I just picked up some full moon clips for my Smith 686 7-sht. After loading ten of them,I've noticed that at least half of them don't align the cartridges very good.Is this something that you have to live with?Afterall,these things are just spring steel.Do you have to tweak them into working reliably? Thanks
Has anyone here used full moon clips?
- Thread starter jnixp
- Start date
Nightcrawler
New member
okay...
I've never even fired a revolver. I understand that a moon clip is something that is designed to prevent non-rimmed cartridges from falling through the cylinders of revolvers, but exactly how does one work/what does it look like?
I've never even fired a revolver. I understand that a moon clip is something that is designed to prevent non-rimmed cartridges from falling through the cylinders of revolvers, but exactly how does one work/what does it look like?
During WWI, the standard Model 1911 auto pistol could not be produced fast enough, so the Army got Colt and S&W to make revolvers chambered for the standard .45ACP cartridge. The army called both guns the Model 1917. S&W developed 3-round half moon clips to allow faster loading, but mainly to allow normal extraction with the rimless cartridges. The first 50,000 Colt revolvers had no shoulders in the chambers so the rounds would fall into the chamber without the clip. Later Colts and all S&Ws can be fired without the clips but, of course, the empty brass has to be extracted with the fingernail.
In the past few years, a "full moon" clip was developed which holds the entire cylinder capacity.
In the Model 1917 revolvers, the headspace is made larger to allow for the case rim plus the clip. A rimmed cartridge, the .45 Auto Rim, was developed with an extra thick rim so it can be fired without the clip.
A conventional .38 or .357 revolver can be modified to use clips for faster reloading, but most conversions will not then work without the clips due to excess headspace. There is one conversion, using special clips, which involves cutting away the cylinder but leaving enough metal at the chamber to support the case rim. I have seen these, but have not actually used one.
Jim
In the past few years, a "full moon" clip was developed which holds the entire cylinder capacity.
In the Model 1917 revolvers, the headspace is made larger to allow for the case rim plus the clip. A rimmed cartridge, the .45 Auto Rim, was developed with an extra thick rim so it can be fired without the clip.
A conventional .38 or .357 revolver can be modified to use clips for faster reloading, but most conversions will not then work without the clips due to excess headspace. There is one conversion, using special clips, which involves cutting away the cylinder but leaving enough metal at the chamber to support the case rim. I have seen these, but have not actually used one.
Jim
G. Kennedy
New member
I have never used full moon clips in a .38/.357 revolver. I have talked to the owner of Ranch Products who used to do a conversion on 6-shot 686's to use full moon clips. He said the clips were finicky on ammo brands due to variations of the outside dimensions of the cases(This is due to the fact that the cartridge is not a rimless design like .45ACP/10mm). Variances in ammo brand/the way the clips hold the rounds could be why they don't hold the ammo as "straight" as they should......
G. Kennedy
New member
One other thing: If the clips are not flat you are probably better off just pitching them as this can cause your revolver to not cycle (cylinder not wanting to rotate) properly, tying up the gun. I have had this happen in the past with my .45ACP revolver....
Thanks for the input G.Kennedy,I think that's exactly what the problem is.I'm trying factory loaded ammo,but I've found that the cartridges that don't want to seat fully into the clips will not seat in any of the clips.It must be the variation in the case diameter in front of the rims.
Robert the41MagFan
New member
loaded moon clips should be flat and the bullets straight. If not, they will not function properly. If you have bent moon clips, you need a moon clip straightening tool from TK Custom. The clips are the best way to load a revolver and it closes the revolver/auto gap.
Robert
Robert
M
M58
Guest
Good stuff above.
I have used the full (940 9mm) and full/half (in 625 and 1917 .45acp).
The 940 9mm clips were very thin and easily bent binding the cylinder. With the .45 clips were stronger, but would end up bent. The half clips were the easiest to work with, which was the original design. A tool was/is essntial when using a revolver/clips.
The story on using moon clips with non-auto cases is that there is no indent like on the auto case (where the extractor grabs) for the moon clips to fit well. And add to the mix different cases from different makers.
The moon can work with rev. cases, you just have to use the same make brass and make sure all the clips are perfectly flat.
It is neat to have guns in the same caliber--auto and revolver; just takes a little care. AND, the reloads are fast with moon clips!
I have used the full (940 9mm) and full/half (in 625 and 1917 .45acp).
The 940 9mm clips were very thin and easily bent binding the cylinder. With the .45 clips were stronger, but would end up bent. The half clips were the easiest to work with, which was the original design. A tool was/is essntial when using a revolver/clips.
The story on using moon clips with non-auto cases is that there is no indent like on the auto case (where the extractor grabs) for the moon clips to fit well. And add to the mix different cases from different makers.
The moon can work with rev. cases, you just have to use the same make brass and make sure all the clips are perfectly flat.
It is neat to have guns in the same caliber--auto and revolver; just takes a little care. AND, the reloads are fast with moon clips!
Kenneth L. Walters
New member
TK Custom Moon Clip Straighteners
I've seen the web page. I assume that you need one for each type of clip, right? So a 40 S&W would be different than a 45 ACP. How, exactly, do they work?
I got the impression that TK is way behind on orders. Is that true?
I've seen the web page. I assume that you need one for each type of clip, right? So a 40 S&W would be different than a 45 ACP. How, exactly, do they work?
I got the impression that TK is way behind on orders. Is that true?
I have moon clip guns in .38/.357, 10mm and 45 ACP and liek them allot. You problem is that unlike the auto cartridges that have a big extractor groove for the clip to clip into, the revolver cartridge clips are thin and clip into the small groove just above the rim. You will find that different brands work differently in the clips. For my 8 shot 627PC I found that RP and Fed brass works great but Win is very tight. You just have to know what works and what doesn't. I also found that my 10mm is also pickey with brass. Starline is a very tight fit but I found Fed works well. You just have to try a few different types to see what works.
Kenneth L. Walters
New member
Tools for removing rounds
I've occasionally played around with clips for my S&W revolver. Always found it hard to remove the spent cases. I've tried several different tools but, well, all of them were a pain. Any good tools for putting them in and/or removing them.
I'm going to order one of those S&W Performance Center 40 S&W revolvers today so I guess I'm going to get a lot more experience with this stuff.
Any help would be appreciated.
I've occasionally played around with clips for my S&W revolver. Always found it hard to remove the spent cases. I've tried several different tools but, well, all of them were a pain. Any good tools for putting them in and/or removing them.
I'm going to order one of those S&W Performance Center 40 S&W revolvers today so I guess I'm going to get a lot more experience with this stuff.
Any help would be appreciated.
real saxophonist
New member
I've used the Ranch Products clips in my S&W 1917. Only thing is, they're kind of a pain to unload (remove cases from the clips, not remove the loaded clip from the cylinder)...
Moon clips that don't work
I have heard that there may be some ammo related problems with the 7-shot clips, but I have 20 of them that seem Ok with anything I have loaded. Unfortunately I have another 50 (ordered after initial success with the 20) which won't work with any brand of brass I have. I am about to return them out of frustration but don't know how to ensure I get replacements that will work. Any ideas?
Cheers,
Norm
I have heard that there may be some ammo related problems with the 7-shot clips, but I have 20 of them that seem Ok with anything I have loaded. Unfortunately I have another 50 (ordered after initial success with the 20) which won't work with any brand of brass I have. I am about to return them out of frustration but don't know how to ensure I get replacements that will work. Any ideas?
Cheers,
Norm