Author Topic: Fullmoon clip conversion for .357 (Read 615 times)

missouri dave · « **on:** April 08, 2005, 05:30:01 PM »

Wild West Guns does a conversion that allows the .454 casull, the .45colt and the .45acp to all fire out of the same revolver cylinder and all use full moon clips. My question is, if you did this to a .357magnum could you also shoot 9mm in it?

dawei · « **Reply #1 on:** April 08, 2005, 05:42:35 PM »

Quote from: missouri dave

Wild West Guns does a conversion that allows the .454 casull, the .45colt and the .45acp to all fire out of the same revolver cylinder and all use full moon clips. My question is, if you did this to a .357magnum could you also shoot 9mm in it?

You could shoot 9mm but most likely accuracy would suffer; 9mm = .355.

Badnews Bob · « **Reply #2 on:** April 08, 2005, 06:36:41 PM »

I don't think it would be worth the effort, Ruger blackhawks in .357 can be had with a extra cylinder to shoot nines with I plan on getting one when I find the right deal. Most 9MM rounds are .356 I load them in .38 cases for cheap low power plinkers they work well enuff for the intended purpose and are cheap as anything else out there.

Mikey · « **Reply #3 on:** April 09, 2005, 03:32:52 AM »

Dave: Bob is accurate with his badnews (sorry Bob - lol). While you may be able to chamber different 45 caliber cartridges in your Casull, the same is not true for the 357/38 Spl/9mm family.

The 9mm case is tapered slightly but is too large at the base to chamber properly in a 357 or 38 Spl. You would need an interchangeable cylinder bored for the 9mm to shoot 9mm from a 357. And it probably would not be worth the effort or cost.

The 357/38 spl cartridges run anywhere from .356-.358 bore diameter. The 9mm usually runs .355-.356. Your chance of getting any satisfactory accuracy with 9mm bullets from a 357 bore aren't all that great and you might find yourself unhappy with the results. I once loaded some 9mm bullets into 38 spl cases, before SuperVel even, and found that from a Colt 38 snubnose they shot ok, but from S&W 38s and 357s the accuracy was pretty poor.

A better option might be the bulk purchase of 38 spl wadcutters or other reloads in that caliber. When you compare the cost of surplus 9mm, there is little difference in the cost of reloaded wadcutters and your accuracy and satisfaction with the revolver will be a lot more. Please let me suggest the use of cast bullets in those reloads over swaged bullets to avoid possible leading problems in your bore.

You didn't say if you reload but it would be a good activity to get into if you would like to shoot a lot of 38/357 as it would allow you to tailor your loads to your particular handgun. HTH. Mikey.

Badnews Bob · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2005, 05:16:51 PM »

I like it! Hey Mikey I like it! :-D

Jamie45 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 10, 2005, 07:05:34 PM »

MD, a coupla points to think about. I have a Blackhawk that came with a 9mm conversion cylinder. Performance (velocity & accuracy) is very underwhelming. I played with it a few times when I first got the gun, but it has not been touched in the last 25 years.

Also, before you spend money on this, you might want to call them and find out if your gun will work properly without the moon clip. Basically they are going to machine .022 of the rear of your cylinder to make room for the clip. Im not a gunsmith, but it looks really sketchy to me. Where Im going with this is: If KT goes out of business and your last clip breaks you are out of business until you get a new cylinder fitted.

A buddy of mine has an old WW2 gun (S&W?) that uses moon clips. He says they are real pain to load & unload. The new ones might be easer, and they have all kinds of cool tools they will sell you, but give it careful thought. I think you would be better served to spend your money on a few standard speed loaders and a big box of .38 spl range ammo.

On the other hand, you would have something on the range nobody else has and thats always a lot of fun.