"Deluxe Moon Clip Tool" - Anybody tried it?

[nplant]

Ran accross this on the web, and thought it was a neat little range tool to throw into my bag.

http://www.mooncliptool.com

Anybody use one, or seen one, or make one, or.. or..? It may not be the easiest thing ever, but if it moons and demoons and doesn't take up a lot of space, then I think it's great for a tool kit.

 

[vynx]

Interesting but $34

I just picked up a S&W 325PD today and the guy selling it gave me a bunch of plastic moon clips that are easy to load - they probably don't last too long tho

 

[44and45]

Had mine for a few years, don't shoot the .45 acp much anymore, but I've got plenty in storage.

Jim

 

[P0832177]

Man it is the best darn money I have every spent. That POS mooner tool from CA Comp Works broke on me, and well I broke a # of their demooners, of course they were all replaced free of charge. But, this new tool and the Brownells Demooner tool are the best money you could spend for a mooner and demooner!

 

[Brian Williams]

It looks like a good mooner, but for a de-mooner I just use a cut piece of .5 ID conduit. Cut 1/2 the end off to a depth of 1/8 inch and use it. A piece of Hex bar stock that will fit in the clip will do for a mooning tool. Load it up with a bunch of clips and sit at a good solid table and use the hex bar stock to push the clip over the cartridges on the table. Do one clip at a time and slid off the loaded clip and slide forward the next empty and have at it.

 

[Walkalong]

Cool tool. Pricey, but looks like it would work great. I have a 625 on the way. I'll soon find out if it's worth it or not. These moon clips looked OK for range work, but not competition.

 

[44and45]

Friends, and you are my friends...becuse no one can tell me who my friends are...'Red,Skelton' ...the fancy moon and demooner tool is only for the yuppie crowd of moonclip shooters.

There are cheaper ways to load your moon clips, with of all things your bare thumb and forefingers...ugh! Yuppie yuckie.

If you gotta go that crass way of doing it, then so be it.

But we, the head held up high, rightwing conservatives, know a good thing when we see it.

Jim

 

[Master Blaster]

I made a custom Mooner:

Materials, 8" piece of 2x4, 6" piece of steel 1/2" wide with holes in it from the Hardware store. 1 nylon spacer 3/8" diameter 1" long. 1 hex head bolt the size of the opening in the moon clip. two 1" drywall screws.

Total cost under $5.

Drill two holes in the wood, one for the bolt which will be the axle the moon clip turns on. The other hole is for the lever (perforated steel with nylon spacer attached as the handle).

The moon clip sits on the bolt, the perforated steel lever pushes the shell in, your finger rotates the moon clip. It works just like the fancy tool in the picture, and can be clamped in a bench vise.

I have loaded moon clips with my fingers, but they get tired after about 15 or 20 clips.

I have tried the rimz plastic clips they soak up the firing pin blow, and cause unreliable firing in double action. Dont ever use them in a defense gun.

 

[SnWnMe]

This mooner seems to be widely available



Simply place the round on the flat surface and press your moonclip down on it.

===========================================================

Demooner

From Wilson. $3.25 ea. Buy two.

 

[Sistema1927]

The tool mentioned in the first post is excellent, and moons and de-moons effortlessly. Well worth the price and it will last forever.

 

[nplant]

Well, thanks for all the replies to my actual question about the actual device. I went ahead and ordered one.

For the rest of you who offered opinions on how to go about loading and unloading moon clips, thanks, but tables and benches are not things that I can throw into a range bag. I travel to take and teach classes, and something that is lightweight and portable is a necessity. However, I do appreciate your trying to save me a buck or two (or 30, in this case).

After seeing two of my family have to undergo surgery for thumb abuse over the course of their lifetimes, I'm thinking that "mechanical advantage" is our friend.

Thanks again.

 

[GrandmasterB]

I load the moons for my .45 ACP S&W 625 by hand.

For the more fragile moons for the S&W 627 .357mag, I thought about buying some fancy tool. Then I got a good tip -- use a pair of channel locks! They work great and didn't cost me anything, plus they can be used around the house too.

 

[nplant]

Grandmaster -
I gotta laugh because when I was loading up the first batch of moons, I was literally killing my thumbs. I finally gave up on the last 4 rounds into the last two moons, and used... pliers. It worked fantastically well, but I could see that I'd have to be real careful not to slip and touch off a primer. So I figured a dedicated tool might be better. But I hadn't even thought of channel locks.

How do you demoon them? Also by hand?

 

[GrandmasterB]

I demoon the .45ACP moons with the cheap Wilson piece of bent metal shown above. Works pretty good.

For the more fragile .357mag moons, I use the Brownells tool that is basically a shaft with a handle on it. I know some other folks who make their own versions of this tool using an old golf club or just a piece of copper pipe with a notch cut in it and some grippy tape or an old BMX bike grip or something. But the one from Brownells was pretty cheap and it works quite well.