Took my S&W 327 to the range today for its maiden voyage and while the revolver functioned flawless I cannot say the same thing for the moon clips. I had preloaded 6 moon clips by hand prior to the range visit and out of 6 three loaded without a problem but the other three would not drop into the cylinder and I did not want to force them. They were extremely difficult to load by hand. Is it possible I did not have all of the rounds fully seated in the clip causing it not to load? BTW I have order a moon clip loader which I will use before the next time I go to the range and will check to make sure they load properly. As far as the 327 is concerned it was a joy to shoot and I was delighted with its accuracy. I shot Fiocchi 38 special 130 grain ammo and really liked it.

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

What, no pics???

Your problem may be due to incompatibility between the moon clip and the ammunition you’re using in your revolver. There is no SAAMI standard for the extractor groove for 38/357 ammunition. Actually there isn’t a requirement for the grove at all so, if there is a grove, it’s up to the manufacturer of the brass what the dimensions are.
I just checked the TK Customs web site and they make 5 different moon clips for S&W N frame 8 shot revolvers. They specify which clip is compatible with what brand of brass.
You know that you don’t have to use the clips? You can single load ammo or use a speed loader without the clips.

Ammo and moon clips vary greatly, the clips come in various thickness and the grooves in the ammo are not all the same. You'll have to find what works together and you should not have any problems. The ammo should turn easily in the clip, (not tight). They will bind if the clips are too tight on the ammo.

Thanks I'll check out that site.

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

I did remove the rounds from the 3 moon clips that would not load and fired them by single loading. No issues but in talking with Smith and Wesson Customer Service they recommended that I always use the moon clips. If I can get them to work properly its nice to have them preloaded before you get to the range. I did check out the TK Customs site and found N frame 8 shot clips that are compatible with Fiocchi ammo. Thanks for the heads up.

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

The best setup for 8 shot 357 is TK Custom moon clips with Starline brass. All the Starline 38 brass has the same groove. This includes 38 Short Colt, 38 Long Colt, 38 Special and 357 Magnum. This means you can use the same moonclips for all the different brass, and they all work great. The best loader/unloader is BMT Mooner. As DS-10- SPEED said, you have to match the clips and brass.

Hey - wait a minute! You're a speedloader guy - you can't answer moon clip questions!?!??

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I had to tweak some of mine a little to get them to work properly. I decided I prefer to use speed strips.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I've had good luck with Ranch products 327/627 moonclips.
Primarily, I use them on Winchester and Starline brass.
I did load some Fiocchi and American as well.
They're .025".
I load them with my fingers as I load up to a 45acp with them. And usually unload with my fingers or a cut tube. It just depends on which cases I'm using.

If it were a 610,325/625 in 45acp, 646, 986,929, this would be true. Or any rimless cartridge revolver except for a 547.

The 327/627's can fire with or without. 'He' may have been confused.

Were all the rounds you fired, new and the same brand?

I have a 1917 and a 625, so all my experience is with 6 shot, 45 ACP.

The clips can be bent very easily while loading or unloading, with or without the dedicated tools. I have around 4oo full moon clips and load up 50 at a time and place every loaded clip in the gun and close the cylinder at home. Often clips won't be flat on their very first loading!

My routine on clips that don't function properly is leave them loaded until you have time to deal with the problem! Unload one clip, and place it on a true and smooth surface (I use a block of plexiglass 1.5" Thick.) I check both sides to see which way the tines are pointing. I place them on a anvil like surface (smooth concrete will work' but gets marked up!) with the hump up, and try for one flat blow with a steel faced hammer (8 ounce or 1 pound both work well!) Repeat for all the humps. I mark the inner ring with a small dot of nail polish, and dispose after 4 repairs. Usually at 3 repairs they are my SD clips or "Run and Gun" clips, because they are likely to get stepped on (and you will never get them true after that!)

My practice ammo has 2 different loadings, and the bullets are different colors and carry several dozen loaded clips of each loading in an 50 cal. ammo can on each practice outing.

I hope my experience will be helpful.

Ivan

I have a 327PC and I use moon clips a lot. I use the ones from revolversupply.com. I find that these work with most brands of ammunition. Mooning moon clips is a bit of an acquired skill. Trying to do it by hand is likely to be a losing proposition. I recommend the Moon Clip Tool or something similar. Practice makes perfect. And yes, some ammo does not fit some moon clips, although in practice I've managed with all ammo I've tried so far.

