OK, what is the Moon Clip trick????

So I just recently picked up a sweet 45acp revolver and it came with 5 metal moon clips. It was a real PITA to load them and I basically destroyed one trying to get the rounds out of the damn thing. So first off I picked up some plastic moon clips, which by the way is significantly easier to load. Though they are a bit flimsy and if I rushed loaded them I'm sure a round could easily fall off. So who can share the trick to loading and unloading metal moon clips? I seen there is a tool, but figure there must be an easier "no cost" way to do it. Or maybe I'm wrong...... According to my wife, that is more then likely.....

 

Your wife must have gone to the same school as mine.

 

I used my fingers for a long time. Eventually I found this very cheap and easy solution for under $5.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/866285/wilson-combat-full-moon-clip-case-extractor-matte

 

My dad had a mooner-de-mooner tool. I de-mooned a bunch of clips in very short order using it. His was a tube with knurled end and step on the front end. The shells are easily removed and they fall out the bottom of the tube as you go.

Found something basically similar at Brownells, but with a screwdriver handle.

http://www.brownells.com/shooting-a...-accessories/moon-clip-stripper-prod6727.aspx

Get a tool. It rankles having to use a tool, but they make it vastly less annoying to unload moon clips. You can make a tool from copper pipe if you want, but it wont have a nice grippy handle. May work fine. Just look at the pics of the one in the link.

BTW, the old half moons were much easier to load and unload by hand. if just fun shooting Id see if they are still available. Avoid the cheapest ones if you want to try some. The ones sold by S&W were excellent quality. The aftermarket ones I used in the past were soft stamped sheet metal, and basically junk.

ETA: saw this in a search, home made de-mooner tool from copper pipe

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/69530-moon-clips.html

 

I have built a few tools for the job of mooning/demooning. I prefer to just load GAP brass though, no tools needed.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ZrSfHrfd0

 

My rhino came with a removal tool, but I'd buy something to insert em. It's annoying.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

BMT Mooner/de-mooners are great. They do a full moon clip at one time in one motion.

http://bmtequipped.com/index.php

A bit pricey though.

TK Custom has more reasonably priced mooning and de-mooning tools.

http://www.moonclips.com/default.asp

Tools are available from several other sources.

 

I've tried moon clips. I find .45 AutoRim brass superior. HKS makes speedloaders for them as well. One can load a 'hardball' equivalent or use 255 grain SWC bullets.

 

Moonclips are your friend. Follow these simple instructions and you will be able to unload or load moonclips while watching the TV or carrying on a conversation with your spouse.

To unload moonclips, go to your local hardware store and get a piece of copper tubing with in inside diameter slightly larger than the .45 acp. Cut it about 8 inches long, enough to hold six unfired .45 acp rounds and a little left over.

Buy a copper cap for the bottom end of the tube. If you don't want to get out your propane torch and solder it on, you can glue it on with Superglue.

Cut the top end of the tube to make a 1/2 " high tab about about 120 degrees of the diameter of the tube's end.

Wrap the bottom half of the tube with some Duct Tape, electrical tape, or whatever to increase the diameter and making it easy to hold.

To unload, stick the end of the empty case in the tube with the cut part of the opening (not the tab) against the moonclip. Twist the tube 90 degrees in either direction and out come the empties.

To load the.45 acp rounds by hand, remember that you don't hammer, bash, or wiggle them into the clip. Instead, you roll them into the clip.

Here's how you do it. Grasp the round so that the middle of the pad of your thumb is against the rim. The bullet will be pointing down. (I use my left hand to hold the round and my right hand to hold the clip.)

The middle bone on the thumb side of your index finger should touch the round on the opposite side a little bit below the rim (bullet pointed down). Put the bullet in the opening of the clip with the thumb side of your index finger flush against the bottom of the clip. Spin the casing by pulling your index finger back and moving your thumb forward while applying a little inward pressure with your thumb. The rounds will start snapping in.

It's important to keep the groove on the brass aligned with the clip.

One of these days I'll put up a You Tube video of this to convince the unbelievers.

Enjooy your .45 acp wheelgun!

Chris

 

My gunsmith gave me a worn out 1911 barrel and even ground off the link lug on the bottom. Works fine.

 

I've used just a short length of wooden dowel close to the inside diameter of a 45 ACP case and long enough to grip.

 

Here is my home made mooner it does 8 shot .357 clips on one side and 6 or 5 shot .45 acp on the other. The 2 caliber mooner in my pics cost under $4.00 to make from hardware store parts. It consists of a piece of scrap 2x4, 2 lag bolts, 2 brass bolt sleeves, 2 screws, a piece of straight angle reinforcing bar 8" long and a piece of nylon bearing tube.








__________________

 

J Morris I really like this tool do you have a drawing or plans for it that you are willing to share?

 

That's genius right there, thanks for sharing!

 

http://www.mooncliptool.com/

 

A friend had a loader that put all six rounds on the clip in one go. That seemed like the right tool for the job.

 

jmorris....if you're willing to build that moon clip loader/deloader, I'd be willing to purchase one from you! That's slick!

 

This. 100%.

 

X3. Just printed their Order Form, wrote the check and stamped the envelope.

I have a 327 R8 due home next month!

Thanks, Iggy, for the link. I had also seen reference to it in a link posted earlier in this thread.

 

I don't have any drawings, just built it "freestyle". I can measure or take better photographs if you need though.

 

Please do and post it here how is the mechanism sprung and what parts did you use to make it. Pictures, parts descriptions would be great.

Thanks

 

Yep, a fist-sized length of half-inch copper tubing with a step cut in it. Works perfectly for de-mooning.

 

The parts were just stuff I had laying around. The aluminum block started as 1.5x1 barstock, the handle and button were 3/4" round. The feed tube/demoon tool is .625 OD .035 wall 4130 tubing as is the sectioned tube that pushes the bullet into the clip. 3/4"X1/8" flat strap was bent in the U shape. 1/4" key stock was used to mount the feed tube/demoon part, to make this easy I just heated it and bent it until it lined up.

The button needs to have a little lip on it so the moon clip is at the right height to enter the extractor grove. And the slot needs to be long enough for a round to drop down clearing the clip and then fully seat it into the clip.



The button also has a shoulder that is a spacer so the 10/32 bolt can't clamp down on the flat strap locking it in place. The handle on the bottom is threaded 10/32 but I must have Alodined the parts together because it won't budge. In any case that won't matter but I wanted to change the button incase I acquired something different down the road. You can also see the counter bore that holds the spring that pushes the carriage back to pick up the next round.



Another view from the top and you can see the notch at the top to demoon the clips.



Make sure your tube is long enough to hold a clip full (Ha ha I finally get to say "clip full") of ammunition, remember that is going to be longer than a demoon tool because of bullet length. It also needs to be high enough to accommodate your longest OAL.

 

As offered in this thread, if you're going to shoot a moonclipped gun, you really need a mooing/demooning tool.

If you're going to shoot a lot of moonclipped rounds, however, you really need a tool that moons & demoons en masse. To that end, the BMT tool that cfullgraf (post #7) mentioned is really the way to go. Pricey, but definitely worth it. I wouldn't consider anything else, myself.

 

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If anyone is going to take anyone else's advice around here, Mr. Borland would be one I would certainly listen to.

That said, I am now due to be in possession of not only one of Smith & Wesson's neatest offerings, but also two of the be$t mo0nclip tools in existence...


Edited to add my applause, sincerely, for jmorris' rig. That is some fine home-buildin' right there!