retired2006
Bearcat
Now that these have hit the street, have any of you owners been using 40S&W with moon clips in them ? Do they work that way, without misfires ?
Use 40S&W in 10mm Match Champion ?
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There are two schools of thought regarding moon clips.
Some folks reliably use the clips to headspace, others, like me, use moon clips only as an extraction means, and count on the case mouth headspacing in the chamber.
With this all said, a moon or half-moon clip may reliably provide headspacing for a .40 S&W cartridge in a 10mm chamber, but other than at the range or as a novelty, I would not count on it.
The more a half-moon clip is used, the more chance it has to get bent out of shape, to the point it may not correctly interface between the recoil shield and the cylinder. It then could act as a buffer, softening the firing pin blow as the case is spring-cushioned by the clip.
On the other hand, others have their cylinders machined to accept a moon clip just so they can fire .45 ACP rounds thru a .45 Colt cylinder. And it's been successfully done for decades.
Further, applying the same question to the Redhawk revolver in 10mm, the American Rifleman did such a test, and found the .40 to reliably function with the use of moon clips in the 10mm chambered Redhawk they tested.
And since then, they also did the same thing with the Match Champion, declaring the .40 S&W worked perfectly.
The cartridge case of the .40 S&W semi-auto pistol round shares the same external dimensions as the 10 mm with the exception of being 0.142" shorter. This means the revolver can be safely fired with the softer shooting .40 S&W but two things should be kept in mind. First, .40 S&W cartridges must be supported by full-moon clips. Otherwise they will slip down into the chambers and not fire. Secondly, it's important to thoroughly scrub out each of the cylinder's chambers after shooting .40 S&W before switching back to 10 mm to avoid the longer cartridge cases sticking in the chambers.
Some folks reliably use the clips to headspace, others, like me, use moon clips only as an extraction means, and count on the case mouth headspacing in the chamber.
With this all said, a moon or half-moon clip may reliably provide headspacing for a .40 S&W cartridge in a 10mm chamber, but other than at the range or as a novelty, I would not count on it.
The more a half-moon clip is used, the more chance it has to get bent out of shape, to the point it may not correctly interface between the recoil shield and the cylinder. It then could act as a buffer, softening the firing pin blow as the case is spring-cushioned by the clip.
On the other hand, others have their cylinders machined to accept a moon clip just so they can fire .45 ACP rounds thru a .45 Colt cylinder. And it's been successfully done for decades.
Further, applying the same question to the Redhawk revolver in 10mm, the American Rifleman did such a test, and found the .40 to reliably function with the use of moon clips in the 10mm chambered Redhawk they tested.
And since then, they also did the same thing with the Match Champion, declaring the .40 S&W worked perfectly.
The cartridge case of the .40 S&W semi-auto pistol round shares the same external dimensions as the 10 mm with the exception of being 0.142" shorter. This means the revolver can be safely fired with the softer shooting .40 S&W but two things should be kept in mind. First, .40 S&W cartridges must be supported by full-moon clips. Otherwise they will slip down into the chambers and not fire. Secondly, it's important to thoroughly scrub out each of the cylinder's chambers after shooting .40 S&W before switching back to 10 mm to avoid the longer cartridge cases sticking in the chambers.
My question is why hassle? 40 & 10mm factory ammo is about the same cost and some times one is cheaper than the other. Reduced factory 10mm loads are not as available with as many bullet etc. combinations as 40 but there are plenty. If you hand load there is no real difference between 40 & 10mm in reduced loads; either recoil or cost. I recently bought a 10mm Blackhawk over, a redhawk for the convertible feature, after using it I feel the convertible is effectively cosmetic and offers no real advantage, except in tough times, the ability to use possibly more available .40 ammo.
BPGuy
Single-Sixer
Why hassle? Because I've got a couple of thousand rounds of .40 just laying around, and no 10mm.
Any time you use a shorter cartridge in a multi use cylinder (38/357 32l/32h&R/327 22s/l/lr) you should clean the cylinder before using the longer cartridge. But I have had many range sessions shooting both .38 and .357 from the same gun and there has been no problem. I cant imagine that .40 and 10mm would be any different.
contender
Ruger Guru
To the OP; Can it be done? Yes,, as others have pointed out.
As to why.
In many places,,, 40 S&W ammo is easier & cheaper to find.
Also,,, many forget that 40 S&W is used a lot in competition handguns. Brass is easily found, and cheap for reloading.
As for moon clips,,, I use a moon clipped 40 S&W handgun in USPSA competition. It was designed for them, and I've never had misfires due to soft primer hits etc. Of course,, I inspect my clips for any bends or out of shape ones. I have occasionally found one slightly bent, (due to being dropped rapidly due to being dropped during a course of fire) which I have flattened back out & re-used. Moon clips have their place in many handguns,,, and especially in handguns used for speed competitions, such as USPSA.
And with cheap & easy to find brass,,, using a 40 cal in a gun marked 10mm can be an economical way to enjoy it. But as noted,, clean the chambers carefully & double check to make sure you can chamber 10mm when desired.
As to why.
In many places,,, 40 S&W ammo is easier & cheaper to find.
Also,,, many forget that 40 S&W is used a lot in competition handguns. Brass is easily found, and cheap for reloading.
As for moon clips,,, I use a moon clipped 40 S&W handgun in USPSA competition. It was designed for them, and I've never had misfires due to soft primer hits etc. Of course,, I inspect my clips for any bends or out of shape ones. I have occasionally found one slightly bent, (due to being dropped rapidly due to being dropped during a course of fire) which I have flattened back out & re-used. Moon clips have their place in many handguns,,, and especially in handguns used for speed competitions, such as USPSA.
And with cheap & easy to find brass,,, using a 40 cal in a gun marked 10mm can be an economical way to enjoy it. But as noted,, clean the chambers carefully & double check to make sure you can chamber 10mm when desired.
I also need no justification for shooting the forty. It's a dandy cartridge. To each his own. :mrgreen:
I recently acquired a 10mm/.40 convertible Blackhawk, with the primary intention of using it to shoot .40 ammo.
So if a feller has a 10mm revolver that he particularly likes, and he wants to see how the .40 fares in the same revolver, more power to him. :wink:
I recently acquired a 10mm/.40 convertible Blackhawk, with the primary intention of using it to shoot .40 ammo.
So if a feller has a 10mm revolver that he particularly likes, and he wants to see how the .40 fares in the same revolver, more power to him. :wink:
JStacy
Blackhawk
My S&W 610 shoots 40 S&W reliably with moon clips. Some 40 S&W loads are quite accurate out of my 610 also. I see no reason to not shoot them,just clean the chambers after you do so no crud ring forms to interfere with shooting 10 MM's.
TENFAN
Single-Sixer
I have used a lot of .40 in several S&W 610s and a Clements custom GP-100 with excellent accuracy and no issues
