Invariably, any thread dealing with moon clips experiences quite a bit of thread drift. To the OP, since you are dealing with rimmed revolver rounds, and the revolver in question is machined for moon clips, you can load it singly, with a speedloader or via moon clips - the best of all worlds.
Revolvers that are chambered for rimless or semi-rimmed, are not so lucky. For those guns, moon clips are essential, as Muss Muggins so succinctly puts it. There are those that say clips are not needed and they use their 25 / 625 / 646 / 627-4 / etc, etc all the time without clips. Let me disabuse you of that thought. Without moon clips they will headspace on the mouth of the cartridge via the shoulder in the chamber. That shoulder is cut at the SAAMI specified maximum case length dimension. Virtually all factory handgun ammo has a case lengths shorter than the maximum dimension and thus, without moon clips, will be driven forward in the chamber by the hammer blow. Some will fire, some will not. I'm not going to compete with a "maybe" and certainly wouldn't bet my life on it. Revolvers that shoot rimless (or semi-rimmed) pistol cartridges are made to be used with clips or the rimmed variation of the pistol round for which they are chambered. So, Shooter6br, it is not in your head. You are essentially firing rounds with various amounts of freebore, which will affect accuracy.
As for Rimz, I would say that these are for the very casual shooter. I much prefer going to the range with a multitude of already loaded moon clips, rather than hassle with changing out empties and loaded ammo at the range - tools or no. With metal clips at $.45 or less (.45 ACP) this is a financial reality - much moreso than with Rimz clips. After spending what you did on your revolver, another $60 for the proper tools (that will last as long as you have your revolver - probably outlive you) isn't asking too much to enhance your shooting enjoyment. I do all my clip loading/unloading in the comfort of an easy chair in front of the TV - if you are going to be mindless, you may as well be productive. LimaCharlie - I have five .45 ACP revolvers and have shot literally thousands of rounds, and have never bent a moon clip, unless I inadvertently stepped on it in the heat of competition. Half-moons, which is maybe what you were using, may be another story - they are a PITA.
@emichael - sorry, but they do not make Rimz for the 8-shot revolvers. I would imagine that the space between chambers doesn't lend itself to a thick polymer clip. That's the bad news. The good news is that you can greatly ease your clip loading and unloading chores by the acquisition of the correct tool. Not cheap, but the most often heard comment from shooters, after obtaining one is, "Worth every penny." I am speaking of the BMT tool. You can find them here - watch the video...
BMT Equipped, Inc.
Not that much more than other tools, and none of them are as slick as this tool. If you compete with your R8, you want to find the clips that hold your ammo the most rigidly to facilitate loading into the cylinder. Makers of 8-shot clips usually make them in several thicknesses to accommodate different brands of brass. You may also want to try shorter rounds (.38 Short Colt or Long Colt) with heavy round-nose bullets to speed loading - but I digress.
I think moon clips are great. With the right tools, you will too.
Adios,
Pizza Bob
