How does a 45acp work in a revolver?

Will Carry

Will Carry

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Under the assumtion that "there are no stupid questions....."
I have been looking at some really nice Smith and Wesson wheel guns in 45acp. How does that work?
 
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Very well, provided you use the proper moonclips in a gun cut for them, like the Model 625. It makes for very fast reloads, since the clips hold all 6 cartridges, and they load and eject as a unit.
The Model 625 dominates in USPSA/Revolver and IDPA/ESR.
 
45 acp

all except some very early colt 45 acp rev. have a headspace shoulder in each chamber. most of the time i just fire the 45 acp cartridge without using half moon or fullmoon clips, you just have to pick out the fired shells by hand, the moon clips alow for ejection of all 6 fired shells. or you can use 45 auto rim cartridges but they are not easy to find i load my own with brass i get from midway. i have 5 different 45 acp revolvers and i love them.
 
The cylinder is cut back to accept moonclips which hold the 45ACP cartidges. You load and unload the 45s into the moonclips and not directly into the cylinder. Moonclips come in either half moonclips or full moonclips.
 
Quite well actually. Moon clips are used to hold the rimless cartridge in place in the cylinder and insure positive extraction. Here is a link to a video review of the 325 PC Thunder Ranch revolver in .45 ACP.

YouTube - Smith & Wesson's Thunder Ranch Defense .45

I prefer the 625, yet the 325 TR is fantastic.
.45 ACP revolvers are accurate, potent and elegant.
 
One of the biggest mistakes I have ever made was selling my 5" 625-3 in 45 ACP. It was the most accurate handgun I have ever had. It's a great target revolver and would be perfect for small game hunting with the right bullets.
 
I may be mistaken, but I believe that while the Model 25, the S&W 1917s, and the later Colt 1917s had shoulders located properly to support the .45ACP against a firing pin strike, this is not necessarily true of 625s and 325s. S&W advises use of moon clips in their instructions, and doesn't guarantee the gun will fire without them. In practice, the two I have usually do, but just today I had a FTF with my 625 and no moon clip. I have never had a FTF with my 25.
 
the 625 is designed for use w/the AR cartridge - the acp cartridge requires the use of the 1/3, 1/2 or full moon 'clips' to hold the rounds securely against the hammer strike.
try some 1/3rd moon clips - you can have loads handy that may be specific to the need at hand. a very versatile and accurate revolver.
my 625 '88 model 5" barrel is 2nd only to my 5906.
 
Great gun by the way...


IMG_0470.sized.jpg
 
They work quite well with moon or semi moon clips, or with the 45 Auto Rim available from Midway, or Starline, maybe even others. The 625 5" I have is accurate and fun to shoot.
 
Historical note:

In WW I Colt And Remington UMC were cranking out 1911s as fast as they could S&W and Colt had the manufacturing equipment to make their large frame revolvers - Mr. Smith invented the half moon clip and solved the problem of being able to fire the rimless .45 ACP in a revolver The M1917 is the Army designation for the Large fraem S&Ws and Colt New Service revolvers produced in .45 ACP - about 150,000
were produced In 1921 with the surplus revolvers on the market or
perhaps just brought home by the doughboys Remington-Peters came up
with the .45 Auto Rim cartrdige. It has an extra thick rim so a user wouldn't have to use .45 ACP & the Moon Clips.

The rim on the .45 Auto RIm or just AR is approx. 0.0905" thick this
makes the proper relationship between the back of the case/primer and the firing pin strike. A regular rimmed case like .45 Colt is approx. 0.0610" thick.

>45 Auto Rim is available from Double Tap, Cor Bon, Buffalo Bore Reeds
\Ammunition & Research and Georgia Arms. Starline Brass sells
new unprimed cases. The HKS speedloader for a .45 AR is the 25M.

I have a 625-10 and it has the cuts in the chamber for headspacing
for firing without moon clips.

I load up 12-15 full moon clips for a range session before leaving for the
range. At the range I bag up the empties in a gallon size zip loc bag.
At home I use a Wilson Combat de-mooning tool ( $3 ) to get the empty
cases out of the full moon clips. Nice way to get once fired brass cases
and you know they are yours & once fired instead of picking up stuff at the range.

