45 colt cylinder cut for 45acp?

john123456

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i have a 625 mountain gun in 45 colt i was thinking of having the cylinder cut to use moon clips for 45 acp just to have the option for both rounds . was wondering who has had this done. how has it worked and does it look like it affects the strength of it any . and who did you have do it . also what was the cost. thanks
 
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The issue with the conversion is that with the .45 LC, the cartridges now have part of the case unsupported by the cylinder in the clip cut. If kept to the pressure limits of factory .45 LC, you can probably get away with it. But, should you suffer injury from a blown case, you aren't going to successfully sue anyone.

In my much younger days I saw several 1917s converted to also fire .45 LC and it scared the beejeezus out of me.
 
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45 acp rimmed? I think you have to shoot a long .452 bullet like a 235 gr. swc to keep the bullet from tumbling. I have a few of the older thinner clips. I have the brass & dies somewhere. Rimed uses a different die.
 
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The clips in the link are star clips, not moons. There's still (I assume) a section of the original cylinder left on the cylinder OD to provide proper headspace for .45 LC. Unless you also have to clip the LC? If so, then the unsupported part of the .45 LC case may be larger and now may be exposed on the edge of the cylinder.

The .45ACP doesn't have this issue since the extractor groove where the clips go is solid brass, not a thin case wall.

Maybe I'm excessively cautious, they seem to be mooncliping .38 Spl & .357 Magnum, but I really haven't looked at those guns to see how the cylinder is machined.
 
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Better idea (and what I did): Buy a .45 ACP revolver AND a .45 Colt revolver.

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Don't listen to these people. The conversion that you are thinking of is one of the most common conversions there is. It will allow you to shoot .45 ACP in moon clips; .45 Colt in moon clips; .45 Colt using a speedloader, or .45 Colt loaded singly.

The chance of a case head blowing out is exactly nil and there are no other problems associated with this conversion.

A number of gunsmiths do this, but the best known is TK Custom. I believe that he charges $140 (but check me on that) and all you need to do is send him your cylinder. There is a video on his website that shows how the cylinder is milled to accomplish this. He did my Model 25-13 MG (the blued equivalent to yours) and it is peachy.

Go forth. Convert and rest easy - you are not alone.

Adios,

Pizza Bob
 
625 mountain revolver done by TK custom and could not be happier. I got moon clips for 45acp and 45 Colt. I love this smith!!!!

Tony P
 
I'm not disparaging the workmanship of any of the gunsmiths in question. It's the concept. In my 50+ years as a shooter I've seen a whole bunch of things done-some commonly-that weren't the best ideas in the universe. Some of which produced rather bad results. Admittedly, some events were infrequent, still doesn't invalidate the concern. I've seen some surprising things while building prototypes, maybe this fuels the caution.

It's your firearm, your money and your self hanging onto it when it fires. Your choices.
 
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There's still (I assume) a section of the original cylinder left on the cylinder OD to provide proper headspace for .45 LC. Unless you also have to clip the LC? If so, then the unsupported part of the .45 LC case may be larger and now may be exposed on the edge of the cylinder.
I'm not an expert and mostly rely on my own personal experiences. I understand what you're saying and agree that the unsupported portion of the Colt case may be cause for concern, especially if in the event of firing (unlikely) an old balloon head case, which would compound the problem.
But since I don't hotrod the 45 Colt, it's never been a problem for me but might be a valid concern for those that do.
 
I think statements like these are irresponsible...

The issue with the conversion is that with the .45 LC, the cartridges now have part of the case unsupported by the cylinder in the clip cut. If kept to the pressure limits of factory .45 LC, you can probably get away with it. But, should you suffer injury from a blown case, you aren't going to successfully sue anyone.


I'm not an expert and mostly rely on my own personal experiences. I understand what you're saying and agree that the unsupported portion of the Colt case may be cause for concern, especially if in the event of firing (unlikely) an old balloon head case, which would compound the problem.

Unless you have empirical evidence that would indicate this is even a remote possibility, or even anecdotal evidence, why would you even bring this up?

This modification is a common one and I'd bet that if you ask Tom Kilhoffer ( the "TK" of TK Custom) he would tell you that he has done hundreds (maybe thousands) of this specific modification to all manner of cylinders for rimmed cartridges with no ill effects. For that matter the factory offers revolvers of the same design, and I've never seen a disclaimer from them.

It is the modifier/manufacturer that would be culpable in the event that the fantasies envisioned in the above quoted threads ever came to pass - and if that were the case, nobody would offer them ever again.

But now you have put unfounded doubt in the OP's head, maybe to the point where he'll abandon the idea needlessly.

Adios,

Pizza Bob
 
what got the idea in my head was a friend of a friend was at the range last time who just bought a governor . i dont really have much use for the shotgun part but i thought being able to use the acp also would be cool. i cant see how with the small amount of metal being taken off that it would cause a blowout issue unless maybe i was pushing them up to the 30kpsi ruger loads . and since my 800-900fps loads kill deer just fine i dont see the point but anyways ill call tk and see what they have to say and go from there thanks for the info.
 
I can attest to TK customs doing quality work. I think if you stay within the realms of responsible loads for any caliber you will be well within the safety margin built in by the manufacturer. If you over do anything unmodified or not you are going to have problems.
 
Well-if it were me, I'd call Smith & Wesson ans see if they would sell me a .45 cylinder assembly and then send it off to be cut for moon clips-or maybe Smith would cut it for you. That way you'd have a dual cylinder 45colt/45 ACP revolver.
 
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