The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: The Revolver Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old April 26, 2013, 10:06 AM   #26
Carne Frio
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 28, 2008
Location: Near Fairbanks Alaska
Posts: 829
TK Custom can modify your Ruger for moon clips and you
only need to send in your cylinder. They also make the finest
moon clips around, even in stainless.
http://www.tkcustom.com/content/machine.asp
Carne Frio is offline  
Old April 26, 2013, 12:25 PM   #27
Dave T
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 16, 2000
Location: Mesa, Arizona
Posts: 1,456
Quote:
They definitely won't last as long as steel...

Jonny, based on how much testing do you make that statement?

Regarding my experience with how long they will last...

I've run probably 3,000 or more rounds through the few polymer Rimz clips that I have, and they are showing no signs of undue wear, loosening, failing to hold the rounds in the clips, etc.

That's as good, or better, than I ever got out of any of my steel moon clips.
Mr. Irwin,

I have a lot of respect for your opinions in the many posts I've read on this forum. That's why I have to ask about the above. I bought 25 of the Rimz and the first time I tried taking the empties out of the clip about 1/3 of them broke off at least one the little "Y" shaped ends. I have steel full moon clips that have been reloaded dozens and dozens of time when I competed in revolver practical matches for two years. Yea, if you stepped on one it would probably bend but just dropping them on the ground seldom even bent one.

Guess this is another case of "Fords vs Chevys". Or, I just got a really bad batch of the Rimz.

Dave
__________________
RSVN '69-'71
PCSD Ret
Dave T is offline  
Old April 26, 2013, 12:35 PM   #28
Mike Irwin
Staff
 
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
Dave,

I'm still on my original 6-8 or so Rimz clips, obtained the better part of a decade ago, now.

Not a single one of them has broken in the manner that you describe, and to be perfectly honest, yours is the first report I have ever heard of a Rimz clip breaking.

When I obtained my first clips as "testers" from Beckham, I put one aside as the crash test dummy, and I did everything I could to make it fail.

I folded it in half. I put empty cases in opposite sides and tried twisting it into a pretzel.

I did some other nasty things to it, too, and it never failed. I'm still using it today.
__________________
"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza

Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.
Mike Irwin is offline  
Old April 26, 2013, 08:27 PM   #29
hammie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 18, 2009
Location: Temple, TX
Posts: 956
@mikeirwin: Bless your heart for the rimz clip review and the tip that brownell's carries them. (I didn't find them at midway.) There's some other stuff I need, and I can just throw the rimz clips in with my brownell's order.

I've been using third moons in my 5 inch, 625 and have pretty much given up steel full moon clips because they're such a pain in the bee-hind to load and unload. And you're right: if you spring or warp them, then they're done.
hammie is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 08:17 AM   #30
jonnyc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 20, 2009
Location: PA
Posts: 1,731
Mike,
I'm on my second batch of 15 Rim-Z, and got another 5 at one point from a friend. I gave another away, so I have had a total of 34 of them. Of the first 15, I think about 5 remain, and the other 10 all lost their internal ring that fits inside the rim of the case. I will check, but I believe all the rest are still functional. I tend to load them all up at home and then empty them at the range, rarely reloading now ammo, so each Rim-z gets more-or-less the same use. I have a few thousand rounds through the 3 pistols I use them in, so I would estimate that each Rim-Z has easily held hundreds of rounds, maybe up to a thousand or so. Every one I have/had has turned a bit grayer and a bit more brittle-feeling over time.
I would say I have enough info to make the statement that I did. I will continue to buy and use Rim-Z, but I still don't think they will last as long as steel moon clips.
__________________
2024 PA Cartridge Collector Show; Aug. 16-17, 2024!!!
Buy...Sell...Trade All Types of Ammunition & Ordnance
PM or email me for 2024 show details.
jonnyc is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 10:15 AM   #31
Mike Irwin
Staff
 
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
They must have changed the polymer forumula that they use, because the ones I have still look and function as they did in 2003 when I got them.

I was digging around in my safe last night and I have one that has had rounds in it for at least 5 years, and it's not taken any kind of set or anything.
__________________
"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza

Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.
Mike Irwin is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 10:42 AM   #32
buckhorn_cortez
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 30, 2010
Posts: 857
Quote:
I've tried steel moon clips and the many different "It's a better mousetrap" mooning/demooning tools.

I was never all that impressed with any of them. Generally fiddly, expensive, bulky, and slow to use.
Hard to believe. My wife uses the BMT mooner/demooner and can unload a moon clip in under 10 seconds with little effort. Reloads take about 30 seconds - again with little effort. Hardly "fiddly" if you can work it that fast. The tool being "bulky" is irrelevant if you load 30 or more for one range session.

