SEEKING AMMO FOR S&W SP101 .356 CAL

[erick00]

S&W 356 CALIBER MODEL 940 REVOLVER

Hello All,

I see that S&W online sells a moon clip for the M940. I have no experience using moon clips. Are the clips reusable? How long can you expect each clip to last?

 

[murphydog]

The clips are stamped steel and reusable. They take some effort to put rounds in and even more to get the fired brass out, and there are tools available for both tasks.

I also don't know if 9 mm Parabellum can be safely used in your .356 TSW, but I'm awaiting the answer to file away in my mental folder of gun trivia . Hope this piece of information is helpful.

 

[kudzu3]

Gosh...and I thought I knew everything!

 

[smike308]

Google 356 tsw. There is a month old result there, I think from Flaguns.com where the site administrator mentioned he was trying to sell a quantity of Corbon 356 tsw ammunition. It didn't sound like he got it sold, so it might be worth trying to track it down. Good luck.

 

[THE ROLLING STONES]

erick00,

For my S&W PC 940 356TSW I got my moon clips for Ranch Products. I hope this helps you.

THE ROLLING STONES

 

[scooter123]

In regards to shooting 9mm Parabellum from a 356 TSW Wikipedia is your friend here. Both calibers use a 0.355 inch diameter bullet and the TSW case is basically an extended 9mm case. Since the 9mm Parabellum is loaded to a lower pressure than the 356 TSW I have no doubt that the 9mm Parabellum can be fired safely from this model 940 by using moon clips.

As noted previously Ranch Products is a great source for moon clips and I believe that the 40 caliber moon clips sold by S&W are actually made by Ranch Products. Good news about the Ranch Product moon clips is they are identical to what S&W sells at a much lower price per clip. Bad news is they only sell in bulk so you will be purchasing 100 clips. BTW, last time I purchased a batch the cost was 75 dollars for 100 40/10mm clips, or 75 cents per clip. A heck of a lot cheaper than S&W's price and it allows me to take the 610 to the range with a LOT (16 lbs.) of ammo preloaded in clips. More potential bad news is that Ranch Products is VERY MUCH small town Ohio and you cannot place an order for clips over their web site. Instead you have to go a bit Stone Age and order using an invention called the Telephone during their normal business orders. A monstrous and huge inconvenience for today's texting Twitterists but as someone who actually placed a few Mail Orders in my past not really that bad. BTW, those X Ray glasses sold out of the back of a comic book do NOT work as advertized.

 

[H Richard]

I bought 9mm moon clips (for a 940) from Midway and from Dillon. They came in packs of a dozen. I guess I never realized S&W made the 940 in 356 TSW. As much as the recoil of the 940 in 9mm hurts my hand (sharp recoil) I can only imagine it in the 356 TSW. The TSW round was developed for those trying to make Major with a 9mm. I think it was about a 9X21.

 

[erick00]

MOON CLIPS FOR S&W MODEL 940 REVOLVER

Hello,

Thanks to all for the information provided on this excellent forum.

How does one actually use the metal moon clips? Do you have to have a special tool and crimp the bullets into the clips? Can they be reused?

Thanks!

 

[Doug M.]

The moon clips can be used until they wear out. That will be a long time, longer than the period for pistol magazines, but they are a wear item. I find my 9mm moon clips to be easier to fill and empty than the ones for 45ACP, and often do them with my fingers, which is not going to happen with the ones for 45ACP. The 356 is a 9X21.5 as I recall, and so 9X19 should not be an issue in that revolver as far as I know, but do your due diligence, don't take my word for it.

 

[J. W.]

My recommendation to the OP is to trade the gun for an equivalent model (640) which can fire .357 mag or .38 special, which can be found pretty much anywhere that sells gun and ammo.

You're 940 is a very nice gun and a great collectors piece. However, unless you're a hand loader, feeding it is going to be problematic.


Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

 

[WC145]

Your gun is a 940PC (the gun I mentioned in my earlier post), S&W made 200 of them. I had one a couple of years ago and sold it to a forum memer. You can shoot regular 9mm (9x19) through but you must use 940 moonclips, I buy mine direct from S&W.

356TSW ammo can be found but it is all NOS and pricey. Plus it's very hot ammo, it's up there with the 9x23 Winchester at over 40KPSI, even though the gun is ported recoil will be substantial.

 

[hotrod150]

Personally I don't see the advantage of the 356 (or 9x21 or 9x23 or 38 super or whatever) in a revolver over a 357, esp for a handloader. Or for that matter, over a hot hot handloaded 38 spl. I imagine that you can safely fire a 38 spl loaded to 357 pressure levels in a 357 revolver- just don't put them into your fragile old airweight Chief by mistake.

 

[handgunner356]

The 356tsw was made to make major power factor for USPSA competition. It was made 21.5 to keep it out of 9x19 and 9x21 guns which were loaded at a lower pressure, much like magnums using longer cases. S&W kept the overall length the same as 9x19 so it could be used in 9mm framed guns. I think they missed the boat when USPSA went to .40 caliber minimum for major and they didn't push it more to law enforcement. It easily matched the .357Sig and would allow for the higher capacity in the same guns. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

 

[CA Escapee]

Eric,

At least a year and a half ago I saw a bunch of boxes of .356 TSW in a shop in Simi Valley, CA. If they still have it they may want to get rid of it.

http://www.gretasguns.com/home.html

Greta's Guns
4228 Los Angeles Ave.
Simi Valley, CA 93063
(805) 520-4867

Bill

p.s.: Don't ask for Greta, she's a Rottweiler.

 

[Doug M.]

Hey, that's a good reason to visit the shop!

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

p.s.: Don't ask for Greta, she's a Rottweiler.

Well, I've heard them referred to as Cougars but never a Rottweiler

 

[CA Escapee]

Well, I've heard them referred to as Cougars but never a Rottweiler

Maybe a touch more domesticated? I don't know.

Bill

 

[CA Escapee]

I sent an e-mail to Greta's and they do have 356 TSW ammo. The following is Mark's reply to my e-mail.

We still have the reloaded lead ammo, as well as new old stock Federal hollow points.
Mark

Greta's Guns
4228 Los Angeles Ave.
Simi Valley, CA 93063
PH: 805-520-GUNS (4867)

Hours of Operation:
Mon-Fri 11-7
Saturdays 10-6
Closed Sundays

 

[vigil617]

I just found this thread and realize I'm coming in pretty late to the discussion, but having recently purchased a 3566 Compact (356TSW caliber) semi-auto and looked for ammo to feed it, here's what I have found so far:

There have been several threads on this Forum about 356TSW ammo, so doing a bit of research here will pay off.

Yes, 356TSW ammo is still available as NOS (New Old Stock) on sites such as GB, primarily in Federal for FMJ ammo and Cor-Bon in SD rounds. I have also found that, for my semi-auto, 9 x 21mm FMJ ammo such as that made by Fiocchi works fine in my pistol, though it is nominally 1/2 a millimeter shorter than the design specs of 356TSW. You can find 9 x 21 ammo also on sites like GB but also it is still made, primarily by and for overseas markets in countries that don't permit civilians to own 9 x 19mm (Parabellum or Luger) because those are deemed military ammunition.

I also have read that the Magtech company produces 9 x 21mm ammo and sells it domestically, but I'm still trying to track that down.

I did not try shooting the 9 x 21 until some 356TSW owners reported they had shot it successfully, even with the shorter headspace of those rounds in their pistols.

As a side note, I'm not a revolver guy, but I understand that the Smith & Wesson revolver that was produced in 356TSW was known as the Pocket Rocket, which I think is way cool...

 

[robotoid]

356, 357, whatever it takes to get it done.