The Firearm Blog

Note: For a fine selection of 40 S&W caliber Ammunition please visit Guns For Sale.com

A short while ago Taurus released a new revolver in .40 S&W. The model 405 uses moon clips in order to accommodate this semi-auto round. This is Taurus’s first venture into this type of revolver. The 405’s are slightly smaller than a S&W K frame in size with a two inch barrel. It holds five rounds of 40 caliber ammunition.

Construction is stainless steel with a fully shrouded barrel. The version I received for review has a hammer but I understand a hammerless version is in the works. The 405 comes with five moon clips as well as two keys for the safety system. The grips are standard Taurus ribbed rubber grips. The sights are fixed plain sights. The trigger is wide and smooth which felt good when firing the revolver.

The cylinder locks up tight thanks to the standard rear lockup as well as an additional lock at the front of the cylinder. Both locks are freed when the rear release is activated. The cylinder to forcing cone is a very close fit as it should be.

The fit and finish is very good. The single action trigger pull is good but the double action pull is rather heavy at 13.5 pounds. I imagine after a good deal of use it will lessen somewhat. The Taurus also has the usual transfer bar safety should you release the hammer while manually cocking the gun.

Specifications

Model: 405SS2
Finish: Stainless
Status: Available
Caliber: .40
UPC: 7-25327-60964-3
Capacity: 5
Barrel Length: 2″
Weight 29 .oz
Frame: Small
Order #: 2-405029

I did have a problem with this revolver. I’m not sure if it’s a combination of the ammunition brand and type or the gap between the rear of the cylinder and the frame and or the thin moon clips. I used both Federal 180 grain flat nose and Blazer 165 grain round nose ammunition. I started with the Federal 180 grain ammunition which, on average, locked the cylinder once every two cylinders fired. When I used the 165 grain Blazer there were no problems at all.

There are several possible reasons for these malfunctions. I noticed the moon clips are very thin and easily bent. On older S&W revolvers the moon clips are thicker and pretty sturdy. In fact most need a tool to remove the brass from the clips. This is not the case with the Taurus moon clips. The brass was very easy to remove after the rounds were fired. After experiencing this failure several times I loaded one clip with empty brass from the Federal ammo and one with the Blazer ammo. I held the gun close enough to hear any binding between the brass and the rear of the frame. There was a scrapping sound when I rotated the cylinder with the Federal brass while there was no sound with the Blazer brass.

Something else I noted with the Federal ammo was the empty brass was rather hard to eject while the Blazer came right out when ejected. Now this would tend to make me believe the ammunition not agreeing with this revolver caused the problem. Another thought that crossed my mind was the thin moon clips. These thin clips could bend just enough to bind with the 180 grain ammunition.

This revolver is an early production model but I hesitate to blame the gun considering the above rather unscientific test I performed. By no means would I say stay away from this revolver rather I would advise a new owner not to use the Federal 180 grain ammunition without test firing it extensively.

The revolvers unique size makes it difficult to find a holster for it at this time. Some universal holsters for medium revolvers will fit. I have a couple of these, which worked fine. I also tried a leather belt slide holster for a S&W K frame. The Taurus fit but a bit loosely. If you have a K frame holster with a thumb snap you should be good to go. I’m sure several holster companies will have holsters for the 405 fairly soon.

Range Time

I’ve covered the ammunition I used for the range session so there’s no need to be redundant.

All of my shooting was done from the ten yard line in double and single action. As I mentioned earlier the double action pull was rather heavy which hurt accuracy. The double action groups were on average three inches. In single action the groups averaged just under two inches.

The recoil was stout considering the 29 oz. weight of the revolver. In fact when firing the 180 grain load it was a bit unpleasant after 50 or so rounds. With some of the current defense loads in lighter bullet weights recoil shouldn’t be a concern.

Conclusion

While I did have a problem with the Taurus I tend to lean more toward an ammunition cause rather than the gun itself. Overall with the right defensive ammunition this would be a viable option for home or personal protection. The price is also half what a S&W would cost for those on a budget.