I've tried the RIMZ, I must have gotten a bad batch as the ears broke off on two of them when I was unloading them - threw the rest away at that point, and haven't used them since.
buckhorn_cortez is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 11:05 AM   #33
Mike Irwin
Staff
 
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
I can unload and load a RIMZ clip in under 15 seconds with no tools at all...


And wait a second... $80 for a mooner/demooner?

That's an expensive mouse trap...
__________________
"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza

Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.
Mike Irwin is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 11:07 AM   #34
Dave T
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 16, 2000
Location: Mesa, Arizona
Posts: 1,456
Quote:
Hard to believe. My wife uses the BMT mooner/demooner and can unload a moon clip in under 10 seconds with little effort. Reloads take about 30 seconds - again with little effort. Hardly "fiddly" if you can work it that fast. The tool being "bulky" is irrelevant if you load 30 or more for one range session.

I've tried the RIMZ, I must have gotten a bad batch as the ears broke off on two of them when I was unloading them - threw the rest away at that point, and haven't used them since.
buckhorn, my wife doesn't load my moon clips for me but I agree with everything else you said. (smile)

Dave
__________________
RSVN '69-'71
PCSD Ret
Dave T is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 09:58 PM   #35
jonnyc
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 20, 2009
Location: PA
Posts: 1,731
I got my first 1917 in 2006, got my first batch of Rim-Z directly from their website soon after.
__________________
2024 PA Cartridge Collector Show; Aug. 16-17, 2024!!!
Buy...Sell...Trade All Types of Ammunition & Ordnance
PM or email me for 2024 show details.
jonnyc is offline  
Old April 28, 2013, 05:58 PM   #36
WildBill45
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2011
Location: Western PA.
Posts: 1,630
A quick video peek at moon clips in action, may give insight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV6dbRMKSZU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOUBQT9EJtA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7XuWYHeUj4

Have fun!!! Moon clips are great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PwruY4Sgj4
__________________


.........................................................
"If Ands and Buts were Candy and Nuts, everyday would be like Christmas"
WildBill45 is offline  
Old April 29, 2013, 07:51 PM   #37
dannyb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 19, 2008
Location: SE PA
Posts: 336
9mm revolvers

There have been a few 9mm parabellum revolvers that require moon clips. I have a couple of S&W model 940s, one with 2" and one with 3" barrels. They're a bit snappy compared with .38 J frames, but quite accurate. Taurus also makes 5-round 9mm snubbies that take the same moon clips IIR. Ruger had a 9mm Police Speed 6 (just saw one on Gunbroker) that uses moon clips, but I have never handled one.
__________________
Moron Lave (send a Congressman through the car wash)
dannyb is offline  
Old May 6, 2013, 05:43 PM   #38
TheNakedGunFighter
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 6, 2013
Posts: 5
Photos of my homemade demooning tool. $6, 4" nipple from Home Depot. A little work with a Dremel and there you have it. The prices of commercial tools were so off the wall, I just made my own.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Demooning Tool 1.jpg (242.0 KB, 17 views)
File Type: jpg Demooning Tool 2.jpg (211.7 KB, 13 views)
__________________
Ruger 357/9mm convertible, NRA member
S&W Governor, Heritage Arms 32 Mag
Sig P250 in 45cal and 9mm, Sig 1911 22 cal
Handloading 45ACP, 45 Colt, 32 Mag, 9mm, 357 Mag
TheNakedGunFighter is offline  
Old May 6, 2013, 06:12 PM   #39
Ben Dover
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 11, 2013
Location: High up in the Rocky Moun
Posts: 665
I find it somewhat shocking that "mooning" has become so prevalent in our society!:
__________________
The soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as the prisoner's chains. Dwight Eisenhower

It is very important what a man stands for.
But it is far more important what a man refuses to stand for.
Ben Dover is offline  
Old May 7, 2013, 02:23 AM   #40
Bill Akins
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 28, 2007
Location: Hudson, Florida
Posts: 1,135
Quote:
'88Scrat wrote:
I'm not that familiar with them but wouldn't a speed loader accomplish the same thing much faster and easier?"
No, regular speed loaders do not accomplish anything faster nor easier than moon clips do. There are time and motion (speed) advantages plus secure loading advantages to using moon clips over a regular speedloader. Here's why.

1. When your revolver is empty, on your first initial loading, with a moon clip, it goes into the cylinder with the cartridges. With your first initial loading with a speedloader, after loading you have to use time and motion to pocket or put away your regular speedloader. That is a loss of time and motion and concentration. This is if you don't just drop your speedloader into the dirt of the range,...which I would not recommend. Sure you could wear a carpenter's apron with the nail pouch on the front and just drop your speedloader into that if you wanted. But is that a real world outfit you would wear all the time?

