Like S&W 625, Hate Moon Clips!?

V

vanfunk

New member
OK, Here's the deal. I have an opportunity to pick up a LNIB S&W (pre-...) 625 .45 ACP at a very good price. I sold one a year ago and have regretted it ever since. Here's the rub...I can't stand moon clips! I'm not a reloader, so I don't have the option of buying a bunch of .45 auto-rim cases and having a go at it. I also don't like the idea of poking the spent cases out of the chambers with a pencil. Is there any hope for me? Should I just save my money and buy a SIG P220 again instead? (Sold that one too, in a moment of shameful weakness). Help!
Anyone have any idea if Rem, Win, Fed are going to tool up for .45 auto-rim anytime? Thanks in advance for your consolation, retribution, perturbation, congratulation?
vanfunk

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semper ubi sub ubi
 
You know, Van, I had the same problem at one time. Owned a 625 45 acp and got tired of the clips also. Auto Rim brass was sometimes hard to find, so I traded the whole thing off and waited until an acceptable substitute, IMHO, came along. It came in the form of a 625 45 Colt Mountain Gun (pre-sellout!!). I've got to tell you, this is the sweetest shooting wheelgun I've ever owned! It is light, accurate and a joy to carry. I truly believe it will do all the acp will do and then some. Factory loads run the gamut from Cor Bon 200gr. flying ash cans to cor bon 300 gr. hunting loads (if you shoot them sparingly). I just couldn't overlook that kind of versatility. I also handload, and it's a dream to concoct any load I might ever need. I like being able to approximate 44 mag ballistics with lower chamber pressures while having light plinking loads and snakeshot loads, all in the same gun.

Hey, didn't mean to digress so much, but if you could pick up a LNIB 625 Mountain, I believe you would be satisfied. It solved my problem. Hopefully, it will solve yours.
 
Too bad you can't bring yourself to take up handloading, the .45 AR brass is readly available and easy to reload. It can be soft stuff 900 fps to whooping 1300 fps if your go by Serrieas old 1971 loading manual, all this with a Model 1917 S&W as their test gun. I like to load them around 650 to 700+ fps, this makes for pleasent enjoyable shooting. Don't think I would go for max loads in this old gun, but would probably be OK in a modern Mountain gun you guys are talking about. Never owned a .45 LC wheel gun but leaving my options open to one.

Jim
 
Shoot the gun without the moon clips, just hand eject. My 625 runs circles around the P220. The Sig is very fun and comfortable to shoot, but so is the 625 S&W. There is added value in a 625 over the Sig and is also more accurate.

Robert
 
If you are not going to use the moon clips then what is the advantage over a .45 Colt other than cheaper ammo? Buy a plier type de-mooner and it won't be a chore anymore. You can also get a pair of pliers with the plastic jaws from a hardware store and use these to load the clips. Buy enough clips for a normal shooting outing and you can load and de-moon in the comfort of an easy chair.
 
half moons anyone? -- mine are loose enough that the brass almost falls out of the clips.... (Mine are actually too loose for my taste)

third moons? seems like they would be easy to load/unload as well, with the added benefit of being able to put loaded third moon clips back in the box of ammo....

I'd liek to get me some of the third moons & play with them!

if you cant stand the clips, then 45 colt or 44 mag it is then - eh?
 
Go to Dillon Precision's web site or look in a copy of their Blue Press and you should find a handy de-mooner by Ranch Products which I think is way better than any plier-type de-mooner for full-moons. It prys out 2 cases at a time effortlessly. It is the proverbial cat's meow, unless you are interested in using the two-shot or three-shot clips. Hint: send your 625 to S&W and have them "bevel" the chamber mouths on your cylinder so your full-moons slide in much easier. I did this and I can reload much faster now.
 
oh yeah, almost forgot ... the 45 Colt and 44 Mag Mountain guns are great, but my .45 ACP Mountain Gun just seems to eject casings more positively, owing not only to the shortness of the case, but also because the ejector rod works directly against the moon clip instead of the cases individually. Gosh, does that even make sense? Anyway, I feel that the 625 is the ultimate general purpose/defense revolver.
 