The use of moon clips is the fastest way to load and re-load a revolver. Granted it’s an older system that pre-dates speed loaders however it is a superior way to load a revolver. I would like to see Taurus make the moon clips a bit sturdier even if the shooter has to use a tool to remove the brass.

This Taurus fires a very effective round so for those who prefer a revolver you might want to check this model out.

A reader sent me a fascinating photo taken by a friend of his who is a Malaysian defense journalist and photographer. The photo below was taken at a Malaysian counterinsurgency training exercise last year. The men pictured are members of VAT-69, the Royal Malaysian Police's paramilitary commandos, and were playing the part of the terrorists during the exercise. The weapons they are armed with are fascinating. The firearms, with the obvious exception of the HK416, were confiscated from Communists terrorists during the 2nd Communist Insurgency (1968 - 1989).

The 1911 pistol (right) is mounted in a rifle stock with a trigger connected to the pistol's trigger. The M16 (center back) has had the plastic handguard replaced with a nice-looking wooden handguard. The M1 Carbine (bottom right) has a nifty under-barrel grenade launcher mounted.

These guns were probably supplied by Vietnam who had captured large quantities of weapons, including M16 rifles and M1 Carbines, after the fall of Saigon.

[ Many thanks to Perajurit and Faisal for the photo. ]

Apparently the Marine Air Wing, America's Navy's Army's Air Force, are using the new Leupold HAMR scope. Its combination of long eye relief and compact size make it a good choice for aerial overwatch. The Marine Air Wingers also appear to be Magpul fans, using Magpul stocks and magazines.

The Leupold HAMR is said to be part of the SOPMOD Block II kit which is currently under development.

[ Many thanks to Timothy Yan for the photos and infomation. ]

Over at the Kifaru forum, "Fairchase" wrote that his FN Five-Seven fired a round out of battery, blowing it up and doing severe damage to his hand and thumb.

Last week my FN Five-Seven blew up causing severe damage to my left hand (I am right handed). There are 6-8 pieces of shrapnel deep in my thumb and palm area which severed the nerves to my thumb and a portion of my palm. Surgery is required in an attempt to repair the hand by harvesting tissue from my leg. Wish me luck.

The “explosion” occurred on the last round of a 30 round mag loaded with the factory 40gr v-max stuff. On this particular day I only had three loaded magazines (70 rounds total) with me for the Five-Seven but had several other handguns to shoot after the Five-Seven. I began with a 20 round mag loaded with hand loads, then a 20 round mag loaded with factory ammo and finished with the 30 round mag with factory ammo. It was the very last round of 5.7x28 in my immediate possession that ruined my day ……. and a whole lot more!!

I have fired (600-700 rounds) both factory and hand loads through the pistol with zero issues since purchasing new in 2/2011. There are reports of the Five-Seven firing out of battery (OOB) which appears to be the case here but I am no weapons forensics expert. I am not a novice to shooting, handguns or reloading and have 20+ years of extensive experience with shooting and reloading.

I have been completely straightforward with FNH (i.e. Browning) so will now wait and see how they respond.

I have a lot of sympathy for Fairchase, but I think its more than likely that it was a handload that caused the kaboom. I would never recommend reloading the 5.7mm FN for use in pistols. The margin for error on a high-pressure and bottlenecked pistol round is a lot less than on an old "boring" cartridge like the the 9mm Luger. The maximum pressure of the FN 5.7×28mm is 50,040 psi vs. 34,084 psi for the 9mm Luger/Parabellum and 35,000 psi for the .40 S&W.

Shooting Times once published an article about reloading the FN 5.7×28mm (since taken down, maybe for liability reasons). They listed a number of caveats for any would-be reloaders ...

There are a few things to keep in mind:

• Using reloaded ammunition in PS90 and Five-seveN firearms voids any warranty and any liability of FNH USA. By choosing to reload, you accept full responsibility.

• Because of its tiny case capacity, start at the listed minimums and work your way up in 0.1 grain increments.

• Published load data varies greatly, so err on the conservative side. The min. and max. loads in the Western Powders manual are significantly higher than those listed in the new Lyman Reloading Handbook 49th Edition, which is what I used.

