Semi-auto Caliber Revolvers

[BigMikey76]

Lohman - That rhino .357/9mm convertible is exactly the one I am looking at. Not cheap, but if you compare it to the price of getting separate .357 and 9mm guns, the price doesn't seem so bad. Not to mention that the "ugly" look of it actually looks pretty darn good to me. I just think they look neat.

 

[BigMikey76]

You mention the need to save time a the range so you must go to a place that is pretty strict about that. So pre-loading moon clips might be important. But you can accomplish this with speedloaders as well. I don't see that as an advantage specific to semi auto calibers in a revolver.

My local range is quite strict about time, and if you go even a minute into the next half hour period, they charge you for the entire half hour

I agree that it is not an advantage exclusive to semi auto calibers, but if I want to pre load 10 reloads before I go to the range, I can either get 10 speed loaders at $10 - $15 a pop, or I can get 10 moon clips for less than the cost of one speed loader. Even if they do get bent and have to be replaced, I would have to bend a lot of them to cost as much as that many speed loaders.

 

[TailGator]

You make a good case for wanting one, and although they don't interest some of us, the fact that they are on the market means that they do, indeed, interest a significant number of people.

You also make a good argument about the cost of ammo eventually exceeding the cost of the pistol. "I don't reload" is a curable condition.

 

[BigMikey76]

"I don't reload" is a curable condition

If you can talk my wife into it, I'll gladly start reloading. Until then, happy wife, happy life

 

[Lohman446]

The problem I find with reloading is that it cuts into the only commodity I cannot replace with something else: time.

 

[g.willikers]

^^^
Does not compute, does not compute.
What does your wife have to do with reloading?
Unless of course you expect her to be doing it.

 

[g.willikers]

If you really want to be able to shoot pistol caliber ammo in a revolver, (and a bunch of others) check out the Medusa.

 

[WC145]

Revolvers chambered in rimless calibers have been around for 100 years, they work and work well. Carrying moonclips is no different than carrying speed loaders and allow you to load and unload the revolver faster. As the OP pointed out, it's no big deal to load up a mess of moon clips for a trip to the range and removing the empties from them when you get home only takes a few seconds for each one using a simple tool. I've been using them for years and have yet to bend one, they're pretty rugged (except for the Taurus versions) and hold up well unless you step on a loaded one or something like that.

9mm has an edge over other revolver rounds because not only is it less expensive than most, it is a very efficient cartridge and velocities fall in between .38spl +P and .357mag (closer to .357 than .38) without nearly the amount of noise and muzzle blast of the .357mag. Of course, all guns are incredibly loud when fired indoors, regardless of caliber. If I was very concerned with noise I'd look at a suppressed auto with subsonic ammo, anything unsuppressed will be so loud I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference. I speak from experience.

I have a custom S&W 360J that I had Pinnacle rechamber to 9x23 and cut for moonclips back in 2008, though I normally shoot and carry it with 9mm, occasionally .38 Super. I have several dozen moon clips that I keep loaded and range trips just require throwing a bunch into my range bag, no need for loading and unloading them at the range. Last year I had them fit a titanium .38spl cylinder to it making it a convertible so If I don't feel like messing with moonclips I can swap cylinders and use speedloaders or speedstrips or just drop them in individually if I want. I've been very happy with my gun and it's got a lot of miles on it as a BUG and hot weather piece, and it's about as versatile a carry gun as you'll find.

OP - if you want a 9mm revolver, I say go for it. If you decide you don't want/need a convertible, S&W has a couple of very nice dedicated 9mm wheel guns that are worth looking at.

 

[briandg]

I was talking on the assumption that you were wanting a compact revolver, not one that was full sized. You can still buy a J frame revolver, about as compact as it can get, in .357.

But don't believe that moon clips are hard to deal with. it's not much worse in my experience than loading some magazines by hand. And take it to the bank, a pair of 9 mm moon clips will be not much larger than a .38 speed loader. The last concern is whether or not you can load moon clips as quickly as you can speed loaders. A moon clip is slipped in and the cylinder is shut. A speed oader, a standard speed loader, you have to put the thing in, turn the release, shake the ammo in, then dump the loader and close the cylinder, and boy, I hope that you don't screw up on the way and accidentally dump your bullets. There is, no question, a slight advantage to using moon clips.

If you are looking for a revolver, I believe that you can find a 357 convertible single action, a pistol that has an easily removed cylinder.

Finding a double action may be hard. I took a brief look and didn't find any convertible .357 DA revolvers.

So it still comes back to whatever you choose, and I still say that you should go with a 9 mm revolver if that is what you want. You'll get about equal power to a .38 +P. Moon clips are good. 9mm is dirt cheap, and there's nothing that a .38 special can do, regarding defensive ammo, that a 9 mm can't do. Don't be talked out of it, but by all means, be informed of the drawbacks before you buy.

 

[briandg]

I see folks wanting .357 Magnum in semi-autos when there is .357 Sig and other similar powerful semi ammunition Then there is those who want 9mm in revolvers when there is .38 Special and other revolver ammunition of equal or plus ballistics.

A 357 sig is not the same as a .357 magnum. a 147 grain round at 1250 is not the same as a 158 grain bullet at about 1500. Anyone who is willing to buy a desert eagle isn't looking for one of the standard semiauto rounds, they want the performance that can only be had with a full power .357 magnum.

