S&W Model 10 Moon Clips? Probably a dumb question...

J

joshf128

New member
I just got my first revolver yesterday, a Model 10 police trade in from Bud's. It shoots great, has "character", and passes all of the tests on the revolver checklist. All in all I am very happy to be a new member of the wheel gun club.

My question is whether or not anybody makes moon clips that are compatible with the Model 10. I've searched the forums and Midway/Brownell's/CTD and most of the ones I see are for 45ACP/40/10mm or are for N frame 7 or 8 shot revolvers.
 
Yes there are moon clips that will fit .38 special. However it is doubtful that moon clips will fit in your model 10 without modifying the cylinder.

You might consider speed loaders or speed strips.
 
Thanks for the reply. I don't want to modify the cylinder and figured that was probably why there aren't any readily available. I think a push button speed loader would be almost as good.
Thanks,
Josh
 
The cylinder would have to be modified for moonclips. And moonclips work best for short fat rounds like .45acp. Much less so for long skinny rounds like the .38spl.

For quick reloads, your best bet are Safariland CompIIIs or Jetloaders (personally, I prefer JetLoaders).

The real secret to fast reloads, whether moons, CompIIIs or Jetloaders, is lots of practice. When ordering speedloaders, then, order some snap caps (even better would be dummy rounds if you reload) so you can safely practice at home.
 
Congrats on the Model 10. Pics would be nice. . .hint hint.

I carry speed strips. They lay flat in my pocket and with a bit of practice they can be pretty fast to reload with.
 
I shoot a Model 64 (stainless version of the Model 10) in competition. I was thinking of modifying it to take moon clips.

A couple guys I shoot with recommended not to do it, as the moon clips for the K frame Smiths are too thin and will give you problems.

They instead recommended I go with the Comp III speed loaders which are nearly as fast as moon clips. I'm certainly glad I listened to their advice.

I examined some K frame moon clips and they do look flimsily, easy to bend them out of Sharpe which will cause malfunctions.

If you're thinking of moon clips for a K frame, I'd recommend you take to people who use then and examine the clips, not new clips but clips that have been used a bit.
 
In order for a M10 to be compatible with moonclips, the face of the cylinder would have to be machined in order to allow clearance for both the clip and the rims of the cartridges (in stock form, there's only enough clearance for the rims). While this can still be done in a way that allows the gun to be used without clips if you desire, you'll likely find that reloading isn't as fast as you might think. Moonclips tend to work best with short, fat cartridges like .45 ACP or 10mm because the larger chambers are easier to line up and the shorter cartridges are less likely to bind. Were the gun mine, I wouldn't bother with a moonclip conversion because I doubt it would be that much faster than a good speedloader like a Safariland Comp II or Comp III.
 
I've had several .45 ACP revolvers that required clips, either half-moon or moon style.

These are good for a quick reload, but if you shoot 200~300 rounds at a session, they get to be a pain, shucking the empties out and reloading the clips.

Bob Wright
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I'm definitely not going to modify the cylinder so it seems like speed loaders are the way to go. Attached is a picture of my first two cylinders through the new gun.

The top group was first with my hold covering the bullseye and the bottom one was with a six o'clock hold (disregard the flier high and right, your eyes must be playing tricks on you...) Standing, offhand, single action at 5 yards. I know the gun can do better once we get more used to each other.

I do reload, but these were with factory rounds since a) I just blew my fun money on a new gun and need to wait for dies/bullets and b) I have very little .38spc brass to work with (donations welcome, will pay shipping, send me a PM!).
 

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Nice looking revolver. I bought one from them a while back when they had three inch barreled guns in stock. When I went by there a week or so ago, they had some of the M10s on display and they all looked similar to yours; no guarantees if they'll all be that nice, though.
 
A nice M10....I passed on one of those when they were first dumped on the market, and by the time I changed my mind, one in that shape was about $350. Ran into a cop who sold me an NIB M19 4" pinned barrel, big grips and all for $425. I think I did OK.
 
For carry, I like speed strips better. More versatile and more compact. For range I like speed loaders. The old police PPC course of fire is good practice with a mod 10 & speed loaders.
 
Get the HKS type speedloader if you intend on using them for self defense carry. When 99% of Cops carried revolvers the speedloaders with push button release were known to dump your rounds if dropped or bumped wrong. I retired and now carry a S&W M65 with an HKS loader in my pocket. I know I can depend on it from years of using one.
 
I have carried both the HKS and the Safariland comp II speedloaders in my front pocket. I have had the HKS twist lock style lose its rounds a few times. I have not had that happen yet with the Comp IIs

Just my personal experience.
 
As Mr. Borland stated either Safarilands comp II or the comp III speed loaders.
I use the comp III for my Ruger GP 100 in ICORE competition and the work great. No issues at all with them
 
I've tried all the different speedloaders and settled on Safariland Comp-IIs. They have *never* dumped the rounds in my pocket.
 
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