Colt/S&W 1917 Experiences?

[samari46]

I use the polymer RIMZ type moon clips. Where the exrtractor is you have to do a bit of filing to remove the nubs and test as you go. I tries this and loaded RIMZ ckips and they just drop them in the chambers. When it comes time to remove the spent shells all you use is your fingers. The barrel on my Brazilian 1937 contract S&W does show some wear and roughness so stashed away is a brand new S&W barrel. Only thing I really don't like is the half moon front sight.Thinking about removing the half moon portion slitting the base and installing piece of steel and adding a flat piece of steel and using a 0-80 brass screw as a bead. That and cleaning up the rear sight slot. When I like shooting revolvers I like to have a reference spot on the front sight. Frank
Frank

[35 Whelen]

I saw a Smith with the half moon sight notched at the rear. Looked like a great improvement.

35W

[Forrest r]

HB bullets take all the cylinder size/bore condition/hard alloy out of play.
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Cramer did a hb version of their 200gr swc (bottom left) specifically for the 1917's. They cast @ .454" with range scrap & make an excellent target/plinking round.
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[StrawHat]

...earlier Colt 1917 revolvers have to use .45 auto rim or .45 auto with the moon clips. the chambers on these don't have a lip for the .45 acp to head-space on...

I have heard and read this for about 1/2 of a century but have never seen or held such in my hand. Granted, I prefer S&W but even my friends who are Colt collectors have not found a straight chambered Colt. I wonder if the military did not either require Colts to correct the cylinders or if they were recylindered by the various armories when returned for servicing.

Kevin

[owejia]

Have two of the 1937 Brizilians, use the Rimz clips instead of the metal clips. Mostly shoot the bee killer [walnut media ] loads in them. Also made some 45 acp snake loads years ago to take care of pidgeons in my hay barns. Cut down .308 brass neck sized to go through the cylinder throat, just short of the end of the cylinder, loaded with #6 shot with a 410 wad these were deadly for the pidgeons inside the metal barns with out shooting holes through the tin. When shooting the bee killer loads the Rimz clips are handy as you need fast reloads, when the bees are really busy can shoot a couple hundred rounds in just 10 or 15 minutes. Have never really shot many solid boolits through them. One barrel slugs .452 and the other slugs .451, barrels are smooth and clean. The walnut media bee loads polish them. Also bush hog with open station tractor , with the long snake loads shoot crows when they get within range of the tractor

[StrawHat]

...HB bullets take all the cylinder size/bore condition/hard alloy out of play ... Cramer did a hb version of their 200gr swc (bottom left) specifically for the 1917's. They cast @ .454" with range scrap & make an excellent target/plinking round...

I am very interested in that full wadcutter boolit. Is that mold still available?

Kevin

[WehrmannsGeweher]

OR you can buy a Colt New Service in 45 Colt and have a revolver that is more accurate and powerful.

[El Bibliotecario]

I have heard and read this for about 1/2 of a century but have never seen or held such in my hand. Granted, I prefer S&W but even my friends who are Colt collectors have not found a straight chambered Colt. I wonder if the military did not either require Colts to correct the cylinders or if they were recylindered by the various armories when returned for servicing.

Kevin

Thank you! I figured my diatribe against clips would evoke mention of early Colts. Your experience mirrors mine. I bought my first M1917 Colt in 1973 and I am still waiting to find one with unshouldered chambers.

[El Bibliotecario]

I saw a Smith with the half moon sight notched at the rear. Looked like a great improvement.

35W

My Brazilian M1917 front sight looked as if someone had scraped it along a block of concrete wall. I replaced it with a dovetail-mounted square post, trading collectibility for a now-useable weapon.

[Forrest r]

I am very interested in that full wadcutter boolit. Is that mold still available?

Kevin

It's a Mihec hbwc mold. Don't know if their still for sale or not. Bought the 32cal/35cal/41cal/44cal/45cal years ago

[StrawHat]

Kevin

It's a Mihec hbwc mold. Don't know if their still for sale or not. Bought the 32cal/35cal/41cal/44cal/45cal years ago

Thank you, I’ll check it out.

Kevin

[Walks]

The M1917 COLTS with the bored-thru cylinder are a fact. My DAD had one, along with a S&W M1917 or 2. We generally shot them with Magna style grips with Pachmayr grip frame adapter's. My DAD made the grips for the Colt.

My DAD preferred the .45 Auto Rim case with an old Ideal 235(?)gr wadcutter cast of pure Linotype. They might have been a lot more expensive the the almost free .45ACP cases. But it was easy to tell the different loads apart. And we already loaded a .45 Hardball Load for the regular 1911A1 surplus guns & a .45ACP target load for my Dad's Pachmayr reworked 1911.

The Colt's with the Bored-thru cylinders did exist. But the only one I ever saw was that one my Dad owned.

