Moon Clip Conversion - .45 Colt & .45 ACP Use RIMZ?

rljatl · Jul 5, 2008

I called TK Custom to find out about converting my .45 Colt Mountain Gun to use both .45 Colt and .45 ACP with moon clips. The guy on the phone said:

1. You can use .45 Colt without clips, but
2. If you want use to use .45 Colt with clips, the clips must be .022 thick.
3. .45 ACP clips must be .030 thick.
4. RIMZ (polymer) clips will NOT work because they are .040 thick.

I don't care about using clips with .45 Colt, but, Not being able to use RIMZ clips with .45 ACP is a deal breaker for me. I am going to call Pinnacle on Monday to see what they say.

Anybody know anything about this? Thanks.

the45automan · Jul 5, 2008

rljatl,

When the 45 colt is machined to accept moonclips, the space between the recoil shield and the original cylinder face is much smaller than the distance on a standard .45 ACP revolver. The conversion for a 45 colt cylinder machines a recess on the face, not the entire face. Thus you can use both cartridges. Check how the face on the cylinder is machined for a .357 moonclip conversion you will see how it is done.

m657 · Jul 5, 2008

...am I missing something here.....can a LC and an ACP actually use the same cylinder, considering head space on the rim vs. on the case mouth???

Who does these conversions and for how much??

JeffR · Jul 5, 2008

I've got a 625-9 MG that Pinnacle modified to take moonclips. IIRC, the conversion cost about $90. Turn around was fast, but I caught him when he already had a batch of conversions he was running.

You can't run .45 ACP without the clips - IOW, the ACP round headspaces on the moonclip rather than the case mouth.

I haven't tried the RIMZ clips, I've been buying .45 Colt and .45 ACP moonclips from TK Custom. The Colt clips are a little finnicky: Winchester cases won't work, but R-P and Starline work fine.

I haven't noticed any accuracy issues, but I have had problems with ACP rounds jumping crimp. I'm still playing with the taper crimp and OAL trying to hit the sweet spot...

rljatl · Jul 5, 2008

m657,

Here is a link to the Pinnacle web site that describes how the conversion works:

http://www.pinnacle-guns.com/revolver.asp

If it turns out that I can use RiMZ clips, I am happy and will go forward with the conversion. I'd rather not deal with a mooner/demooner.

JeffR,

Ok, I get it now, different size (thickness) clips for different cartridges. However, you don't actually HAVE to use any clip at all for the .45 Colt, correct?

If I can use .45 Colts without clips and .45 ACP with RIMZ clips, I will be a happy camper.

m657 · Jul 5, 2008

Thanks for the link and information.

Bullseye Smith · Jul 5, 2008

You got it. You can use the 45acp, 45 Colt, and the 45 Schofield. TK has the moon clips for the 45 Colt. I was going to convert my 25-5 to this, then have it hard Chromed. Now I'm going to buy a new 25 colt and use it. This way the 25-5 that is NIB will stay that way. Have Fun - John

rljatl · Jul 5, 2008

That sounds perfect. I have a S&W Schofield on layaway. So, my new (to me) 625 Mountain Gun will make an excellent compliment to my Colt SAA, S&W Schofield, and 1911. Sure do hope those RIMZ clips will work for the .45 ACP.

jgh4445 · Jul 6, 2008

RIMZ work like a charm for my conversion. Pinnacle did it by the way. I didn't specify anything special so that I could use RIMZ specifically, they just work.

JeffR · Jul 6, 2008

rljatl,

No, you don't have to use clips for .45 Colt after the conversion. When the cylinder gets machined, there is a bit of a rim left around the outside (jgh4445's middle pic). This allows the Colt case to headspace and extract correctly without the clip.

jgh4445 · Jul 6, 2008

JeffR is absolutely correct. Clips are not needed at all for the .45 Colt. They may be used if you wish, but are not needed. For ACP's the clip is a must.

rljatl · Jul 7, 2008

Great. That confirms it, I am sending my cylinder off to Pinnacle as soon as I get the gun. Should be next week.

Thanks for the info gentlemen.

okie john · Jul 7, 2008

What about 45 AR brass? Will that work?

Okie John

rljatl · Jul 7, 2008

My understanding is that AR brass is the one that will NOT work because the rim is too thick.

I confirmed with Mark at Pinnacle today that as long as the clips are .040 (standard thickness for .45 acp clips) the RIMZ clips should work and RIMZ clips ARE .040 thickness. The guy at TK Custom must have had the clip thickness confused with another caliber.

Thanks again everyone.

scott625b · Jul 7, 2008

jgh4445,

Great photos of your conversion. Does the conversion work with 1/2 moons as well as the RIMZ? You should send them a photo to use in their web site.

Hoytshooter · Jul 7, 2008

I know where there is a nice .45LC Mountain Gun just sitting in the dealer's "used" case and I think it just found a home.

I've been looking at it for quite awhile but now that I know Pinnacle can adapt it to shoot .45acp as well as .45LC I think I will be getting it.

jgh4445 · Jul 8, 2008

Scott,
Never tried half moons but I see no reason they wouldn't work given the thickness is the same as Rimz or other full moon clips.

scott625b · Jul 8, 2008

jgh4445,

I was not really concerned with the thickness, but the OD of the 1/2 moon is larger than the OD of the RIMZ 25 which you have in your photo. The 1/2 moon loads cartridges from the inside as opposed to loading from the outside in on full moon clips.

rljatl · Jul 8, 2008

I certainly could be wrong, but my guess is that half-moon clips would work. The half-moon clip resting on the outside would be similar to the .45 Colt rim which also rests on the outside circumference of the cylinder.

If true, I believe this would mean that you could mix the cylinder with three acp and three Colt cartridges. Wouldn't that be slick?

MarkL · Jul 8, 2008

Please excuse my ignorance. Are you saying you do not need mooner/de-mooner with the use of Rimz (ie:it's easy to install and remove brass)?
Thank you

Moon Clip Conversion - .45 Colt & .45 ACP Use RIMZ?

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