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April - May 1999
Volume 34, Number
2
ISSN: 0017-7393
Number 198 |
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On the
cover...
Hornady celebrates 50 years. The .240 Weatherby Li |
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Revolver Cylinder
Conversions
Steve Gash
One can learn a lot of neat stuff thumbing
through the gunny catalogs. One evening I was perusing Denney's new 15th anniversary
catalog and spied an item described as "full-moon clips, 38SPL Taurus 8-shot."
If someone sold full-moon clips for a Taurus, it stood to reason that someone altered the
guns to use them. Being the proud owner of a Taurus Model 608 eight-shot .357 Magnum
revolver, I made a phone call.
The Denney's folks referred me to one Bob Miles of Gardena, California. It turns out that
Mr. Miles not only makes the clips, but also converts revolver cylinders for their use. In
addition to the eight-shot Taurus, Miles also converts and offers full-moon clips for
six-, seven- and eight-shot S&W revolvers of various calibers.
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I shipped the cylinder assembly of the Model
608 off, and in a very short time, I had the converted cylinder back, along with a supply
of clips. The cost was $85 for the conversion, and this included five clips. It even
included the return shipping. Extra clips for the Taurus eight shot are $3. Clips for the
S&W revolvers are $1.50 for the six shot, $2.75 for the seven shot and $3.25 for the
eight shot.
Upon examination of the cylinder, I found that Miles had lathe-cut a slight recess in the
rear of the cylinder and extractor star to make room for the clips. The clips for the
Taurus are .022 inch thick and have a .666-inch hole in the center.
For those familiar with the relatively thick clips for the S&W Model 625 .45 ACP
revolver, these little hummers seem pretty thin, but they work like a charm. As a bonus,
the revolver shoots and ejects just fine without the clips.
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On the .357 clips, not just any old brass can
be used. A card included with the shipment stated, "The use of Federal, R-P or
Starline brass is recommended. Winchester cannot be used due to its smaller groove
cut." I guess the size of the groove cut on a rimmed case isn't too important in a
cartridge in which it isn't normally used for anything, but it is in this application.
Sure enough, the Federal, Starline and R-P brass I had on hand worked fine. Midway brass
also worked. There is some variation among all these brands, so the shooter will have to
cherry-pick a little. If the groove cut in the case is too deep, the cartridge will
actually fall out of the clip. If it's not deep enough, you can't get the case in it.
Also, since these clips are pretty thin, I think it would be fairly easy to bend them.
Then, I'd guess they're toast. Remington cases work the best of all, so I laid in a supply
of them, and all's right with the world.
The full-moon clip extractors we all use for .45 ACPs work fairly well with the .357
clips, but if you bend the sides of the extractor together just a little, they work like
they were made for the smaller cases.
As any action or pin shooter will tell you, it is much faster to reload a wheelgun with
full-moon clips than with speedloaders. Now owners of a whole host of revolvers can have
this advantage as well.
Bob Miles can be contacted at 15929 Estrella Avenue, Gardena CA 90247. Denney's Shooter's
Supply is located at 1703 State Street, PO Box 402, Cedar Falls IA 50613
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