I been carrying and shooting my new Colt Python since I bought it earlier this year. I have lots of moon clips gear and acustom to using them. I thought about getting my gunsmith buddy to order another cylinder and getting it machined to accept moon clips and setting aside the original cylinder. What y’all think?

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Fear only God

Not me......

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S&W Accumulator

That is gonna cost you some big bucks

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S&W factory revolver armorer

Why would you want to do that?

No thank you.

I don’t really know how much that would cost.

It’s new. Not a vintage collector piece. I carried a shot many many rounds through a 686 plus pro series revolver using moon clips. I’m just wondering if moon clips would be a practical upgrade for my python

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Fear only God

You could buy a lot of speedloaders for what a conversion would cost plus it doesn't alter the revolver. (I like my new Python and use HKS speedloaders..they are about $15)

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Remain Viable

I've had TK Customs machine a few Smith cylinders for me. Don't know if they do Pythons or not but they turn it around really quick and do an excellent job.

I am a big believer in moonclips. All my competition guns and ccw guns are cut for clips.

I've got a late model Python and Anaconda and I wouldn't hesitate to have them cut, if it wasn't for the fact I don't shoot them. They're nice but they aren't a Smith!

Speed loaders would seem to just as good or better and cheaper.....

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Are moonclips made for the Colt?

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Had TK do my .38 J frame. I’m pretty certain they could do a Colt. The cool thing is you can still shoot loose rounds if you want to.

Moonclips were designed to rectify the problem of firing rimless ammunition in revolvers, and have been historically viewed as a flawed product born out of wartime necessity, and a pain in the hasp.

Now you want to spend large dollars butchering a premium revolver to allow it to accept a 100+ year old flawed system.

Wouldn't be me. But you do you.

PS. Best of luck on your quixotic journey finding a new production Colt Python cylinder. Hint: not from Colt.

Monomers can reload far faster than speed loaders.

I say go for it.

If original, than no. But it’s the reproduction Pythons so 0 collector value. Your reloads will be far, far faster.

Why do you care what other think about moon clips being practical or not . You seem to like moon clips and its your colt so do as you wish !

Moonclips were not designed to fire rimless ammunition from revolvers. Firing the cartridge was accomplished by cutting a proper chamber in the cylinder. They were designed for one reason, to allow the extractor something against which to push, to remove the shells from the chambers.

They were not designed as a “speedloader”, that came decades later when the modern version of the full moon clip made its appearance. The moonclips work best with short stubby cases, much like the 45 ACP. The longer the cartridge case, the more problematic the reload becomes.

But, moon clips, 1/3, 1/2 or full, are not a flawed product.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is.

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Forum consigliere

TELL THAT TO S&W..........Their later 25's & 625's Will not rife consistantly without MC's.........Chamber are cut too deep.

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S&W Accumulator

Ok, Mr Technicality. You assume the is chamber cut to headspace the cartridge on the case mouth. Another manufacturing shortcut is to bore the chambers without a headspacing shoulder, therefore requiring moonish clips to FIRE the cartridge.

In addition, the entire firing process includes EXTRACTING the fired cases. and punching them out with a dowel rod is not conducive to battle efficiency - hence, the development of half-moon clips to fire rimless ammunition in revolvers designed for military use.

Other than that use, moon clips of any variety are indeed a flawed idea born of necessity. Amongst the stellar features of the moonie clips rendering them useless are rusting and bending. And no shooting venture is complete without spending time, aggravation and ripping your fingers apart loading and then unloading these foolish clips. Or you can spend more $$ and buy specialized tools to load and unload these things.

Or you can just throw them away after firing as intended in combat. And spend more $$ on moony clips over and over.

They are ridiculous. Revolver cartridges have a rim on them for a reason, to facilitate firing.

Moonies are not faster than revolver speedloaders. They moonie clips are smaller and harder to handle quickly out of a pocket and pouch. The rounds in the moon clips jiggle around and are not held in rigid alignment with the chambers as in a speedloader. Any slight deformity in the entire system of cartridge or clip will result in a slower reload. Spend some time with both systems and the practiced shooter will have no speed advantage with either, but a more reliable system with the speedloader.

The fad of the past few years regarding moon clip cut revolvers is a product of what the gun industry does best - convincing the gunsumer that he needs something, in order separate him from his money.

Will Colt sell you a cylinder?

Not a project I'd embrace and I suspect the cost will be ugly.

Not practical at all.

I would say that some of the posters on here have never owned a gun cut for moonclips and have no practical experience with them.