He tears open the envelope and the answer is...1/3 moon clips. Thata right! They are more durable than 1/2 moon and easier to load/unload than 1/2 moon or full moon clips. The S&W 625 is a jewel in the crown of a fallen icon. Regards, Richard .
 
I shoot my 625s a lot. And I LOVE full moonclips. Sooo easy to load--with chamfering it like the cylinder sucks the 6 rounds in. With a de-mooning tool, the rounds handily twist right out. I have had some problems with half moons springing and binding the cylinder. One-third moons are easy to work with but too slow in loading for competition use. My complaint is that loading full moon clips can be tedious when the clip is too tight for the rim of the ammo involved.

Ayoob showed a reloading technique for bowling pin type competition. Instead of keeping the next moonclip to be loaded on the belt, it can be held in the weak hand during firing on the forefinger through the center of the clip-ready to reload with no trip to the belt required.

625s -- you can't own just 1.
 
You can make a demooner for .45ACP in about five minutes from a length of half-inch PVC pipe. Make two saw cuts, one clear through, and another right next to the first about 90 percent through. Two short cuts along the axis of the pipe, and a 'C' shaped piece of the pipe comes off. You wind up with something that looks sort of like a 1911 barrel with the protruding stub of 'hood'.
With this it's a cinch to twist loads out of or into the clips...you put the pipe over the case and the stub on the rim of the clip, and twist. I've made lots of these for friends who own 1917's, M25's and 625's.
 
So many responses! Thanks to all who have contributed so far. Jeez, I still don't know. I'd love to have a Mountain Gun in .45 LC, or one of the old luciously blued mdl 25's. The suggestions about the de-mooner are well taken- I used to have one of the plier types, in fact. It just seemed to me that I was spending so much time loading and unloading those maddening clips. If my mother were here she'd say "it appears that patience has left you, son". True. I suppose if I want this gun, I'm going to have to pay the piper, give Caesar what is Caesar's...
Anyway, thanks again for all of your truly helpful responses. I have until (high)noon tomorrow to decide!
vanfunk

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semper ubi sub ubi
 
So really you don't like the 625, it is just that you can get one at a good price. One of the major features of the 625 is its ability to accept full moon clips, shoot, people even pay custom gunsmiths a lot of money to have .357 S&W revolvers machined to accept full moons. If the 1/3 moons don't appeal to you forget the gun and hunt down a P&R mod 25 (25-5?) in .45 LC.
 
GEORGIA ARMS is now offering loaded 45AutoRim. While not fast at least you can
plink away with no moonies. My M25 seems to enjoy ANYTHING as it produces those T I N Y
knots.ENJOY......I have a least one more
45ACP revo coming soon.dewey
 
Van, You need to do a lot more shooting, and a lot less 'what if's' What if I had a magic gun? It shoots where I want the bullets to go, instead of where I aim them.... What if I practiced a whole lot, and learned that the front sight and trigger control are more important than any magic gun
 
get more moon clips..... theyre pretty cheap for the 625 (not so cheap for the 610).....

theres no reason that you couldnt have 10 - 20 moon clips in your range bag

60 - 120 rounds of ammo be enough for ya?
that way you dont have to mess with the loading & unloading so often

pay the neighbor kid 5 bucks to strip the brass off of all twenty clips & put new cartridges in them when you get back home.


[This message has been edited by RustyRP (edited July 28, 2000).]
 
9x45,
He didn't say anything about the gun not being "magic", just that he finds the moon clips a tedious pain in the keister.

Van,
Trust me, in a jam I unloaded my 625-4 to my boyfriend for a ridiculously low price. Four years later, I wound up having to trade my ParaOrd P12.45 to get it back. Get one while you can to insure continued good night's sleep. Those "I wish Ida's" will keep you awake if you don't...

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"..but never ever Fear. Fear is for the enemy. Fear and Bullets."
10mm: It's not the size of the Dawg in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
 
Tamara, either you or I are doing something wrong. I gave a Walther PP to my girlfriend may years ago and when she needed money I bought it back from her. A REAL buy back! You need a new, more generous and understanding boyfriend. I know this motorcycle riding gun owner in Texas that you might want to meet. :)
 
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