Moon clips

[Oracle]

I have been eyeing the models 929, 986, 625 and 610. I have never used moon clips. YouTube videos mention problems loading rounds and removing spent rounds, and the tendency for the moon clips to bend and break.

I don't want to be picking brass out of the cylinder so moon clips would be involved.

I have models 60, 29 and two 629's, so I already have calibers and ballistics similar to 9mm and 45 ACP and 10mm.

Are the moon clips really worth it? Should I stick to revolver calibers?

 

[ProCarryNAustin]

I have a 325 and 625. Love moon clips. Get a good tool. Load em up the night before. I usually load up 100-200 the night before watching TV. Never bent or broke one.

Very fast to load/unload.

 

[OKFC05]

The moon clips work best with pistol calibers, like 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP, for competition. The 8 shot 9mm now owns ICORE and USPSA revolver, but if you're shooting for fun, use whatever you have. IDPA has 2 sub divisions, speed loaders (eg 686) or clips (eg 646).
I personally have had a LOT of speedloader practice and do not use the moon clips with .38, but some do.
In IDPA, the clip gun reloads are faster, but the speedloaders are allowed lower PF ammo. Take your pick.

P.S. I use a simple demooner to quickly remove the empties. I rarely bend a speedloader (usually helped by someone stepping on one in a match) and have never broken one. A bent moonclip is easily made perfect again by tapping lightly on an anvil with a flat faced hammer.

 

[BC38]

FWIW, I've got a couple of old 1917s and shoot them with moon clips. I've tried the 2, 3, and 6 round versions.

The 6 rounders are my favorite - they are easiest to unload with the little hand-held sheet metal lever-type tool, and they're not significantly harder to load than either of the other two types.

The 3-rounders are easiest to load, but a bear to unload with the simple demooner tool.

The 2 round clips are OK to load, but a real pain to unload. I don't think any tool will make them easier, it is just a finger strength exercise. Their biggest advantage is the paired rounds can be stored in a standard MTM or other ammo box.

When loaded neither the 3 or 6 round clips can be stored in standard ammo boxes. That's the biggest disadvantage to them IMO. They are bulkier to store when loaded with rounds.

 

[colt_saa]

I LOVE moon clip enabled revolvers and often carry one as my personal defensive sidearm.

I have been shooting with moon clips for about 35 years so far

I have Never, Not Even Once, BROKEN a moon clip. If you are putting that much pressure on a spring steel clip, then you are abusing it

I did bend one or two before I knew what I was doing, but I have not bent one in over 20 years.

I do not use a loading tool. It would be faster, but I have my technique down. Also, I seldom load or unload a clip at the shooting facility

A day or so before going shooting, I will sit in the big easy chair with the News on and load up 20-30 or more clips

A few days after shooting, I will sit in the same chair, probably watching the same News and de-moon, dropping the brass right into the proper to-be-tumbled bucket

Only when someone brings me some ammo to try, will I load a clip at the range. I do keep a de-moon tool in my range bag

 

[growr]

Nothing faster than a 6 round moon clip loading or unloading.

Randy

 

[robvious]

I vote for the 625 in 45 acp... and get some RIMZ moonclips for range time... they are plastic/rubber and super easy to load and unload... use steel for competition or carry and find a loading tool that works for you

 

[BLUEDOT37]

You could also make 45 Auto Rims your main cartridge in the 625 & use 45ACP/moonclips as secondary when wanted.

You're not locked into one or the other.

.

.

 

[series guy]

As others have said I have never bent or broken a moon clip. I have two 625s, a 627 pro 8 shot and a 929 all using moon clips. The only down side is how fast you can go through ammo. Remember some folks could break an anvil.

 

[Dave Lively]

I had a 610 for about 30 years. One of the main reasons I sold it is I do not like dealing with moon clips. I never bent one but found them to be a real pain to load and unload. Actually, I found them to be a pain to unload, getting the shells in was a lot easier than getting them out. I had a tool to help remove the empties but not one of the fancy ones that popped out all six rounds at once.

