rcmodel
Member in memoriam
I was talking about the post-WWI - pre-WWII time period when the 1917's probably reached the height of popularity.
That was the time period the OP ask about.
I was aware that cops weren't carrying .32's in 1960-70.
rc
Why weren't moon clips & the revolvers that used them more popular with police?
- Thread starter ryan3465
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That was the time period the OP ask about.
I was aware that cops weren't carrying .32's in 1960-70.
rc
tipoc
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Around here somewhere I have pics of the pouches the Army and Marine Corp used for the 45 acp half moon clips, but I can't find them so here are some from other sources...
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=WW1+1917+3+Pocket+Ammo+Pouch+45+Half+Moon+Clips
http://www.ima-usa.com/u-s-wwi-1917-half-moon-clip-45-cal-3-pocket-pouch.html
These held 18 rounds in 6 half moon clips and lay flat on the web belt.
tipoc
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=WW1+1917+3+Pocket+Ammo+Pouch+45+Half+Moon+Clips
http://www.ima-usa.com/u-s-wwi-1917-half-moon-clip-45-cal-3-pocket-pouch.html
These held 18 rounds in 6 half moon clips and lay flat on the web belt.
tipoc
dogrunner
Member
Actually, Model, he specified 20's and beyond.............the period I addressed was during the very last stages of revolver carry as a normal/regular thing....far as packing a .32 goes I used to regularly carry a 1903 .32 auto, back up gun.........likely the very best of the Colt autos......flat, concealable and doggone accurate. Duty wise tho, the singular one was the mentioned item, heck, given some of the .380's common for off duty wear now it truly wasn't that bad!
Don't know about others, but I learned a heck of a lot from some of those old timers (I know, now I IS one), from basic marksmanship to just how to work a case to my best advantage. Fella that taught me the most was a medical school dropout (ran out of money) from the 20's, wound up in Fla. when the '26 hurricane hit....was a deputy sheriff & one of the very first Florida Hwy Patrolman when that force was formed. God, the stories that guy could tell. Carried a nickled 19, used to tell about the closest call he ever had was by a fella from a turpentine camp with a Colt .32-20..........Florida was truly a frontier State back then and some of the tales would make for a good book.
Don't ever sell those old timers short...they did a hulluva job with little to work with other than their wits and good common sense. Formal education was a rare commodity in the field back then, but more than made up for by some really class act folks.
Don't know about others, but I learned a heck of a lot from some of those old timers (I know, now I IS one), from basic marksmanship to just how to work a case to my best advantage. Fella that taught me the most was a medical school dropout (ran out of money) from the 20's, wound up in Fla. when the '26 hurricane hit....was a deputy sheriff & one of the very first Florida Hwy Patrolman when that force was formed. God, the stories that guy could tell. Carried a nickled 19, used to tell about the closest call he ever had was by a fella from a turpentine camp with a Colt .32-20..........Florida was truly a frontier State back then and some of the tales would make for a good book.
Don't ever sell those old timers short...they did a hulluva job with little to work with other than their wits and good common sense. Formal education was a rare commodity in the field back then, but more than made up for by some really class act folks.
aka108
Member
I shoot a S&W 625 that uses moon clips. It gets used for some target shooting and plinking. Never had any function problems with the moon clips but they never get any rough treatment either. Getting new rounds into the clips can get a little wearing on the fingers. Bought a Ruger 45LC/45ACP convertible and moon clips are not used. I prefer it since I don't have to look forward to putting new rounds in clips when I get home.
Cosmoline
Member
Training tended to be far more rigorous than some here seem to believe. Cops in the old days made their six rounds count.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDP8BRSEjrA
Moonclips and half moonclips were (and are) viewed as something for those trying to squeeze in a little faster time in competition. They are not and have never been necessary for effective defensive revolver shooting.
Vern Humphrey
Member
Those police officers who favored the .45 ACP cartridge carried the M1911 -- which is a better choice for actual social uses.
Not many cops, at least in the East, carried 1911's or any auto pistol. The public thought they "looked funny" and if a 1911 was carried cocked and locked, the chief got calls about a cop carrying a cocked gun.
Small town cops, who had to have their own guns, did sometimes carry oddities, mostly vet bringbacks. I knew a cop who carried a Luger, a couple had P.38's, one a Walther PP, and one an Ortgies, plus assorted old revolvers and one S&W .44 Special. The latter had a cracked chamber and the cop had driven a wood plug into that chamber so he wouldn't accidentally load it.
Of course there was a lot less crime in those days; further, if a cop really needed help, chances were half the citizens around would be armed.
In the early 50's a call went out on the police radio in one small city about an armed robbery at a restaurant; a reporter and a photographer for the local paper responded to get the story, which they did. But first they drew their guns and held the out-of-town robbers for police.
Wild West? Nope, western PA.
Jim
Small town cops, who had to have their own guns, did sometimes carry oddities, mostly vet bringbacks. I knew a cop who carried a Luger, a couple had P.38's, one a Walther PP, and one an Ortgies, plus assorted old revolvers and one S&W .44 Special. The latter had a cracked chamber and the cop had driven a wood plug into that chamber so he wouldn't accidentally load it.
Of course there was a lot less crime in those days; further, if a cop really needed help, chances were half the citizens around would be armed.
In the early 50's a call went out on the police radio in one small city about an armed robbery at a restaurant; a reporter and a photographer for the local paper responded to get the story, which they did. But first they drew their guns and held the out-of-town robbers for police.
Wild West? Nope, western PA.
Jim
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