Moonclips for a defensive revolver?

[Rexster]

I didn't care for the sturdiness of moon clips available in the early and mid-1980's, when I tried carrying an M25 snubby in .45 ACP. I think they have gotten sturdier since then. Also, back then, de-mooners and other such gadgets were unavailable, or at least little-known. Perhaps those opposed to moon clips developed their opinions based on the earlier stuff. Of course, speedloaders are sturdier; I have seen HKS loaders withstand being trampled by some hefty guys. I still have never gotten back to using moon clips, though if I had not been broke when an opportunity to get a Performance Center 646 had presented itself, I might be a moonie today. Another factor for me is that I tend to carry differing .357 weapons, across three frame sizes, with one to two on my person and another one to two within reach. It is simpler to use Speed Strips and 2x2x2 carriers, with the "speed reload" being a second revolver. If I lived in a jurisdiction where only one CCW firearm was allowed, a moon gun would be a serious contender for the title.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Citroen--Thanks for the tip. I shot competition for a few years and never thought to carry the holders upside down. Makes great sense.

TheNoid--it can be slower to insert rounds in moonclips than speedloaders. Competitors using speedloaders at the range carry a board with patterned holes in which rounds are carried. A speedloader is then dropped over one of the sets of rounds and locked. The empty rounds need to be removed from the moonclips before inserting fresh rounds.

I'm a clutz, though, and get frustrated with speedloaders that dump before I get them to the revolver or the HKS units that refuse to let go of all the rounds. All my revolvers now have moonclips.

 

[DawgFvr]

Yup...that is where theNoid heard that moonclips are a "pain in the butt"...putting the bullets in place and taking them out of the moonclips...aka: mooning and demooning. The secret here is to have the right tools for the job. I was fortunate to have Gemini Customs make my moonclips...they include the moonin and demooning tools in their custom gunsmithing.

 

[.38 Special]

.38 Special,
was the failure with a gun that was worked over and requires Federal primers to go boom?

Actually, it was a stock gun with an overly-heavy mainspring AND I was using Federal primers. The primers were heavily dimpled, but not enough to ensure reliability, apparently. I even did a little trial-and-error to ensure that is was that particular clip and not a batch of bad handloads or a gummed-up gun, etc.

Having said that, I 've had guns -- including guns meant for self-defense -- malfunction for a variety of reasons, and don't think one bent moonclip is a valid reason for dismissing all moonclips for self defense. It's just one more variable that needs to be monitored.

 

[SAWBONES]

The moonclips just drop in...all six at once...no jiggling or attempting to align the bullet tips with the cylinder holes, etc.

Well, there's a little jiggling, at least with .38 Special/.357 Magnum, less so with .45ACP! (Jerry Miculek reloads using .45ACP moonclips faster than can be believed.)
Moonclips are faster than speedloaders, anyway, which in turn are certainly faster than using Bianchi Speedstrips or dump pouches.

One downside to speedloaders and moonclips both is their carrying bulk compared to Speedstrips. Moonclips are more compact to carry than speedloaders, of course, but either makes a fair "lump" on your belt.
Aside from moonclips being faster to use than speedloaders, it may bear mentioning that they're also more fragile, and they can and will eventually bend after many uses (mostly during the refilling stage), though of course they're also cheap to replace.
I'd say the main issue with moonclips, in the case of .38 Special/.357 revolvers, is the modest inconvenience of having the recess cut into the cylinder. Once that's done, you can use 'em with moonclips or not, since the gun will still load and fire as usual with speedloaders or loose cartridges.

 

[JNewell]

Quite a lot of jiggling with 9x19 and S&W moonclips!

 

[BlindJustice]

I have a S&W 625 5" Bbl. len. I use
full moon clips for .45 ACP mostly Wilson
Combat with nickel plating THe HKS 25M
Speedloaders are for .45 Auto RIm with heavier
bullets. Both FM Clips and SPeedloaders have
their place.

Whenever I order another Wilson Combat ETM Magazine
I always add a 5 count bag of full moon clips.

I find the HKS with .45 AR very positive, the FM clips with
the jiggle sometimes take more fiddling.

but then it's all just a back up for my 1911 and
slam bam you're thankful Ma'am?

thought so...