My 610 was mostly a range gun and not used for competition. I usually skipped the moon clips plucked the empties out with a fingernail. That worked well with most factory ammo I shot through the gun including the original Norma ammo from the late eighties. But with the super hot stuff you can get from Buffalo Bore, Underwood, etc. I had to use the moon clips and even then extraction was sticky.

My advice would be to stick with revolver cartridges unless you plan on competing with the gun. When you want a fast reload in a revolver you cannot beat a moon clip.

 

[StrawHat]

For removing shells from the moon clips you can make a tool from a piece of conduit or similar pipe, (old golf club for example). In one end file the metal away to leave a ledge that is about 1/3 of the circumference and about 1/16”. Place the tool over the cartridge and twist. The cartridge will pop out of the moonclip. Or, even cheaper, hook the cartridge in the corner of a metal ammunition box and pull. It will pop out and fall into the box.

For filling the full moon clips, you can make a simple “machine” from scrap lumber, a washer and a piece of angle iron. Look on utube for more details. And the cheap way is to use a pair of water pump pliers to load two cartridges at a time into full moon clips or the 1/3 moons.

For half moon clips, this is the machine used by the factory or the military. Not sure where you get one.

Kevin

 

[BigMuddy]

My S&W 22-4 became one of my favorite revolvers after I found the RIMZ moon clips. Haven’t used a steel one since.

Dan

 

[tlawler]

I love moonclips. I have a 610 that I’ve been using them in for 10 years and always mooned/demooned by hand. With the 10mm case, they’re long and skinny enough to get a good grip on, and I only had 10 to work with. In the past week, I’ve picked up two .45ACP revolvers that came with moonclips and moon/demoon tools. The .45ACP is way harder to do by hand And I had 53 clips to fill! The tool(s) are definitely the way to go. I’ve also got a M640 pro that uses moonclips, but the clips are rather thin and flexible. I normally don’t use the clips for it at the range, but carry it with clipped rounds for the advantage of a clean quick ejection in a SD situation. For reloads in the 640, I carry speedstrips because they are a lot flatter than the moonclips and because of the flex of the clips, it’s harder to get them to drop in as readily as on the .45ACP and 10mm.

 

[H Richard]

I have or have had several moon clip loading revolvers, a 940, Mod 25, 1917 Bazillion, and 986 L Frame. Using a tool to load and unload the clips is not difficult.

I have used this for both .45 and 9mm, and the 986, which used a different clip than the 940. The advantage is you can load up many clips before going to the range and pick up your brass at your feet the entire load at one pick pick up. If you are a revolver competitor they are faster than speed loaders. (They can be critical on the brand of brass used). Find out what brand of brass consistently works well and stick with it. If you use range pick up brass, expect some hang ups. Especially in 9mm, which seems to have the greatest variance between brands.


I an not certain if this manufacturer is still in business, but Dillon makes a very similar unit and there are also various other clip loading tools available.

 

[gwpercle]

Only in the shooting games .
In real life and death situations just something else you have to contend with and another element that can go wrong .

In real life ... Keep It Simple .
Gary

 

[Breakaway500]

I use EZ-moons..(Hydrocarbon polymer) They load and unload by hand easily (no tool needed) and have never broken one or wore one out.

Once I discovered EZ-moons my steel one went into a draw.

I keep 3 loaded in pill containers..so 18 rounds ready to go, per pill container. Very tidy way to carry full rounds or empties.

 

[Spokes]

Never had so much fun with a 45acp revolver..Get a good tool and have at it..

 

[StrawHat]

Only in the shooting games .
In real life and death situations just something else you have to contend with and another element that can go wrong .

In real life ... Keep It Simple .
Gary

Not sure where this is pointed, at moon clips, speed loaders or maybe both?

Kevin

 

[andyinlz]

I second the EZ Moons.

 

[sodacan]

I'm a huge fan of 45acp revolvers, and moonclips help make them fun to use. IMO, the BMT tool is the best gadget around for loading and unloading them. It is also the most expensive option, but you'll forget the cost after you use it once. Also, no bent clips, ever. I've been using the same ones for years.