Moon clips for .357 practical?

[Owen Sparks]

I have found a company that will do moon clip conversions on practically all common revolvers. I am thinking about this for my Ruger .357 but some people say that it is not as practical as with a .45 ACP as the longer, thinner
.38/.357 rounds jiggle around more and are slower to get lined up and loaded.
I know that some of the IPSC revolver shooters use the .45 GAP in their .45 ACP revolvers because the shorter rounds wobble a little less.

Does anybody have a .38 or .357 that takes moon clips? Is this practical for IPSC speed loads or should I just stick with a .45?

 

[627PCFan]

I dont compete yet, but I find them very handy if you change ammo for carrying. I keep 38's for house duty and full bore 357s for carry. IMO the jacketed bullets arent that finicky and my clips are loose with Starline brass. SWC's are a little worse but thats my range bullet. The round nose bullets work great loose or tight.

 

[MrBorland]

Speedy reloads are one issue with shooting a revolver in USPSA, but, IMO, power factor is the bigger deal. You can obviously make major with your Ruger, but making it with a .45acp revolver is much easier.

Another issue is that machining a .38/.357 revolver for moons makes it illegal to use in IDPA SSR, even if speedloaders are used. Machining the cylinder simply takes the gun from it's natural home (in SSR) to somewhere where it's not optimal.

I'd consider the conversion for an ICORE Limited gun, but even there, I'd likely go with an 8-shot 627, loaded with Short Colt loads instead.

 

[Chuck Perry]

They're OK, but they're nowhere near as easy to use as moonclipped 45ACP. The long magnum rounds wobble back and forth. You'll get six rounds lined up with the chambers but the other two will jam against the cylinder face. I found that pointy JHP's were the easiest to load moonclipped, but even those were not as easy as with 45.

 

[Lawdawg45]

Owen,
This is an answer to a question that wasn't asked, but it is useful information for the group. As far as speed loaders (especially with CCW's) I found as a Wheel Gun lawman that the twist and lock style was the only reliable one to go with. I had several models of the push release style and several times I found that when sitting down in my car, the pressure of the duty belt against the leather holder would release all of the shells, and it even happened off duty in my front pocket. Just an FYI to my friends out there.

LD45

 

[Jim Watson]

Count me in with those who found the "wiggle factor" of clipped .357s enough to lose the advantage of clips over speedloaders. I never got into a fully reliable technique to drop the clip in fast, straight, and fully seated.

 

[DWFan]

The "trick" to using full moon clips is how you hold the revolver during loading. To load quickly, point the muzzle straight down and hold the clip along the edges or lightly hold two rounds opposite each other; depending on how the clip is designed. Unless the clip is warped or exceptionally tight on the case, (or your hands are shaking), gravity will hold the rounds straight down. Just drop in place. As stated, SWC bullets can hang up along the front of the drive band. A slight chamfer on the chambers can help. Unloading is the opposite; hold the muzzle up, punch the ejector rod and and let gravity do its thing.
This might seem obvious to some, but I've seen several shooters that hold the gun at an angle when loading/unloading.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I have a friend who just started in competitive wheelgunning and placed *42nd out of 250 at our local state match.

We used to practice with speedloaders together and he changed to a moonclip fed M627 when he got serious about competition. He completely changed his loading style to take advantage of moonclips. After seeing the video clip of his reloading, I had to ask for an explanation.

He now loads while keeping the gun in his right hand and handling the moonclips with his left hand. He holds the clips as DWFan described and starts the cartridges in while giving them a slight twirl. He says that the spin helps the cartridges align with the chamfered chambers.

I thought it was interesting how loading techniques have come full circle was the equipment has evolved.

* - we thought the Hitch Hiker's Guide reference was cool

 

[TonyT]

The 45 ACP case has strict dimensions for the extractor cut. The 38 Special and 357 magnum case being rimless does not have any industry standard for the cut just above the rim, some manufacturers do not even place a cut there.

Thus with the 45 ACP you can purchase very standard moon clips which are quite thick and that coupled with the large chamber opening make for very speedy reloads.

In the case of the 38/357 with the wide variation of the cut you cna purchase several different moonclips with varying degrees of stiffness designed for particular brand of cases. I use the Ranch Products moonclips at ca $75/100 and they work well with Winchester and Remington brass. Starline brass which has the widest and deepest cut is much too floppy in these for retention.

 

[Brian Williams]

They can be, with good ammo and a round nose flat point it works well.

 

[340PD]

My 586 L comp 7 dhot is cut for moonclips. I find the clips are thinner and much more flexible. This makes them much harder to deal with than I was expecting. I gave up the moonies for this gun. Check out

http://www.5starfirearms.com/

Great products.