cartridge will not be fully supported in the chamber.

See post 13

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/can-a-9mm-revolver-shoot-380-and-9x18.96651/

 

Short answer, in order to safely fire and utilize the .380 acp cartridge, you need either a purposely designed firearm, or a Medusa type design that can stabilize the case properly.

 

Case dimensions are different. The rim diameter and the base diameter are smaller in the .380.

 

Then pray tell, what did the Medusa company do differently from other manufacturers that allowed for such widespread ammunition compatibility?

 

They have some projections that go from the cylinder into the chamber. Reading about it, I can't imagine that they would last for many rounds. There are just too many moving parts in it.

 

Back to the topic, I have a Mod. 625JM .45, a 640 Pro Series and a 586L comp in 38/357 that all utilize moonclips. I have found the .45 to be a quick reload but the 5 shot or 7 shot with the longer cartridges wobbling around, not so much.
At best, they all make for positive extraction.

 

Obviously the concept is workable, what is not is more likely cost, cheaper to make revolvers that fire one caliber and not many.

 

yeah...$5k!!!