[Outpost75]

Thanks for all the responses so far. I'm kind of leaning toward a Smith, mainly because of Colt's history of producing .45 caliber cylinder throats of gigantic diameter.

35W

My S&W .45 ACP Hand Ejector Model of 1950 Military has .456" throats.
My 1980s era .45 Colt Model 25-5 had .458" throats, keyholed with factory ammunition, so I sold it.
My .45 ACP Model 625 of 1989 did have correct .4525" throats and shoots wonderfully.

Take your pin gages to the shop with you, or several MEASURED lead bullets of known diameter.

Hint: If a 300-grain Sierra .457" diameter .45-70 bullet goes into the cylinder throats DO NOT BUY THE GUN!

Cylinder throats of .452-.455 are OK, just use bullets which "fit."

[35 Whelen]

Well, it's an auction purchase and therefore a roll.of the dice!

35W

[MT Gianni]

I have loaded and shot M1917 S&Ws for decades and have never understood the obsession with moon clips, or for that matter, original half moon clips, for casual shooting. One spends more time clipping and unclipping rounds and fired brass than one spends loading and unloading the weapon, including picking individual fired .45ACP cases from the chambers, something which has never posed the slightest difficulty.

For combat use or in a timed event the clips make sense. For casual range use I find them a clever solution to a nonexistent problem. I am sure many will vehemently disagree.

Those who packed on horses and ran cow camps in the NW USA loved the moon clips as it gave them a fast reload if anything messed with their livestock. I agree that they are useless for range work other than if working on a fast reload.

[MFGordon]

I have owned a 1937 Brazilian gun for thirty years that is a bit of an of an oddity. Back in 1989 when they were offered for $150 dealer price, a friend who had an in with the old Navy Arms in Ridgefield NJ and was going into their warehouse for the purpose of selecting excellent condition Mauser rifles was able to hand select me the best condition Model 1937 he could find. What I got was an especially good condition first contract gun that was basically a U.S. Model 1917 that was made after the Armistice and put away for almost twenty years. Every part has U.S. WWI era inspector marks stamped on it. The gun is cursed with a thin front sight and a smaller rear sight that were difficult to see even thirty years a ago with much younger eyes.

As a shooter the gun is excellent, not a match grade .45 but about even with any service grade 1911 I have ever shot. Over the years I have shot some jacket 230 grain factory loads but mostly lead bullets in the 200 to 230 grain range. Recently I have been shooting commercial cast 230 grain round nose bullets over 4.5 grains of Bullseye which shoot fine. This 1937 shoots low and to the left at 25 yards and thirty years ago I could hold the fine sight at the two o:clock position on an NRA timed and rapid fire target at 25 yards and deliver every shot in the black. (Not any more) (That was before cornea damage and torn retinas.) Of course I don't think they can be had at $150 anymore..

[Drm50]

I have Colt and S&W 1917 as well as two S&W m25-2s. I shoot cast 185gr target bullet for 45acp at 750 fps in all them. I hate moons of any kind and have shot very few 45acps and only in the 1917 S&W. I load 45ar brass and it last forever and you don't have to fool with moons. My cast is fairly soft but I'm just shooting paper with these guns. I always have the best luck with softest mix I can get away with in target loads.I like the S&W 1917 better than the Colt. Thing is the Colt prints with the sights at 25', the S&W shoots 3" high at same range. The 25-2s will shoot good as you can hold them.

[Harter66]

I don't understand why with a demooning tool it's a big deal to use the clips . I had a few , and I got with a friend that bought a S&W Governor and we split 100 getting a bonus pack with 5 additional nickle plated clips . At today's rate that's $0.81 each from Revolver Supply . My demooner holds 12 cases and is made from a steel golf club grip . I don't know how many rounds y'all shoot per trip but I find that 25-30 clips is enough being 3-4 boxes of loaded ammo . I have zero case loss , so far the clips don't seem to be anywhere near as fragile as is often suggested . I only have 65 clips . The other point is that I can actually unload and load the clips while I catch up on the news or watch a movie or something as it truly is a mindless operation . I stack 14 per layer in a 30 cal ammo can and it would hold 4 layers or 56 loaded clips . They also pack nicely in the big bore pill bottles 3 at a time in the tall ones . I can load about 40 an hour I guess , it takes about 15 seconds to unload 2 and dump them in the trays or tumbler , all done while otherwise just wasting time .

[justashooter]

these revolvers should not be hot loaded. i have a 1915 canadian contract for 455 that has been re-cut to 45 ACP, and the steel is soft by comparison to modern handgun steel. stay around 700 FPS with a 230 grain.

[35 Whelen]

these revolvers should not be hot loaded. i have a 1915 canadian contract for 455 that has been re-cut to 45 ACP, and the steel is soft by comparison to modern handgun steel. stay around 700 FPS with a 230 grain.

Well, they were originally chambered in 45 ACP, whose chamber pressure is 21,000 psi. What do you consider "hot loaded"?

35W