I've made several different threads about my quest for a moon clip revolver over the past year or so.
My goals have changed slightly as I've learned more, but I'm looking for a revolver that:
The leading calibers are .45 ACP, 9mm, and .38 Short Colt in that order, for reasons that are discussed in the other threads.
Anyway, at this point I've owned a S&W 325 Thunder Ranch and a Chiappa Rhino 4" in 40 S&W.
The 325 was too lightweight (being a defensive / carry revolver) too be comfortable, but otherwise brilliant. At the time I couldn't find any more Trail Boss powder, which was the only one that burned completely once I reduced the load to a comfortable level. By the time I found a bunch more Trail Boss, I'd sold the 325. Truth be told, the Trail Boss may not have been the magic bullet, but I feel stupid for letting it go so fast anyway.
The Rhino is cool in theory but the single action is a joke -- not only is it downright painful to cock the hammer, it has a ton of creep/take-up when fired single action. Granted, it's not meant for SA, but the DA has a similar creep problem and the ergonomics in general do not seem to lend the gun to rapid reloads. After this and other frustrations with the ergonomics in dry fire, I never actually shot it. I'm currently trying to sell it.
Other major contenders were/are:
Thoughts? Anyone used any of these in an action match or similar scenario that can vouch for the ergonomics? I'm still kicking myself over the 325. Changing the grips, using ultra-light loads with Trail Boss, or just wearing a padded glove could've solved the one problem I had with it. Now my pride is stopping me from buying another one after I sold the previous one at a $200+ loss.
My goals have changed slightly as I've learned more, but I'm looking for a revolver that:
- Uses moon clips for fast reloads
- Has a very good trigger
- Does not have a stainless or all-silver finish
- and is comfortable to fire in high volume (light hand loads)
The leading calibers are .45 ACP, 9mm, and .38 Short Colt in that order, for reasons that are discussed in the other threads.
Anyway, at this point I've owned a S&W 325 Thunder Ranch and a Chiappa Rhino 4" in 40 S&W.
The 325 was too lightweight (being a defensive / carry revolver) too be comfortable, but otherwise brilliant. At the time I couldn't find any more Trail Boss powder, which was the only one that burned completely once I reduced the load to a comfortable level. By the time I found a bunch more Trail Boss, I'd sold the 325. Truth be told, the Trail Boss may not have been the magic bullet, but I feel stupid for letting it go so fast anyway.
The Rhino is cool in theory but the single action is a joke -- not only is it downright painful to cock the hammer, it has a ton of creep/take-up when fired single action. Granted, it's not meant for SA, but the DA has a similar creep problem and the ergonomics in general do not seem to lend the gun to rapid reloads. After this and other frustrations with the ergonomics in dry fire, I never actually shot it. I'm currently trying to sell it.
Other major contenders were/are:
- S&W 627 V-Comp. I got to handle one a couple of weeks ago at a gun show. It seemed *really* front heavy to me, and I had a hard time getting a quick "dry" reload out of it. Maybe I'd warm up to it but it's hard to spend $1200 when I'm kind of iffy about it now.
- Moon clip conversion on a Dan Wesson 15-2 so I can use .38 SC. I have one of these and I love everything except the cylinder release. Problem is it's got a busted frame screw that makes disassembly impossible until I get it gunsmithed, and for the cost of that I could probably buy a new frame if I could just find one. Plus the cylinder finish is pretty messed up so it seems dumb to put $150 into converting it for moon clips.
- Alfa Proj 9mm revolver. Czechpoint never has them in stock, despite many promises of delivery dates. Besides, after the Rhino experience I'm thinking the trigger may be a gamble.
- S&W 25-2 or similar. Not sure on this one. I'd rather have a Dan Wesson with 4" plus barrel lug than a 6" unweighted barrel, but it's still an option.
- A stainless S&W revolver such as the 929 that's been blackend by Robar or similar. This is a leading option, but an expensive one. Need to handle the revolver in question first, because I'm worried about the front-heavy V-Comp problem.
Thoughts? Anyone used any of these in an action match or similar scenario that can vouch for the ergonomics? I'm still kicking myself over the 325. Changing the grips, using ultra-light loads with Trail Boss, or just wearing a padded glove could've solved the one problem I had with it. Now my pride is stopping me from buying another one after I sold the previous one at a $200+ loss.