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Army veteran, NRA Life Member

As a suggestion...it may not be too popular in the want-it-right-now era, but with practice, it's surprising how fast one can load a revolver with single rounds and not have to depend on moon clips or similar devices.

And there is another reason I do not use clips.
Still cannot figure out how they save you time over manual loading of ammunition. Have to load the clips. Then after you shoot the rounds you have to “de-moon” the casings.
A lot of fans but the numbers do not match up for me. Then there is this issue of matching the clips to ammo. Uhmmmm thanks but no thanks. I can drop mixed head stamped ammo into the cylinder one at a time all day long without any complications.

Well, for one thing you can moon your clips at home before a range session. And you can therefore load at the range very quickly. You can de-moon and re-moon at home between range sessions. That’s what I do, anyway. I just like moon clips because they are cool, and I love being able to shoot more rounds at the range than my friends with semi-autos can do. I especially like that when shooting my 625 (45 acp revolver) and my buds are shooting (and frequently reloading the magazines for) their 1911s. :-)

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Army veteran, NRA Life Member

I moon and demoon my 9mm 637-2 conversions at home. Reloading during a shooting session averages 4 seconds, which is fast enough to suit me.

I have about 100 full moon clips some 1/2 moon clips and a few 2 round clips. I never clip or declip brass at the range. I never have to gather up a bunch of loose brass,

With a tube twist tool, I make my own, I can unload clips quickly over a small container. With a good tool load the clips quickly.

But, then I am don't use clips on anything but 45acp. Which I shoot a lot.

Why waste range time
s l o w l y
l o a d i n g
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I carry a 325, I can't imagine reloading a real self defense gun 1 round at a time and moon clips beat speed loaders by a mile

Let's clear a few things up. First, equating any experience with moon clip use with a .45 ACP revolver to using them with an 8-shot .38/.357 or 9 mm caliber gun is comparing apples to oranges.

With six large holes and a cartridge that is short and round-nosed, the .45 practically loads itself, and cartridge wobble in the clip actually facilitates the loading process.

OTOH, with a cylinder of the same diameter, but now with eight smaller holes, any cartridge wobble in the clip will be working against you in trying to accomplish a quick reload. Added to that is that the longer the cartridge the more that wobble is exaggerated - this is why people competing with 8-shot 627/327's generally use short cartridge variations like .38 Long Colt and .38 Short Colt. It was also the impetus for introducing an 8-shot 9 mm revolver.

Secondly, as some have already pointed out, the dimensions of the groove in front of the rim on a rimmed revolver cartridge, if there even is one, is left up to the manufacturer - there are no SAAMI specs like there are for the extractor groove on rimless cartridges (again a plus for using the 9mm cartridge in a revolver). This complicates getting the proper cartridge to clip fit - which for the 8-shot guns you want as little cartridge wobble as possible. This means trial & error fitment tests with different headstamps and moon clips. Yes, most clip manufacturers can give you initial guidance on what clips work best with what brands of brass - but that in no way assures an optimum fit - it is a starting point at best.

Once you have found that optimum combination you now need to lay in a supply of the correct clips and brass and keep them segregated. (All this is pretty much irrelevant to .45 ACP guns as they will work well with most anything).

Third: In just about any thread that involves moon clips, inevitably somebody brings up the use of the RIMZ polymer moon clips and how great they are as they do not require the use of tools. RIMZ got their start making clips for the 25/325/625 family of guns and they have a couple variations to fit those guns.

All well and good, but RIMZ clips are only available for certain guns and not always what you would expect. Need a polymer clip for your 646? How about your 610? No problem. How about any .38/.357 N or L frame? Sorry, not available. I will throw in here that RIMZ is making clips for the 929 and they are stellar and what I’m using for ICORE and USPSA. They support the cartridge not just by a tight fit in the extractor groove, but by also surrounding the cartridge head.

Fourth: That leaves us using metal clips for the 627/327 guns, which means we need the proper tool(s) to optimize our enjoyment of the gun. Certainly at the top of that list is the BMT tool - the only tool you'll ever need to load and unload your clips. In the alternative, there is the Dillon Moon Clip Tool (and the copies and clones out there). Slower, as it is a one cartridge at a time proposition, but it works well and has the added advantage of being usable for various calibers by simply changing the inexpensive arbor, whereas the BMT is cartridge/gun specific.

