OK ! By now you all know I'm not the brightest blub

Bought a 1917 off a member and he was nice enough to include a 1/2 doz Wilson moon clips. I had the hardest time getting the 45acp in and even harder time getting the empties out Is there a trick to this or am I just a "girlie man"

__________________
regards....roger (no sig)

OK ! By now you all know I'm not the brightest blub

Bought a 1917 off a member and he was nice enough to include a 1/2 doz Wilson moon clips. I had the hardest time getting the 45acp in and even harder time getting the empties out Is there a trick to this or am I just a "girlie man"

__________________
regards....roger (no sig)

It can be done but it is an exercise in pain and frustation. There are tools for this and some guys will surely chime in with examples.

Buy lots of clips. It's easier that way.

For the moon clips I use with my 327TRR8, I had a short piece of aluminum tube just large enough so the shell case fits into it from the primer end. I cut a portion away from the top portion of the tube so it protrudes just higher than the edge of the moon clip. I wrapped the aluminum tuse with some tape so it would not be slipery and all I have to do is twist it. The spent case just pops right out! I made several in case I loose one or give one away.

I never had a problem with in using my fingers. For out, I made this from a broken golf club shaft. I've seen the same made from copper pipe.

Imashooter2 has provided an excellent picture of a homemade "demooner". You can make a similar one out of a short length of copper tubing found at Loew's or any other hardware outlet.

How to load your moonclips:

The first step is holding the round to be loaded correctly. Hold the round with the primer up in your left hand (if you are right handed). Keep the pad of your left thumb up by the rim of the round and the middle of the second bone of your left index finger just below the rim. Practice "rolling" the round by moving your index finger toward your arm and your thumb away from your arm. The round should turn about 1/4 to 1/3 rotation.

Grip the moonclip correctly.

Grip the outer third of the moonclip between your right thumb and index finger. Keep the moonclip parallel to the floor.

Load the moonclip:

Holding the round as described above, have your left thumb opposite the opening of the moonclip. Put the grove of the rim of the round against the opening of the moonclip and roll the round (as descibed above) while pushing in with your thumb. Lots of thumb pressure is not needed. If the groove of the round and moonclip are aligned, they will click right in.

Putting in the last round can be a little tricky. You will have to put your left index finger up from below as the loaded rounds take away the space to keep your index finger horizontal.

With a little practice, you will be able to do this without looking while talking to your wife at the breakfast table or your buddies at the range.

Enjoy your SW revolver.

Chris

Here is your best solution for range use:
http://www.ezmoonclip.com/

I still prefer steel clips for "serious" use. In my carefully considered opinion, these REQUIRE tools. I have several different tools. Here is one that does both load and unload the clips:

http://www.mooncliptool.com/

Here is the easiest to use to de-moon:

http://www.demooner.com/produc...&SearchFor=&PT_ID=28

I use the standard tool at $17.00.

If you are only going to buy one, buy the first one. If you are going to buy both you will have the best of both worlds.

One other choice - if you reload, Starline makes .45 Auto Rim cases and these are essentially rimmed .45 ACP cases and are used without the clips just like any other revolver.

I use Starline Auto Rim cases.

Remember, the RIMZ clips are revolver model specific. They require NO tools whatsoever. They are made of polymer and seem to last nearly forever (I think, as I have only used my for a couple of thousand rounds with no failures).

Dale53

The M625 RIMZ doesn't have any metal in it and I've broken one of mine. The M25 RIMZ does have a metal stiffener in it and it can be adapted to the M625.

If I'm going to shoot a lot, I always use RIMZ.

I made my demooner out of PVC pipe. A ten foot section cost $5? I cut it into 6" pieces, ran a 1/2" drill through it and fixed the end just like ima did. Lots less effort involved in making the end needed in plastic rather than metal. If you need to redo it you just take your Leatherman out and have at it.

Drilling them out allows the empties to fall through into my bucket or bag then right into the tumbler.

Cheap works for me!

The 1/2" I.D. copper pipe scrap my buddy gave me for free and cut as a couple others have shown works better than anything. Especially removing from the moon clip.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I want to thank everybody for their helpful replies. Being oh so handy with tools, I'll give the brass removers a try.

In the meantime, I'm really glad I picked up a couple hundred 45 AutoRim brass !!

__________________
regards....roger (no sig)

Get rimz clips. They work great and easy to load and unload. Ever since I got rimz I rarely use my metal clips now.

__________________
SWCA 1646

I'm a girlie man too...

Here's what I use...it's very similar to the golf club shaft above but with a home handy-man theme rather than the country club theme!...

__________________
"Onward thru the Fog"

Great pics. Even I might be able to do that !

__________________
regards....roger (no sig)

I made a similar tool with a piece of 1/2 inch conduit - works just fine. I did deburr all of the moon clips with a polishing wheel in the Dremel. Some of them had sharp edges which tend to bite into the brass.

I made my own tool similar to imashooter2 and VonFatman's devices. Except I used a fired .50 BMG cartridge case as the basis. Works great! The neck size is perfect to fit over the fired .45 case and the body of the cartridge makes a natural handle.

I also made a reloading tray to aid snapping the cartridges into the clips. Took two pieces of 1x6 lumber. Clamped them face to face and bored a flat bottomed, 1/2 inch diameter hole on the centerline about 1 inch deep. Spaced the holes 1 inch apart. For my trays I used 12 holes per side. When you separate the boards you have two trays each holding 24 rounds. Just snap the clip into the first cartridge and sort of roll it down the line. Makes loading the moon clips quick and easy.

sjmjax;
You MUST get us pictures. I and the rest too, I suspect, LOVE "home made" tools that work. "WHERE'S THE BEEF" (translation, where's the pictures).

Dale53