Love the moonclips
I've had four .44's set up for moonclips and really like how much easier they are to use for my guiding business. The faster reloads are nice but the main reason I did it because we end up loading and unloading a couple times per day for going from public roads to private ranches. Moonclips make is so easy and I'm never chasing loose shells or speedloaders under the truck seat or in the weeds.
The moonclips are a terrific way to quietly and simply carry extra ammo too. I just carry a couple extras loaded in speedloader pouches on my shoulder holster.
The only thing I'd change is on the old style two I did (my brother machined them) we used the instructions supplied with the clips from Moonclips.com. I think that old style removed too much material from the ratchet as one of the guns needed an oversized hand pretty quickly.
But the newer style I had done by Randy Lee (
Apex Tactical Specialties) with no ratchet material removed at all. They're AWESOME! You don't lose any features, only gain a really useful loading technique. You can still single load (cartridges headspace on the outer portion of the cylinder) or use speedloaders.
Loading and unloading the clips is a pain but I don't practice with the clips so I actually don't need to load them very often. You don't go through much ammo while actually hunting.
I don't understand why all the S&W revolvers aren't machined for moonclips. It's just a couple extra key-strokes while programming the CNC's and it doesn't take away any use or strength of the gun. I know it's a common feature on the Performance Center competition guns but I think hunters would really like it also.
