Moon Clips

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imabmwnut

New member
Can someone explain what moon clips are and what they are used for. I'm guessing the cylinder is cut to allow for the clip to reside in?€
 
Originally they were used with 1917 Colt and S&W .45acp revolvers to allow for ejection of the rimless cases and faster loading. They had half moons that held three rounds and full moons that held six. Since then they have been used with 9mm and .40S&W in revolvers as well. In the more recent past, revolvers in conventional revolver calibers like .38spl and .357mag have been cut for moonclips to allow for faster reloading since the moonclip acts like a speed loader that stays attached to the cases. Sometimes the cylinder face is recessed to accommodate the clips (usually when using conventional revolver rounds so you can still shoot without them if you want to), sometimes the cylinder is just cut a bit short to make room for the moonclip.

These are full moon clips-
M%201917%20Full%20Moon%20Clips.jpg
 
Moon clips are fast, but a good speedloader can be nearly as fast and a little more sure loading. Plus, moon clips can easily bend which will cause a malfunction in a revolver. Not so with speedloaders.
 
"Moon clips are fast, but a good speedloader can be nearly as fast and a little more sure loading. Plus, moon clips can easily bend which will cause a malfunction in a revolver. Not so with speedloaders."

Disagree with all points of this statement. Have a 610 and a 625. Wouldn't ever part with either one.
 
Model12Win said:
Moon clips are fast, but a good speedloader can be nearly as fast and a little more sure loading. Plus, moon clips can easily bend which will cause a malfunction in a revolver. Not so with speedloaders.
Click to expand...

Moon clips aren't fast. Speedloaders aren't fast. The shooter, using either moons or speedloaders, is fast (or slow). How fast depends on how much practice they put in.

A master-class moonclipped revolver shooter will reload faster than a master-class speedloader shooter, but a master-class speedloader shooter will reload faster than nearly all other moonclip users. It takes more hours to master a good and efficient speedloader reload, IMO. Master class revolver shooters of either persuasion have many many hours of practice under their belt.

I've heard of moons bending, but never had one bend myself. Carry them in a moonclip holder, like they ought to be (just as speedloaders ought to be carried in a holder), and they won't get "easily bent".

"Sure loading"? It's much easier to catastrophically bobble a speedloader reload. The moonclip insures all rounds come out (and come out together), and a case getting stuck under the ejector is impossible. Speedloaders can also "puke" before getting the new rounds reloaded, and long/skinny speedloader rounds don't just drop in as easily as the short/fat rounds usually used with moons.
 
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