The Dillon Moon Clip Tool bills itself as both a loader & unloader, and, indeed, unloading can be accomplished with the use of the loops on the end of the tool. I have found that it is more expedient to purchase, separately, one of the screwdriver handle type unloaders, from sources like Brownells or Midway - or make one from some copper pipe or a piece of golf club shaft. There are other tools out there, but these account for the majority in use by competition shooters.

Which brings me to my fifth and final point - all of the above is moot if your gun is just a range toy - where the speed with which you reload is irrelevant. Then moon clips are just a convenience. Sit at home and load up your clips in front of the TV, saving you range time. However, if you endeavor to compete in any gun game that requires loading "on the clock" then moon clips are the way to go.

One last thing - you must have talked to a CS Rep at S&W who confused the use of moon clips between rimmed and rimless cartridges. Clips should be considered mandatory for use with rimless cartridges - yes they may work without sometimes, but don't bet your life on it, or even your range time. Guns that are chambered for rimmed cartridges but cut to accept moon clips work equally well with or without the clips. There is a shoulder left around the circumference of the cylinder on which the rimmed cartridge can headspace when clips are not used.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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NRA Benefactor Member

Yes they were.

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

Hey Guys. Thanks for all of your useful information. I have a moon clip loader on order. In the mean time, I am going to shoot my 327 without the use of moon clips and see how she runs. I would actually prefer doing it that way and using speed loaders but I want to be sure she functions 100%.

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

My 625-8 PC fires fine every single time without moonclips since the cylinder charge holes are cut to allow the rimless cartridges to headspace on the case mouths.

Ejecting the cases is an easy matter of opening the cylinder and pushing the ejection rod down with causes the empties to slide right out with some help from a fingernail.

Although I like the ease with which rapid reloading is possible with moon clips, I don’t bother with them for casual range shooting anymore.

Never had a problem with Ranch Products moon clips in my 1917 and 625

I dont keep my nails long enough to pluck them out.
And I load my charges to feed my 1911's so there's no way gravity will make them fall on there own.
My 25-2 will fire them also, but I got tired of knocking out the rounds with a brass rod. After one try. .
I also tried to fire 45acp without moonclips out of my 625JM...it would fire 3 on one side and light strike 3 on the other.
In my case, its clearly more reliable with moonclips on 45acp.

If you load , I would recommend 45 AR (auto rim) for use in your revolvers. That cartridge is designed to be used without moonclips.

If I didn't want to use 45acp on moonclips, I would definitely buy some 45 AR . Many do, to forego the use of clips.

Do you know if the cylinder charge holes on the 625 and the 327 the same configuration?

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

No, no, no. Apples to oranges. You are trying to compare a rimless cartridge, with a SAAMI spec extractor groove, with a rimmed cartridge that may have no groove ahead of the rim or if it does, it isn't spec'd by SAAMI. Rimless cases headspace on the moon clip, rimmed cases headspace on the rim.

There is no reason your gun would not run 100% without moon clips. OTOH, running a rimless cartridge without clips is a **** shoot, regardless of how many people chime in and say, "My gun runs fine with or without clips." Even most semi autos don't necessarily headspace on the case mouth. They headspace on the extractor.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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NRA Benefactor Member

Plus one on this: I've had good luck with Ranch products moonclips for my 610. I also use their demooning tool; it prevents damage to the moonclips.

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NRA Life Member

Sorry for my ignorance. I've been a pistol shooter my entire life and am not well schooled in revolvers. I do know the difference between rimless and rimmed cartridges but am not very familiar with the Smith and Wesson model numbers.

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

No apologies necessary. This is a learning process and people far more experienced than you, often want to equate moon clip guns that use rimless ammo to those that use rimmed. Two different beasts.

While the rimmed ammo may make finding compatible clips and brass difficult, once you do, you have more versatility. You can load ammo singly, with a speed loader or with moon clips.

Have fun with your new gun.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

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NRA Benefactor Member

Thanks Pizza Bob for taking the time to help out. I never surprises to see how friendly and helpful people are from the gun community.

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Veteran/NRA Member/S&W 327

The 625-8 PC and 625 JM are quite different revolvers and, when shooting without moon clips, I’ve never, ever, had a light strike in my 625-8 PC, or the least difficulty ejecting the empties without ever needing to use a rod.

I shoot the same 230 grain FMJ range ammunition in my 1911s; Fiocchi, S&B, Speer Lawman, but most usually, American Eagle.

That being said, moon clips work great in .45ACP revolvers.