Randall
 
I currently own three 625s and a 25-2, all of which fire acp flawlessly without clips, as did the several 625's I've owned in the past, but sold. I've heard rumors of S&W acp revolvers that don't have the shoulder in the cylinder, but never seen one, or known anybody who's seen one. Some revolvers with frame-mounted pins might have ignition problems, but mine don't because I always replace them with the Apex extended pin. 45acp is a low pressure round, and extracts easily with a little prodding from your fingernail.
 
Last year I blundered across and bought a 625-2 Model of 1988 revolver. It is designed to use the clips. I have two clips which makes shooting slow. If I load them into the cylinder w/o a clip, the rounds fire perfectly. Extraction is not hard... fall out into the cardboard box when I invert the revolver and open the cylinder or else pop out when I flick them with my finger. Very nice revolver. At 15 yds. I have put 6 shots into 1-1.25 inches shooting single-action from one-handed (dueling) stance. Double-action is simply the very best I've ever had on a revolver of any type or manufacturer in my life. It is better than several Pythons I have owned... used... and sold. I would buy another one if I again blundered across it. This past week I went to a nice local gunshow... lots of nice handguns... not one single 625-2.
 
You guys are great! My next handgun is going to be a Smith and Wesson revolver. The 45acp cartridge would be good for me, since I own so many 45acp pistols.
 
I've got two 625-3 and a 625-4 with the 5 inch barrel - they are great fun to shoot. You don't need moonclips, but clips are easy to use and make for fast reloading. You can get a 100 new clips from Ranch Products for something like $35, that will last you forever unless you shoot a LOT. Have a gunsmith that knows S&W revolvers check the chamber throats - they can run undersized and that will play havoc with your accurracy (of course, if the gun shoots like a champ - skip that step and go straight to fun time.
 
I have a 4'' Model of 1989, 625-3 in .45 ACP. It shoots 1 ragged hole groups off the bench @ 50 feet. I've been shooting 1911s for over 50 yrs, but I never realized the full potential of the .45 ACP until I purchased this gun a coupla months ago. I'm using RIMZ moonclips. They are polymer, NOT steel. VERY durable, easy to load and unload WITHOUT TOOLS, and they hold the cartridges very securely even if dropped. Denny , the owner, is a GREAT guy to deal with. The 625-3s are NOT cheap, but they are worth every dollar they command.......
 
Don't know about other models, but the 625-2 has a stepped cylinder bore; so, it accepts AR's, moon clips, or w/o moon clips. If you use a healthy recipe, then use moon clips or AR's to prevent difficult extraction. Another thought on heavy loads (if used) use a good taper crimp. This is the most versatile platform on the planet; except for the 7460 from that other Wesson company. If you ever fondle one; it will follow you home.
 
have had no trouble with the occaisional use of acp without clips in my thunder ranch model 22-4.fire every time and extract with a little shake with no problem.
 
diamonback68 said:
The cylinder is cut back to accept moonclips which hold the 45ACP cartidges. You load and unload the 45s into the moonclips and not directly into the cylinder. Moonclips come in either half moonclips or full moonclips.
Click to expand...

New member here - and proud owner of a model 625-8. It is my only revolver (I had always shot .45 ACP semi-autos) and I definitely need to invest more range time to get proficient with it.

2 questions w/ apologies if I'm showing my ignorance:
• Is there a speedloader that's compatible with S&W's full moon clip for this model?
• I'm also curious what night sights members of the group might recommend as an alternative to standard factory sights.

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
Last edited:
Steve Old Boy said:
New member here - and proud owner of a model 625-8. It is my only revolver (I had always shot .45 ACP semi-autos) and I definitely need to invest more range time to get proficient with it.

...

Is there a speedloader that's compatible with S&W's full moon clip for this model?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum!

The moonclip IS the speedloader -- it drops in with the rounds, and the rounds stay clipped together.

HKS also makes the 25M speedloader for .45ACP revolvers (S&W's 22/25/26/325/625) for use with .45 AutoRim ammo.
 
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