929 9mm - No Moon Clip Experience

[H Richard]

I have a 1917, 25-2 and 940 and all can be fired without moon clips, but why? Loading a moon clip is like loading the magazine for your semi auto. Unloading the clip is no problem with most any of the tools Macinaw shows above. The 9mm are more of a chore to remove without moon clips as they work with higher pressure and therefore are somewhat tighter in the chamber after firing.

 

[hearth]

And, who doesnt LOVE moonclips??

 

[1911Teacher]

And, who doesnt LOVE moonclips??

I bought a 929 last week and I can assure you that I do not love moon clips. Or should I say moon clip as it only came with one. I can't believe S&W sends 1 clip with a $1100 gun.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I bought a 929 last week and I can assure you that I do not love moon clips. Or should I say moon clip as it only came with one. I can't believe S&W sends 1 clip with a $1100 gun.

Ummm....you should PM Hearth and unless I miss my guess, he's Dave Hearth of Hearthco moonclips. I know from personal experience he makes great moonclips!!

 

[625 Shooter]

... Dave Hearth of Hearthco moonclips. I know from personal experience he makes great moonclips!!

I most certainly agree!

 

[Pizza Bob]

Dave Hearth of Hearthco moonclips. I know from personal experience he makes great moonclips!!

But does he still? I was under the impression that he abdicated all production to TK Custom. A lot (all?) Hearthco clips were EDM cut, whereas most (again, all?) of TK's are stamped. For my 627-4 PC (.38 Super) I found that the EDM cut clips from S&W (which I suspect are Hearthco / Hearthcos not TK / Hearthcos) work the best as far as holding the cartridges the most rigidly, aiding a fast reload. Tried TK's, Revolver Supply's (old & new design) and the S&W clips are the best. This is relevant as I understand the same clips can be used for the 929. Only downside is that they are $7 each.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[peterthefish]

If you PM Hearth you may find he still sells clips, although direct sales seem to be from TK. I'd love some EDM cut clips for the 929, maybe time to try him again.

 

[9146gt]

My TK custom stainless wire EDM moon clips say 627,929,.38 super.

Tom

 

[peterthefish]

I guess I should have sprung for the stainless clips them. I got the blued ones which are stamped. I guess that explains the cost difference.

 

[Andy Griffith]

One other option that you can do, that I did some time ago...

Have another cylinder fitted for almost any .357 (J, K or L frame), and have it cut for 9mm.

I've had this done and it seems to work well.

When I had it done some time ago, it was an act of congress to get two identical cylinders fitted to the same gun though. Don't know if it's any different today.

Then, you had to send off the cylinder and have it reamed to 9x23 and cut for moonclips. In an emergency, it is still possible to use 38/357 cartridges in it, but they do tend to swell a bit more as the O.D. of the 9mm case is a bit longer.

Here is a link to one that was done this way:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/ammo/270039-some-questions-about-9x23-winchester.html

 

[Pizza Bob]

My TK custom stainless wire EDM moon clips say 627,929,.38 super.

Tom

Do your SS clips have the split arms or solid? On his website both the blue and stainless are shown with solid arms. He also goes on to say that the blued clips fit just like the stainless ones. I bought 10 blued clips to try and my experience was not great. I'll confess that I have a little bit of arthritis in my hands - but nothing an Aleve won't knock-down or that prevents me from shooting a match. It was almost impossible to load the cartridges into and extract the empties from the TK clip using a BMT tool - arguably the best tool on the market. Once the were inserted, the cartridges still exhibited a good deal of "flop". The S&W moons, with split arms, holds the ammo much more rigidly and it is far easier to load/unload the clips with the BMT.

Easy to see in the photos the difference in rigidity. The rounds are all Starline .38 Super brass.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[peterthefish]

Easy to see in the photos the difference in rigidity. The rounds are all Starline .38 Super brass.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Where did you get those SS clips? The loose fit of 9mm in the clips is my biggest complaint with the 929.

 

[Pizza Bob]

Where did you get those SS clips? The loose fit of 9mm in the clips is my biggest complaint with the 929.

They aren't stainless - both the TK clips (on the left) and the S&W clips (on the right) are blued.

The S&W clips I bought from a private party, but they are still available from S&W (last time I looked). They are for the 627-4 PC, .38 Super.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[peterthefish]

They aren't stainless - both the TK clips (on the left) and the S&W clips (on the right) are blued.

Hmmm. I wonder if S&W still sells them? The single moonclip supplied with the 929 is a stamped TK custom.

Edit: Looks like they do but $6 and change each. Do they fit in the 929 and hold the 9mm cases well? Do you know the thickness?

 

[MTKTM]

I handled and came very close to buying a 929 just this past weekend. But I decided almost $1100 for a gun I didn't have a specific dedicated use for required some reflection. I have a 10 year-old 627 5" 8-shot, and also a 625PC, so am familiar with moon-clips and definitely find them to be a mixed bag for general shooting. If I were going to do a specific game where the capacity and light-weight cylinder gave me a leg up, heck, I'd buy it. I won't say that money is no object, but I could certainly afford the gun.

But I've decided that I'm happy/content with the 627 8-shot to fill this particular niche. It would be nice to be able to shoot 9x19 ammo, but 38s aren't a whole lot more expensive, and I prefer handloading 38s to futzing around with itzy-bitzy 9s. And I also like having the option to NOT use moon-clips with the 627, no need whatsoever. Even my 625PC will shoot 45ACP without them......most of the time, so I am mildly surprised that the 9 doesn't work that way, good to know, clinched it for me.

 

[Pizza Bob]

Let me make it clear that I do not have a 929, and the photos are of .38 Super ammo, not 9 mm. However, the clip manufacturers market the clips as fitting both calibers.

So I decided to see how some 9 mm ammo would fit in the S&W clips. I had some R-P 9mm ammo. The 9 mm fit horribly in those clips. Very loose almost to the point of falling out. Easily inserted and removed with fingers only. I should note that the arms on the S&W clips are shorter than those on the TK clips.

Tried the 9 mm in the TK clips, which were difficult in which to insert and remove the .38 Super ammo. Worked much better with the 9 mm. Still not rigid, but at least secure in the clips. May be acceptable for competition, even with the flop, due to the short cartridge length and RN bullet.

I think the only conclusion we can draw from this is that it will require a lot of trial & error with different clips and ammo to find which combination works best for you.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[peterthefish]

Thanks for this - almost just bought a few to checkout.

 

[wantmoresmiths]

Forget those other moonclip tools. Pony up the $80 and get a BMT moonclip loader/unloader. They are fast, and effortless. Drop the 8 cartridges in the tool, twist the knob and the moonclip is loaded. Unloading is just as easy.

http://www.bmtequipped.com/

You don't need to break the bank on moonclips. Try either Ranch Product moonclips or the moonclips from revolver supply company. The Hearthco clips are best saved for competition, where fractions of a second affect your position in the standings.

 

[sodacan]

IMO, all revolvers should have been designed for moon clips. There is no faster way to load and empty them, and with the proper tool the clips are easy to load and empty. No speedloader is faster.

 

[MTKTM]

IMO, all revolvers should have been designed for moon clips. There is no faster way to load and empty them, and with the proper tool the clips are easy to load and empty. No speedloader is faster.

I do not disagree with this. But I would also say that all revolvers ought to be usable without them as well, that they shouldn't be mandatory.

I'm curious, I've never owned nor handled a 610, but were they usable without clips? I know that you'd have to use the clips if you were shooting 40s, but what about with 10mm?