Thank you Coat for the reply. I was going to start with Unique but 231 is more uniform in charge weights for my powder measure. I have used 5.5gr of 231 with Win 230 fmj and it is very accurate in my 1911.

Howdy,

While qualifying today My 25-14 failed to fire two WW rounds. This has happened before while practicing. The armorer thought that the flexible RIMZ clip may have 'cushioned' the firing pin strike. Running them around again failed to fire them.
It was around 85 degrees out there so maybe heat swelled them?

This is no way to qualify. Should I be using steel moon clips?

Thanks guys

I have used 5.5 grs 231 and i did great with 230 rcbs cm bullet. I look at all my book some say 5.3 is max and some say 5.5 is max so i back off but 5.5 grs did do very well recoil was mmild to

I became tired of loading, unloading moon clips. I just drop the cartridges in the cylinder. Any problems encountered unloading are solved by poking with a pencil.

For competition, YES. They don't release cartridges when dropped or handled roughly (like when you're trying to reload in a REAL hurry).

As for the RIMZ clips "swelling" - I sincerely doubt it, as plastic doesn't absorb water and doesn't really swell. The fact that the cartridges failed to fire a second time is further evidence that the problem lies THERE; not the clips.

As for those who prefer to knock out cases w/a pencil - feel free. That is NOT what the .45 ACP 625 was designed for, but if time is not important, unload any way you wish.

I do the same thing with my 25-2. I shoot for fun, not speed. If I wanted to have fast reloads available to me, I'd use my 1911. Or you can buy AR brass, which I will be doing shortly for use with loads that aren't appropriate for a 1911. I use a lot of +P loads in my 25-2, since it seems to shoot best with them, and I have never had any trouble removing empties from the chambers using only my fingertips.

BTW, 25-2's were made with proper chamber specs, and cases will reliably headspace on their mouth in the chamber, without any of the problems that some of the more recent Smith's have had with that issue since Smith decided against chambering them properly. I guess they figured everyone would want to use clips of some sort. This issue has been written about by JD Jones, and Brain Pearce of Handloader among others. Pearce even describes a bit of an argument he had with someone at Smith over the issue. Handloader #254 August-September issue in an article on loading for the .45AR, page 69, in sidebar article at top of page.

I like knowing that no matter what the reason, if you are ever caught without clips (again, I don't use them), your gun will reliably fire each and every round in the cylinder.

Great input here. If you DO shoot in some kind of competition with a revolver and the reloads are part of your timed score, THEN, full moon clips is the ONLY way to go.

I have never used the Rimz plastic version. Only the steel ones. I have no problem "mooning" (the right kind of mooning!) with my hands or "de-mooning" with my 25¢ homemade tool.

If you don't think speed is important then don't gawk at Jerry when he uses full moon clips to work his marvelous works!

Another fly in the ointment might be if you used your M625 (or one of the lightweight variants) for CCW. You may want to throw an extra loaded full moon clip in a pocket just in case. Fastest way to reload a revolver. That is why some folks have their "L" frames converted to accept them!

Food for thought, just don't choke on the bones!

Speed isn't important to me in the type of shooting I use a 25 for, but it sure is fun watching ol' Jerry shoot those new records!

I agree with clips if you are carrying a revo for CCW, but I don't.

Try the TK Custom moon clips. Excellent quality. They also.mske a great little moon clips loader.

This thread is 13 years old.

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That's just somebody talkin.

My old 1917 S&W is the only 45ACP revolver I own and it is amazingly accurate with Penn 200gr swc and 4.5 Gr of bullseye. These bullets measure about half a thou over 452 and they just slip thru the cylinder throats. Since Penn bullets is history the remainder of these bullets only go in this old gun.

It’s a Jurassic Zombie thread, but TK Custom does make nice moon clips.

For the S&W 625 I also like Speed Beez moon clips.

Either way, I’ve bent one and they are in the sweet spot for ease of loading and security.

You don’t need a loader or unloader with either of those brands, but they are nice to have.

I bought a TK Customs loader for my 9mm moon clips but turned a mandrel for .45 ACP on my lathe. Quicker and cheaper and the ability to whip up things like that are why I own a lathe.

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And in case the OP hasn’t figure it out yet - like maybe he has been in a coma for the last 9 years - I don’t do anything different with my .45 ACP revolver loads.

I do however prioritize differently when choosing what to shoot in a given situation. Semi wad cutters cut nice large, sharp, holes and provided they feed well in a 1911, there is no downside.

However, a moon clip full of nose bullets flies right into the cylinder, while a moon clip with semi wad cutters sometimes needs just a little jiggling (although the old school fairly long skinny semi wad cutters do pretty well).