• The 5.7x28 is very sensitive; adhere strictly to the loading data and COL guidelines.

• Stick with flatbase bullets and Small Rifle primers. If you use Small Pistol primers, expect decreased performance.

• Excessive muzzle blast and flash are to be expected with this cartridge.

• FN- and Fiocchi-made ammunition both employ military-style, staked-in primers. You must ream the staking residue from the primer pocket before reloading.

• Beware of hotrodding the 5.7x28. Though the 1:9-inch twist rate of the FNH USA guns might tempt a handloader to load heavy bullets, I highly recommend projectiles of 40 grains or less. Too-high pressures can be a real safety concern with the straight blowback PS90 and the delayed-blowback Five-seveN pistol.

The maximum average pressure (MAP) for the 5.7x28 is 50,040 psi.

[ Many thanks to John for emailing us the link. ]

"Deviant Ollam Cluebat Quartermaster" gave a fascinating talk at DefCon 19 on breaking open cheap gun locks and cheap gun safes.

[ Many thanks to Aaron @ Weapons Blog & Simon for the video. ]

The Turkmenistan Army is now rocking Beretta ARX 160 rifles chambered in 5.56mm NATO.

[ Many thanks to Albi for emailing us the link. ]

English Russia has a collection of photos taken at Orsis Armory plant where they make the Orsis T-5000 Rifle.

They say that they plan on making Dragunov-style semi-automatics in the near future.

[ Many thanks to mrsatyre for emailing us the link. ]

The Magpul phenomenon has reached Russia. Gennady M. Kozhaev, gunsmith and owner of a OOO Skat, has developed a range of modernized SVD rifles. The rifles are build using Izhmash Tigr receivers and Lothar Walther barrels.

The rifle feature an AR-15 A2 pistol grip and a Magpul PRS stock. The redesigned handguard has a full length rail on top. Side rails and an under rail can be attached to the handguard.

The gas block has been redesigned and looks much more substantial than the original SVD design. Judging by the photos, the gas block may have an adjustable gas regulator. The Lothar Walther barrel is threaded with a muzzle brake, instead of the SVD / Tigr flash suppressor. Both front and rear iron sights have been removed.

Mr. Kozhaev has also developed a compact variant which features a shorter barrel, low profile gas block (so that it fits underneath the rail), ergonomic pistol grip and an original SVD side-folding stock.

Compact Modernized SVD

I expect this rifle system, with its improved parts and better barrel, to be a lot more accurate than the SVD. A commenter below asked why would a country adopt this rifle over the latest AR-10. I would ask why did the US Army upgrade their M24s to .300 Win. Mag XM2010 instead of just buying the top-of-the-line Accuracy International AWM chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum? The answer is that it was cheaper (the rifle themselves, cost of training troops and cost of training armorers) and much easier politically to purchase an upgrade than an entirely new weapon system. This SVD upgrade would look appealing to countries currently using the SVD but wanting a more modern DMR without the cost of a top-of-the-line AR-10 or the logistical problems of switching away from 7.62x54R.

Gennady M. Kozhaev with his companies products (note the M4 and M16-style AR-15s.)

[ Many thanks to REMOV for providing the photos and infomation. ]

Masterpiece Arms have updated their .380 ACP Protector pistol adding a few new features.

Coyote Brown Slide Finish

A beavertail was added to the pistol to eliminate any slide bite and enhance the overall grip-ability of the pistol. New square serrations on the stainless and 4140 black steel slides built from a solid billet, provide a more positive grip, with or without gloves, when racking the slide. Barrel porting significantly reduces the felt recoil by bleeding gas from the barrel when the weapon is fired. Finally, fully machined aluminum grips, hardcoat anodized, are included on the Stainless, Premium and Coyote Brown models.

MSRP starts at $350.95

Sebastian and a friend have described in detail their latest successful attempt at making an AR-15 lower at home. They used a CNC mill to machine the lower out of a block of Delrin.

Neither of the pair were machinists. Anyone with enough motivation can learn how to make an AR-15 at home. If you can't afford a CNC mill, you could always build one yourself.