 

[Cayoot]

I'm surprised that no one is bringing up one of (what I consider to be) the most important things about moon clips...positive ejection!

How many times have you had to reload in a hurry and had a singe empty case slip under the extractor and jam everything up? I know it's happened to me a few times.

I have 3 moon clip guns, all of them are self defense carry guns:
S&W 625 PC (4 inch)
S&W customized 686+ (3 3/4 inch)
Ruger SP-101 (3 1/16 inch)

Even if I dont want to carry moon clips in my belt and only carry a speed strip for the .357s, I always carry a moon clip loaded in the gun. It makes ejection as reliable as can be.

Of course, I usually carry 2 moon clips in a small leather pouch on my belt. It looks more like a horizontal cell phone holder, but it holds the moon clips close on my left side.

 

[prescobd]

Moon Clipped Revolvers

I too enjoy moon clipped revolvers. The such revolvers I have are all for auto cartridges. I too am looking at the best way to carry spare loaded moon clips concealed. Any more suggestions? By the way, my revolvers are 2 Ruger SP101 9mm (2 1/4 & 3/16), Ruger Speed Six 9mm (2 3/4), Ruger Service Six 9mm (4") and a S&W 646 40S&W.

 

[SAWBONES]

The best moonclip belt carrier made is a new design from Matt Del Fatti, specifically for CCW.
I just tested the prototype and it works well, is compact, concealable and comfortable.

Check www.delfatti.com to see when he starts offering it.

 

[BikerRN]

My off duty carry gun is a S&W 22-4 with Moon Clips.

I carry a spare in a Matt Del Fatti Moon Clip Holder, best one made as far as I'm concerned. I love Moon Clips, and may have my Ruger GP100 set up with them, I don't know yet, as I'm still weighing that issue out.

Without a doubt, Moon Clips are the fastest reload out there compared to all the other ways to reload a revolver.

Biker

 

[Cayoot]

Sawbones,
I just checked the Del Fatti web page. The only moon clip carrier I saw was the same one he's sold for years (I have a couple of them, they good, but not really a concealment item.

Do you have any pics or links to the new one?

 

[theNoid]

TheNoid--it can be slower to insert rounds in moonclips than speedloaders. Competitors using speedloaders at the range carry a board with patterned holes in which rounds are carried. A speedloader is then dropped over one of the sets of rounds and locked. The empty rounds need to be removed from the moonclips before inserting fresh rounds.

I am aware of the speedloader boards, but still, since moon clips are so cheap, why not just load up enough the night before and then that is one less piece you have to carry to the range, set-up, etc. Just worry about mooning and demooning when you are at home, relaxed, listening to Buddy Guy rip a few tunes out and having an ice cold beer. To heck with messing with all of that at the range. I know my son shoots a Mossberg 702 plinkster rifle. It has 10rnd clips. And every time we go to town, we grab up another clip. So far I think he is up to 15 or so clips, which means when we go shooting, he is having more fun shooting while I am reloading and messing with such stuff. My wife now has 5 mags for her clips for her 10/22 and wanting more. Shoot if a cheap alternative such as moon clipping was there, you can bet we woul dbe all over it. Sure wish the made moon clips for 10-shot 22lr revolver...what a PITA those would be to moon and demoon eh? HA!!

Noidster

 

[SAWBONES]

I have one of Matt's new moonclip carriers, but no pics yet. Let me see if Matt will send me some. My digital camera skills are nil.

 

[DawgFvr]

These make Moon Clip Life soooooo much easier. Moon Setting and DeMooner Tools purchased from Gemini Customs:



Cylinder recessed for Moon Clips by Marc of Gemini Customs:



No jiggling whatsoever...they just drop right in. Also...one can use the cylinder without moon clips if one chooses:

 

[Gunfighter123]

Hello all,
I also LOVE revolvers with moonclips. I have a S&W 625 , 610 and a PC 646 ---- never had a problem with Moonies in any of them. After a shoot when I get home , I unload all the clips and wipe them down with some Hoppies and lay them flat on my bench vice --- eacy to see if any got stepped on and/or bent. In the 625 and 610 , I am useing the same twenty clips that I bought for each gun over 15 YEARS ago !!!

