M380 revolver question

mmmm.....mmmm.....mmmm...SMH

I thought the moon clips were required.

All the Best,
D. White

^^^^^ They are.

The clips are not required, apparently, as the cylinder is cut to avoid the rounds dropping in too far from the firing pin. Looks like it's just a tolerance issues that should be remedied after break-in. I'm no expert (obviously), but there doesn't seem to be any real info on the web for this. I've googled "tight casings" for the Taurus revolvers and came up empty. Hey Aberdog, thanks for your feedback. It helped me a lot. This is the type of insight I was looking for when I joined up. Thanks!

**Edit: Nevermind, they are required. Thanks dwhite and CJS3.

-S

I think moon clips should be used as it was designed, but the gun can function without them. My nephew a a couple of S&W revolvers in .45acp from World War I. He has the moon clips, but doesn't like messing with them. He can eject spent cases with his fingernail, as they generally won't just fall out. You may have to find some method or tool to get them out and get used to it, or use the clips. Maybe acquire enough to preload before a range trip, then speed reload.

Are the cylinder walls smooth? Maybe some jewelers roue and a dremel.

I would be inclined to WANT to use moon clips. 380 ACP is a rimless round so, nothing to “headspace” on the chamber rim. Ejecting the moon clip of spent cartridges and replacing with a new fully loaded clip is equivalent to reloading an autopistols with a fully loaded magazine. The difference is you won’t have to pick up spent brass from the 380 if you reload for it.

Moon clips are usually made of spring steel but they’re all a tad different. Check several brands and find one that you feel is easier on your fingers and use them.

FWIW, I have a S&W Governor which takes 410 shells, 45 Colt and 45ACP. The ACP’s being rimless rely on moon clips to “run” correctly. I keep 3 speedloaders loaded with 45 Colt and 3 moon clips loaded with 45ACP for quick load and unload.

Thanks a lot for the replies guys. The clips are not required as the gun will fire without them. But for carry, they certainly should be used. For the range I'm ok with bringing a wire to manually push out the casings.

That is true with all the moon clip capable revolvers I know about. 380 and other semi-automatic rounds are rimless and so the revolver extractor will not eject a spent case. My Smith 1917s and Colt New Service 45acps behave the same way.

There were a couple of revolvers that were designed for semi-auto rounds without clips. S&W made a 9mm with and ejector system that, to me, looked like an umbrella's guts. Charter has a couple, I think 9mm and 40, that are engineered to work without clips, but I have not seen them.

Some of the 327 Magnum revolvers can handle 32 ACP rounds without clips. The 32 ACP round is “semi” rimless meaning it has something that can keep it in the chamber. My Ruger SP 101 in 327 Fed can shoot he 32 ACPs withouta moon clip and my dad has a Ruger Single Seven in 327 that can shoot them too. So, while the 32 ACP is not officially listed as one of the cartridges compatible with 327 revolvers - they can work.

I had a 405 a few years back. Really a nice gun, but I typically don’t care much for short barrels. I carried a 1/4” wooden dowell that was about 6” long to pop the empties out. I started off shooting cheap blazer aluminum cases. Once I figured out that brass ammo was a lot easier to fool with I could kinda whack the gun against my hand to jar them loose and usually 3 or 4 would drop out and I could poke the other ones with the dowel.