44 S&W Russian brass in moonclips?

[brianbelanger]

Question:
Do you foresee any difficulties using 44 Russian brass in moonclips for a Ruger Super Redhawk milled for moonclips?

Background:
This would not be an issue if I lived in the USA.
I live in Canada where 4 inch barrel length handguns are prohibited according to laws written by liberal politicians who do not know what they are talking about. We do not have your beautiful 2nd amendment. The Canadian laws gave a grandfather clause to then existing owners of 4 inch and shorter handguns which did permitted them to continue owning them however they could only sell them to someone else who was also grandfathered. This is Canadian gun confiscation through aging. We have a 72 year old guy beating a lot of production auto competitors with his 625 4 inch that he has been using for many years. The new S&W model 625 is therefor not available here. (4 inch). The old 5 inch 625 is rarer that hen's teeth. Importing one to Canada is practically impossible. I've been shooting IPSC/USPSA for about 10 years using race and production autos. I have been shooting PPC using a S&W586 for about 3 years.

I would like to shoot standard revolver in IPSC/USPSA and I own a Ruger Super Redhawk 7 1/2 inch barrel. It satisfies the rules and may be competitive in Canada regardless of its bulk. I have seen 625 reloading speeds with moonclips and consider this as an example to emulate.

Assumption 1) Given that moonclips are being used; the longer the brass case length then the higher is the probability of slower loading, unloading and the chance of hangup. Example: The shorter .45apc moonclips feed and eject faster and more reliably than longer .44 magnum moonclips? Brass case lengths (inches) are: .898 = 45apc, .97=.44S&W Russian, .1.1615=44Special, .1.285= .44Magnum. The 44S&W Russian is .072 inches longer than the .45apc whereas the .44Special is .2635 inches longer. and the .44 magnum is .387 inches longer. Therefore the assumption is that the 44S&W Russian case is the best to emulate the 45apc for moonclip reloading speeds for a 44 magnum revolver?

Assumption 2) Case wall thicknesses may be different but the variance is immaterial.

Assumption 3) The major power factor may be achieved with the smaller case volume of the .44S&W Russian by using stronger modern powders. (I have seen web examples and will crono them myself once this project planning is complete)

Your insight is much appreciated.

Brian

[azredhawk44]

Yes, you can do it.

Or, you can trim down .44 special brass to whatever length you want, to mimic a .45acp cartridge length.

However, .44 moonclips are floppier than .45acp moonclips.

[Webleymkv]

I see no reason that it wouldn't work since the .44 Russian is simply a shorter version of the .44 Special. Another option would be to have either a Super Redhawk in .454 Casull or a Redhawk in .45 Colt milled to accept .45 ACP with moonclips.

[44 AMP]

And it was mentioned, moon clips for rimmed rounds are "floppier" than those for rimless rounds. This means that they do not hold the rounds quite as securely, due to the fact that there is no extraction groove in the brass for the clip to snap into. This is unlikely to affect the functioning of extraction, but it might make a difference in the loading. If a round becomes mis-aligned (because of "floppiness") it might cost you a fraction of a second or longer to get it in the cylinder.

There is no free lunch, so you need balance the "advantage" of the shorter brass ejecting "faster" (and if you full stroke the ejector rod, does it actually make a difference?) against the slightly better ability of longer rounds (particularly with rounded bullet profiles) to "self guide" on their way into the chambers.

Since you are shooting competition, fractions of a second might be the difference in winning a match, where for general use they may not be as important. Its a call you have to make for yourself. If I were you, I'd try hard to find a revolver that meets your legal rules, in a rimless caliber.