S&W 610 Owners ... moon clip preferences; reload crimping

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dogfood

New member
OK, I needed another revolver like I needed another hole in the head, but I put an S&W 610 on order this morning. This is my first venture into wheelguns chambered for rimless cartridges, so ...

(1) Anyone have a moon clip preference? I've found both plastic and steel - from several manufacturers. Pricing is not all that different, especially since I won't be buying thousands of them. I just want what works.

(2) The 10mm round uses a taper crimp. I'm use to roll crimps in rimmed revolver cartridges, and sometimes a heavy roll crimp is required to keep bullets from pulling out during recoil. Has anyone had any issues with 10mm bullets pulling out with just a taper crimp on heavy loads? I'll use the Redding taper crimp die, which has always been flawless when loading .45 ACP for a 1911.

Thanks,
dogfood
 
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drail

Moderator
Dogfood, the secret to stopping bullets from pulling under recoil or setting back on feeding has nothing to do with the crimp. It's all in the amount on tension the case mouth has on the bullet. Take the expander button out of the die and measure it. If it is not one and a half to two thousandths smaller than your bullet diameter, it needs to be turned down. When you seat bullets you should feel some resistance as it enters the case mouth. When fully seated you should be able to see where the base of the bullet is seated through the brass. Now take it and press the nose of the bullet on the edge of your bench. Push hard. If it doesn't move you have succeeded. All this is before you apply any crimp. Because auto rounds theoretically headspace on the case mouth you can't really crimp them much past just removing the flare. I have chucked all my expander buttons into a drill press and turned them down and now I never have bullets pull or setback. Flare just enough to start the bullet and crimp just enough the remove the flare (or crimp into a groove if there is one) Also look into trying a Lyman M-step expander die. They will make your cases last much longer. If you can push the bullet in before you crimp, it won't matter how much you crimp it. I can shoot 240 gr. SWC from a Charter Bulldog with almost no crimp and the slugs stay where i seat them Good luck
 
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nutty ned

New member
S&W 610 Owners ... moon clip preferences

Steel moonclips work well for me and are durable.
I have not had issues with bullet pulling in 10mm,
I have though with .45acp.
 
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dogfood

New member
drail:

We're on the same page - neck tension is certainly most important. However, if you're not getting the tension you need, it isn't necessarily the fault of your expander. I had an issue with 180 gr. jacketed bullets in .357 that kept pulling out. It turns out that it was a combination of thin brass (Remington in this instance) and a Lee sizing die that didn't size down much. I wasn't even expanding the case really - just flaring to get the bullet started. Bullets kept pulling until a put on a healthy crimp using the Redding Profile crimp die.

[side note: I use the Lyman M-die with .38 Special loads. It works very well for seating cast bullets, but I don't think it would help if bullet pull was already an issue (not a concern with .38 target loads.)]

nutty ned:

Do you know which manufacturer of steel clips you are using? I have found Ranch Products, Scherer and TK Custom so far.

Thanks,
dogfood
 
2

20nickels

New member
I will be purchasing Hearthco clips. The competition shooters love 'em for .45 anyway. When you decide inquire from the Mfg. what brass their clips like.
 
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GLK

New member
Find out who makes the moon clips S&W ships with the gun. I like the original (three) that came with my 610 Classic best of all I have tried. I was fortunate to find 21 more of the original ones still in S&W packaging at one of the gun shows. I bought them all for $10.00 and smiled all the way home. As far as crimp goes get a Lee factory crimp die. I shoot 10MM auto in both autos and revolvers and never have suffered from jump or set back since I started using the Lee factory crimp die.
 
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Majic

New member
Since my M610 is not my go to field gun or a defensive gun (it's basically a big plinker) the plastic Rimz moonclips work just fine for me. The steel clips are ok just a pain when it's time to remove the empty cases and you have to break out the tools. When reloading I use a firm taper crimp and have never had any bullet creep problem even when loaded at full power.
 
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glockopop

New member
From 610 shooters on another forum geared toward competition shooting, here's what they're using.

Hearthco--Top quality, absolutely the best. Damn expensive though. A lot of guys use Hearthco moons for major matches only and something cheaper for their local matches and general use.

Ranch Products--Good quality, reasonable price. These are the moons that come with the gun from the factory. They have a website, but it just shows their phone number. They have a good reputation for customer service.

Rimz--less popular, but some guys swear by these, especially in the 610. Definitely workable for practice and general range use.

I don't know firsthand as I don't have a 610, but I'm picking up a 625 tomorrow and I'll be purchasing Ranch Products moons for it.
 
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RWK

New member
RIMZ

I have shot thousands of 10mm and .40 S&W loads from my Smith 610-3, every one with a RIMZ moonclip, and have never had the slightest problem. They are polymer constructed -- therefore, cannot crimp, rust, or be permanently distorted -- and NO TOOLS are required for inserting or extracting rounds. Further, they seem to be ageless; none of mine have yet come close to wearing out. Reloads are really fast in comparison to speed-loaders (true with any full moonclip). Some individuals claim RIMZs are likely to lose a round if dropped; I have dropped a fully loaded RIMZ perhaps a half-dozen times on my range's concrete deck and have never lost a round.

To summarize, I wouldn't use anything else and can find no flaws (even remote ones) in the RIMZ design. At least nine-months a year, I trust my life to the 610-3, a DeSantis strong-side holster, and either 180 grain 10mm Double Tap Gold Dots or 200 grain 10mm Hornady XTPs; the RIMZs are an element in this system, and I have seriously evaluated many other alternatives.
 
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Peter M. Eick

New member
2nd the RIMZ.

I have several hundred of them for my Pre-25 and 610. No problems with any of them and easy to load. Had I known about rimz, I would not have bought any metal clips or the tools to change them out. Metal is nice for carry or competition, but I do neither with the 610 so plastic is fine.
 
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SDC

New member
In my 625, I found that the RIMZ were certainly a lot easier to work with, but they would also wear out fairly quickly after only a few trips to the range (the inner lip would tend to tear out on at least one or two of the rounds). I just stocked up on steel clips, and set aside some time for loading up 20 or 30 clips beforehand.
 
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