Anybody got a link for Gemini Customs ??? I'm looking to get a 686 or 627 and will need a little work done to it.
Thanks -- GF123

 

[SAWBONES]

http://www.geminicustoms.com

Marc Morganti has done three SP101s and a GP100 for me, with beautiful results. His turnaround is fairly quick, too. Top-notch gunsmithing.

 

[Gunfighter123]

Thank you Sawbones for the link !!!!

 

[Seven For Sure]

My 646's

 

[SAWBONES]

I've attached a couple pics Matt Del Fatti was kind enough to send me, of his new 5-shot moonclip carrier.

It is stable, concealable, accessible and comfortable.

Though you can't see it in the pictures, the 5 shot moonclip is retained in the carrier by a clever (and patented) variable-tension (via screw) rubber center post which bears on the inner portions of the cartridges.
It's very secure yet very quick.

 

[cherryriver]

I practice like crazy with Safariland Comp speedloaders, and some with moonclips, for matches like USPSA and IDPA.
The actual reloads aren't too different in time, for me, but there's one big advantage with moonclips- ejection.
How many times have we all had an empty get almost, but not quite, out and flying? I remember one getting stuck between the chamber and topstrap of my Colt .357 during a USPSA 3-gun a couple of years ago. I flipped the thing like crazy and still, in the haste of looking for more targets and practically hearing the timer running, it stuck.
Moonclips are much more likely to empty out and clear the gun.
Besides, when I'm shooting my .45ACP Webley-Enfield in USPSA and the range officer busts out laughing the first time I crack the ol' warhorse open, spitting a moonful of empties over my shoulder, it's worth all of the time loading the clips.
Oh, yeah, and brass hogs love them for that above-mentioned neatness.
Bill

 

[Seiko]

As a couple people have said. Ejection is the super advantage to moons over speed loaders.
I find its about the same speed loading, slight advantage to the moons, even over the safariland comp III's. They just feel a bit more natural, less thinking involved.

 

[Gary A]

I currently do not own any moon-clip revolvers but in the past have had a several 625 versions. I like the moon-clip concept, a lot, but did become aware that I needed to periodically lay the moon clips I was using on a flat surface and check them for flatness with the finger-tap test. If I could tap them and they "bounced", I inspected them and usually tossed them out. If they lay flat, I kept them. The possibililty of a bent moon clip affecting reliability under duress seemed to be their only drawback but one that is in my mind probably more likely than the failure of some mechanical part, even including internal locks. I used a de-mooner, but found the easiest way to load a moon clip was to lay the rounds on a flat surface and, holding the moon clip with both thumbs and forefingers, placing the moon clip on the round, rather than placing the round into the moon clip. Outside of being careful not to bend the clips, I don't see any shortcomings. My 625s could be re-loaded amazingly quickly. I have heard people say that .357 and 10mm moon-clipped revolvers are not as easy and fast to reload as the 45 acp revolvers due to the slimmer cartridge and longer length but people here have not indicated that to be a problem. I know the .45 loaded like it was radar-controlled, at least when using round-profile bullets.

 

[justinbaby]

theNoid: It's very simple really. The moonclips just drop in...all six at once...no jiggling or attempting to align the bullet tips with the cylinder holes, etc. When you eject...the moonclip comes out with all six shell casings...drop to the ground and you just drop in the next moonclip. I guess you really have to try it if this explanation does not satisfy. Speed is the key here...not necessarily worrying about collecting up the brass.

I couldn't have phrased this better myself. Moonclips, thick and unbent, are superior to any speedloader. There is no better way to load AND extract a revolver! None. With moonclips, you can compete with autoloaders any day of the week. Can't do that consistently with a speedloader. Sorry.

justinbaby

 

[20nickels]

I use Ranch 1/3 clips and love 'em for carry. They are not as bulky as full moonclips or speedloaders and 12 rds fits nicely in a Cabela's pellet/22lr pouch or pockets, and I can do a partial reload. Sure it takes 3 times as long to reload, but I was never undergunned in the 1st place.

I've heard not all moonclips are created equal. The ones from Cylinder & Slide were recommended to me.

On a side note 625's are just as good as any other revo with speedloaders too.