But, I agree, absolutely, that it's not at all necessary, and that very, very few people should bother using the alternatives like this. These things work just fine for their own purposes, and switching purposes doesn't really have any great benefits.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"4. Not as loud. Now I'm not claiming that 9mm is quiet, by any means, but if I am forced into a self defense situation, especially in an indoor setting, I like the idea of less damage to my hearing."

The 9mm is a high pressure cartridge.

Having shot many revolvers chambered for semi-auto cartridges alongside their rimmed round counterparts, you'll never be able to tell the difference if you light one off without hearing protection, and you'll suffer some degree of permanent hearing damage that will be cumulative the more times you pull the trigger.

 

[45 Dragoon]

Hmmmmm . . . . . . .

I have an El Patron Comp in .45C and a .45acp cylinder for it. No moon clips needed, ammo is inexpensive, no problems ejecting empties, can carry lots of ammo. Since I do reload (same powder for both, sometimes the same bullet), I save my empties (don't have to chase them down/hunt for them).

I understand the OPs thoughts , I think he is just looking at the wrong cali.!! Lol!!!

Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks

 

[BigMikey76]

Finding a double action may be hard. I took a brief look and didn't find any convertible .357 DA revolvers.

The Rhino comes in the convertible configuration. Bud's has one right now for $838. It's not cheap, but it's cheaper than getting one decent gun in each caliber.

 

[briandg]

The rhino may have interchangeable cylinders, but it is not by any means interchangeable with a smith and wesson or ruger. Those things are almost as different as cats and dogs.

 

[Lohman446]

One of the things that I think when I buy a gun now is if any of my kids will want it.

My 16 year old loves shooting revolvers. Also a BIG Harley Quinn fan.

Trust me if I happened to buy a Rhino and throw some white grips on it there would be at least one person in my house happier than I was.

Of course my three year old would probably fight for it after I died...

 

[briandg]

that's just plain funny.

 

[Cheapshooter]

1. Pretty much the least expensive practice ammo (I don't reload)

Then start You can get set up to load 357Mag/38Spcl. For what a new revolver will cost. Besides, it's fun!

2. Same ammo as my current carry guns (some prefer infinite variety, I tend towards K.I.S.S.)

Then why complicate the simplicity of a revolver with little springy, clippy thingies?

3. Shorter round makes it easier to carry more backup ammo. This one takes some explanation. I was watching a video where a guy carries two moon-clipped sets of 9mm ammo stacked one on top of the other in a single speed loader carry pouch. Thus, where he would only be able to carry 6 rounds of backup with .357 in speed loaders, he can carry 12 9mm. With a double carrier, that turns into 24, plus the 6 in the gun.

It is extremely rare that you would ever need the entire six (or 5) rounds in a revolver. A single reload is more than needed, and a double is twice more than you will ever need.

4. Not as loud. Now I'm not claiming that 9mm is quiet, by any means, but if I am forced into a self defense situation, especially in an indoor setting, I like the idea of less damage to my hearing.

A bang is a bang, doesn't matter what gun it comes from. Unless of course you have a suppressor, which you couldn't have on a revolver anyway.

 

[BigMikey76]

A bang is a bang, doesn't matter what gun it comes from. Unless of course you have a suppressor, which you couldn't have on a revolver anyway

I won't try to argue that any gun is easy on the ears - that just wouldn't be true. There are definitely differences between them, though. Most people will agree, I think, that .357 is louder than 9mm. According to studies regarding how humans perceive sound, if you can tell that one is louder than the other, that generally means that the louder of the two sounds has produced at least twice as much sound energy as the quieter one. This is borne out in comparisons that show an average of 160 db for 9mm and 164 db for .357. That may not seem like much of a difference, but every 3 decibels approximately doubles the sound energy, so the average .357 is around twice as loud as the average 9mm.

Of course, anything above 85 db (in other words, any gun) can cause damage, but how much louder is what makes the difference between cumulative damage and sudden catastrophic damage.

Would I want to fire any gun in an enclosed space without hearing protection? Of course not. But if forced to do so, I'd rather fire the gun producing half as much sound energy as the other option.

 

[hammie]

Isn't there a potential for the tapered 9x19mm case to back out of the cylinder and lock up the gun? I thought that was the reason Smith & Wesson added the containment pin to its model 547. Maybe that problem has been solved in current revolvers. I'm not being argumentative. Just asking the question.

 

[reddog81]

For a first revolver I'd stick with a .357/38 special. With this combination you can shoot light target 38 special loads all the way up to warm .357 loads.

I'd stay away from convertible revolvers. 9mm bore diameter should be .355 and .357/38 special should be .357. These figures are close enough to make both calibers work but not ideal.

Ive heard way too many negatives about the Rhino to even consider buying one unless I was able to shoot it first.

I have 45 ACP revolvers and enjoy them but I've heard the 9mm moonclips are more finicky and you need a tool to make them work. I just use my fingers and a wooden dowel for the .45's

With all that said I recently shot a S&W 929 and it was one of the smoothest shooting most accurate handguns I've ever shot. Of course this was a N frame revolver and was well broken in. I'm seriously considering getting one of these but they are a lot different than the typical small framed 9mm revolver.