Webley Mark VI- .45 softballs, cut the moon clip into 6 separate pieces?

[mannyrock]

Dear Guys,
   I was at the gun  range yesterday, and saw a buddy of mine shooting a 4 inch Webley.  I belive it was a Mark VI, but it could have been a Mark IV.   It was in fantastic shape.     Sadly, it was one that was shaved to to fire .45 auto.
    This revolver was the tightest Webley I have ever seen.  Absolutely no rattles or shakes of any kind whatsoever. Crisp, and great mechanics.
    I asked him how he could be shooting .45 auto in this, and still have it stay so tight.  He told me that he only shoots Federal Gold Match .45, in the light 185 grain semi wadcutter round, which has about 1/3rd of the chamber pressure of a regular hardball .45 round.  These cost about $45 a box, but he doesn't care.
     He was using full moon clips to load these rounds.  Problem was, they were a total pain to load.   The clips are pretty cheap, bendable metal, and once he clipped six rounds into a clip, he had real problems lining up the noses of the six rounds into the six round chambers, and then trying to "drop" them in.  If even one round was slighly out  circle, then you had to go around and around the circle of rounds to straighten them inward (or outward) to get them to go into the chamber.  They never just dropped in, you had to push them in.  Having that semi-wadcutter bullet nose, with the little flat edges all of the way around, made it very easy for the rounds to catch on the sides of the chambers.
   I have an idea, and please feel free to tell me it is totally stupid.
   Why couldn't he just take one of thos full moon clips, and use a dremel cutting tool to divide it into six separate equal pieces.  Then, he could snap one piece around the edge of each round, and just drop the rounds  in one by one.  These clips are pretty cheap, and I think you could pretty easily made 50 pieces or so, to pre-snap a full box of .45 auto rounds.  It would probably take less than 5 minutes to snap a piece onto each round.
    Of course, when the empty shell ejects, then the snapped-on piece would also eject, still attached to the empty shell. They would hit the ground, and you could pick them up when you are done.
    I am not here to debate whether it is safe to shoot very light .45 softball loads in a great condition Webley. 
   But, does anyone have any experience, specualtions or comments on the use of six separate snap on clips?
  By the way, even with these very light .45 rounds, that revolver was danged loud!  Recoil, however, was very light, like shooting a 4 inch .38 special  in a good Smith and Wesson.
Thanks for all comments, speculations, and ideas.
 According to the box of Matchgrade ammo, these 185 grain rounds clock out at only 750 fps at the muzzle.
 
Best Regards,
Mannyrock
P.S.- I
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[gunnut69]

I don't know how the Webleys hold up to 45ACP pressures but they are very well made revolvers. As too the problem with alignment I suggest the chambers be chamfered. This will remove the sharp edge of the chamber and allow the reloading to be much easier. There are also partial moon clips that hold 2 or 3 rounds. That also should make reeloads a bit easier. Of course loading a full moon clip is a load easier with a tool designed for the purpose. Most resemble a pair of pliers that insert into the center of the moonclip and one empty casing, ctivating the plier levers the empty out.. The partial moons don't have such a device to my knowledge. Simpler still would be a switch to 45 AutoRim cases and start reloading. They have a rim that negates the need for a moon clip. The shooting will be much cheaper and if lead bullets are used along with light loads there will be even less wear and tear on that lovely or war horse..

[Mikey]

The half moon clips are the ones originally designed for the Webley, S&W and Colt revolvers cut for the 45 acp round.  Honestly, I felt they were easier to line up than a full moon clip and you could load and unload them easily by hand - no other tool required..... And the gunnut is so right about reloading, he just forgot to mention how much more fun it is to shoot easy going reloads from the older guns.........

[gr8ful]

I have a Mark II and a Mark IV that are .45 ACP conversions.  My Mark II is extremely tight, the Mark IV not so much, when I shoot them it is with full moon clips and 230gr ball ammo loaded light.  I do not have any problem aligning them to the cylinders, or at least no more trouble than using a speed loader in any of my other revolvers.  If your moon clips are too tight simply file the ears until the cases pop in and out with light to moderate force.  I also use a 3 inch piece of dowel that just fits into the cases to get a bit of extra leverage when reloading the clips.

[StrawHat]

Ranch Products still makes the 1/3 moon clip.  It holds two rounds of ammuniton.  No cutting or filing.