My only "specialized tool" is a Wilson Combat de-mooner that I bought probably 25 years ago for about 5 bucks. I have shot literally thousands of rounds of 9mm, .45, 10mm, .357 Mag, and 44 Mag in countless matches. I use 5, 6, 7, and 8 rounds clips and I just snap the cartridges in by hand with no torn up fingers. The only clips I've had bend are when they get stepped on at a match. I carry two extra moonclips in my pocket for ccw, have for years, and have never had one bend. For rimmed cartridges you do have to match the case brand to the clip thickness though.

As far as speedloaders go, the speed of a reload is not even close. It's easy to collect your brass after a stage, and you don't have the possibility of a case head getting under the extractor star and putting you out of commission.

There is nothing flawed about moonclips!

I don’t care for all these naysayers. Colt may require an actual gunsmith to order the cylinder, but if you can get one I say go for it.

I found moonclips are great for the range. Load up an ammo can full…No trying to dump empties into a box, or loading one at a time. If you’re at a range where you pay by the hour (or half) it’s a tremendous time saver.

I like moon clips very much.

Although I’ve not done a double blind study on the subject, I’m pretty certain that moon clips are quicker than speed loaders. They are for me at any rate.

The project you have in mind presents several difficulties. First problem is getting Colt to sell you a new cylinder. The new pythons haven’t been around long enough for parts to become available from used or damaged guns.

Next problem is the getting the moon clips manufactured. I doubt any currently manufactured moon clips would work in your Colt. Colt and Smith don’t make interchangeable parts.

I’d call Colt’s custom shop and ask if they would do the work for you. If so, you’ll have no issues getting parts and the cost is likely to be competitive.

I believe right now, a cylinder would cost around $1,495 from Colt. You would also get some other spare parts.

When the patent was granted to J H Wesson in 1916, I doubt he had any idea that his family’s company would ever be sold outside of the family.

Why they would stop cutting a proper chamber is beyond my comprehension. And, it’s not like they were even consistent about it. Some revolvers work fine, some don’t! But, that is not the fault of the moon clip.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

WHEN the moonclip was introduced, S&W cut proper chambers. COLT did not. The Army REQUIRED Colts to correct the situation and replace cylinders.

Correct!


Magazines get bent, rust and otherwise become unusable. A smart shooter checks his or her equipment prior to a match or belting on a sidearm. Faulty equipment is discarded, replaced or repaired.

Exactly as they were intended to be used. Again, correct!


Seriously!? You can not be ignorant of some of the records set using moon clips.


I competed in PPC for a decade. Speedloaders were part of that because the less time you spent reloading meant the more time you had to accurately put holes in the target. I got very good with my HKS speedloaders.

I have also spent 4+ decades shooting 45 ACP revolvers. I am familiar with moon clips also. I wanted a 6” barreled Model 25-2 to use in competition. Faster reloads was the primary reason.

The moon clip was designed with wiggle room. This allows the cartridges to drop in the cylinder with ease. They were also designed for short, stubby cartridges. Long skinny ones need to be held more rigidly. This makes them harder to load fast. There is no wiggle room.

Wrong again. The reason the factory started to introduce these revolvers is because custom revolversmiths were making them and they were winning matches. S&W wanted a piece of that money. The same way they introduced the Target revolvers when competitors started paying gunsmith to add adjustable sights to their revolvers. The same way the short action was introduced after being pioneered by private gunsmiths. The Model 3913 was directly aimed at the Devel and ASP conversions. And there have been other introductions for the same reason, because they work.

I apologize to Ghost Magnum (the OP) for derailing the thread.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

I sit in my east chair laughing not at you but at the arguments that start over silly little details. Who cares.

Your best answer will come from the Colt forum not the Smith forum. You’ll get a totally different perspective over there.

I’m a fan of both and own a number of Colts including 3 new Pythons and own quite a few vintage Smiths but only a very few new Smiths. My take as a Colt lover, why not do it if you’ve got the cash and think you’d enjoy it. I would encourage it if you can get a new Cylinder but even if not it’s your gun and whatever you want to do with it is your business and no one elses. I personally like revolvers that use moon clips. I have a Smith 625-2 45acp that I really enjoy and have owned a second one and a 1917 Colt Government issue 45 acp. I’ve considered buying a9mm that uses full moons but never acted on my desire.

Go for it if that’s what you’d enjoy and ask at the Colt forum if you care what anyone else thinks.

There is your answer, right there.

I have a model 25 .45 Colt, cut for moon clips, so now I can also shoot .45 ACP too.

I figure that any clips designed for a 686, would work in a modified python.

As an aside, Korth. You can order a 357 magnum six-shot and get a second cylinder that fires 9mm rimless without moonclips via some ingenious German engineering. Or, order a Korth eight-shot 357 with a spare eight shot 9 mm cylinder (last picture), and both are cut for moon clips, and the system is not flawed. All the while, having acquired arguably the best revolver money come by.

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