S&W 625 question

[dukeofurl]

Can you shoot this gun without moonclips?

Ammo goes in, it fits the cylinder ok. It appears that all the moonclip does is crab a partial on the case and gives the ejector rod something to hit and punch all 6 empty cases out.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Yes, you can shoot without moonclips. You will have to push the spent casings out by hand.

 

[dukeofurl]

Yes, you can shoot without moonclips. You will have to push the spent casings out by hand.

Thanks lone gunman! I just picked this up on a whim and I was debating loading it or not. I just told myself "well, if something goes bump in the night do I want to have 3 loaded guns next to me or 4? Well, 4 wouldn't hurt....."

 

[happy old sailor]

or, if you reload, round up some .45 auto rim brass. many of us with M25s do this. works like any other rimmed round. cuts the bother of clips or punching out empties one at a time.

i have no idea what a box of .45AR would cost, even if you could find it, but, would expect it to be high due to lack of demand. maybe/maybe not. dunno. i handload, so, dont keep up with prices of "storebought".

tell you this - you got a nice gun.

mine is blue and .45C. keep looking at stainless, but.....my blue guns don't usually go outside in rough weather, i have stainless in magnums for that.

decades ago, i had an M25 in .45ACP, then they came out with the .45C version. so, it was off with the old and on with the new. the stainless had not been produced at that time or i would have one. my blue gun is an old friend now so is staying around if in the back seat to the magnums. it still gets shot regularly due to it's looks and accuracy.

good shooting with your 625

 

[RON in PA]

While you can shoot a 45 ACP Smith 625 without moonclips it may be a hit or miss situation. My experience with a 2004 vintage 625 indicates that chamber depth can be variable leading to failure to fire without moonclips in some chambers. Other 625 owners have reported the same thing. I think that Smith assumed anyone purchasing one would use moonclips or autorim cartridges. Maybe Smith saves a few cents in manufacturing time by not making sure all chambers are bored to the same depth. Funny they could drill chambers to the same depth in wartime production 1917s. My solution is to use autorim cartridges almost exclusively.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

I wouldnt do it in a self defense situation mine isnt all that reliable loading it without the clips. Recoil of the first few rounds tends to push the bullets deaper in the chamber and causes misfires. Auto rims are a better solution.

 

[Stainz]

Georgia Arms offers both a 230gr (780fps) LRN and a 200gr (850fps) HP in .45 Auto Rim in new, probably Starline, brass now for ~$26-28 per hundred bagged. Nice folks, great ammo. I reload, and a 255gr LSWC, actually a .45C bullet, at 850+ fps makes a nice 'pounding plinker' round from my 4" 625JM. I won't launch ACP's without moonclips due to the necessity of SA-style ejection and the dependability of the ignition others have also witnessed. The AR's are just neat!

Stainz

 

[only1asterisk]

My 625 fired reliably on all six chambers without moonclips, but that doesn't mean your will. To extract the spent shells I pulled them out using the rim of a another piece of brass.

David

 

[dracphelan]

I've been researching the 625 and found 2 things are the best solutions in your situation:
1. If you reload, you can get new autorim brass from Midway USA.
2. You can get cheap plastic moon clips from http://www.beckhamdesign.com/html/rimz_products.html

 

[Tom C.]

Yes, you can shoot without clips, but in addition to issues of slight variations in chamber depth, there is the issue of variations in the length of the .45 ACP brass. The combination of long chamber and short case can result in a misfire. I have been shooting .45 ACP in my Model 25-2 for 30 years, mostly without clips. Works fine on the range. I just bought a Model 625-8JM, and got a thousand AR cases. They reload on the same die setup as my .45 ACP on my Dillon 550, but need a different shell plate. AR brass is the best range solution (for me), with clips being the solution where reloading speed is an issue.

 

[Old Fuff]

My experience is about the same as RON in PA. I've never had a problem with old 1917 revolvers, but have with x25 series ones. Some work fine where others may have ignition problems if you don't use clips. A S&W rep once told me that, "you're supposed to use clips, and if you shoot without them and have problems it's your fault," or words to that effect.

No, they don't always make them like they used to, but check out your individual gun and see how it works without clips. It may be O.K.

Never carry or use one of these as a weapon unless it is loaded with .45 ACP cartridges in clip(s) or .45 Auto-Rim rounds.

 

[Jbar4Ranch]

I'll go for the obvious question; Why would you even want to shoot ACP's without moon clips or AR's? Moon clips are the fastest reload possible for a revolver.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I've been researching the 625 and found 2 things are the best solutions in your situation:
1. If you reload, you can get new autorim brass from Midway USA.
2. You can get cheap plastic moon clips from http://www.beckhamdesign.com/html/rimz_products.html

+1 on the RIMZ clips. They work great and inserting/removing rounds is very easy. Their manufacturer is a fellow THR member, BTW.

 

[Old Fuff]

I'll go for the obvious question; Why would you even want to shoot ACP's without moon clips or AR's? Moon clips are the fastest reload possible for a revolver.

Prior to the arrival of the RIMZ clips loading and unloading metal clips was a pain-in-the-(you now what) when doing casual shooting at a range or in the field. When carrying a S&W M-1917 I would often forgo the clips and pick out the cases with my fingernails. Speed reloading this was not, but I didn't hive a hoot.

RIMZ clips are a whole different matter ...