2. On ejection of cartridges that are NOT in a moon clip, sometimes an expanded and empty individual case will hang up a bit on the ejector star and you will have to shake it loose or pull it off by hand to complete ejection. I've had that happen to me. That is also a loss of time and motion and concentration. Also it is usually common for people to point their barrel up so gravity can help the individual empty cases come out along with the ejector star pushing the individual cases out. Not so with moonclips since all the cartridges come out joined together by the moon clip so that one individual case cannot hang up, and gravity is not needed and you can easily grab the cases and moonclip as one unit as it ejects.

3. Another advantage to moonclips is since most ranges are grassless sand or dirt, it is not a good idea to drop your regular speedloader into the dirt after loading since it can get into the mechanism of the regular speedloader and cause it to jam up. But with a moon clip, if you drop it in the dirt, there is no problem because the moonclip is just a flat piece of steel that won't hold dirt and if the empty cases get dirt on them, that's okay because you can just blow it off with your breath and you are going to dump the cases into your case cleaner vibrator anyway. Bottom line, sand or dirt won't hurt nor stick to nor get inside (there isn't any "inside") your moonclips but it can jam up your regular speedloader and at the very least cause you to have to carefully clean the sand or dirt out of it before you use it again.

4. Empty moonclips are flat and take up less space than regular speedloaders.

5. You can buy a bunch of moonclips for a fraction of the price you would pay for the same number of speedloaders. If you lost a moonclip at the range, it costs less than $0.50 but if you lost a regular speedloader it would cost more.

6. This is a very important one. There cannot be a malfunction with a moonclip not allowing a cartridge to go into the chamber of a cylinder. But with a regular speedloader, it is possible that dirt or debri could have gotten into the regular speedloader and cause a malfunction so a cartridge (or cartridges) hangs up and will not release from the speedloader into the chamber. Imagine being in a fire fight where seconds can mean the difference between life and death, and your speedloader malfunctioning like that and not allowing your cartridges to release into the cylinder. That won't happen with a moon clip.

7. With moonclips, it is easy to get practiced having a full moonclip in your left hand and as you eject the empty moonclip and grab it with your left hand, at the same time you load a fresh full moonclip also with your left hand. You can't as easily get all your empty cases into your left hand using a regular speedloader because the empty cases aren't held together as a unit. Thus you cannot easily retrieve your individual empties with your left hand as you also load a full load at the same time with your left hand using a regular speedloader. But you can do that operation easily with a little practice using a moonclip.

8. You won't lose individual cases in the dirt using moonclips. If you did drop one, it wouldn't sink hiding into the loose range dirt like an individual case could and six cases in a moonclip are a lot easier to see than one empty case. This is especially true if you are shooting at a place that has grass. We have all lost individual cases in the grass where the case was hidden by a leaf or something, but it would be much easier to find a moonclip with six empty cartridges in it if you dropped it in the grass.

9. It's a lot cheaper to buy and load 40 moonclips before going to the range than it is to buy and load 40 regular speedloaders before going to the range.

Moonclips are pretty much goof proof unless they get bent. But if you are careful that won't happen. I have about 40 moonclips. The last 20 I bought came with a nifty little pocket size sheet steel demooner that takes about 2 seconds to demoon a case from the moonclip and the 20 moonclips plus the demooner cost me only about $15.00 including shipping on Ebay. You couldn't buy 20 regular speedloaders for $15.00 including shipping on Ebay.

That's my personal experience and opinion of the advantages of moonclips over regular speedloaders. I have four S&W 1917 revolvers so I'm very familiar with moonclips. In my opinion, they are superior to regular speedloaders for all the above reasons I stated. It was a great idea in 1917 and it's a great idea today with the only improvements since 1917 being they made them full moon clips instead of half moon clips and possibly the polymer ones that Mike Irwin mentioned.


.
__________________
"This is my Remy and this is my Colt. Remy loads easy and topstrap strong, Colt balances better and never feels wrong. A repro black powder revolver gun, they smoke and shoot lead and give me much fun. I can't figure out which one I like better, they're both fine revolvers that fit in my leather".
"To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target".

Last edited by Bill Akins; May 8, 2013 at 05:59 PM.
Bill Akins is offline  
Old May 7, 2013, 07:27 AM   #41
444
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2000
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,968
I own two revolvers that take moon clips: a S&W Model 1950 and a real nice S&W Model 1917.

I only shoot them on the range. I have no need for rapid reloads. I don't compete with them and I don't carry a revolver concealed. However I don't find the clips to be really annoying. I believe I bought my clips from Dillon Precision. I load and unload them by hand. It doesn't take long and isn't difficult in any way. That being said, for me it just adds an extra step in the process of shooting the revolvers.

In the future I intend to buy .45 Auto Rim cases, and quit using the moon clips. But then again, I don't really shoot those two revolvers all that much so maybe it would be a waste of time and money......who knows.
__________________
You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
444 is offline  
Old May 8, 2013, 03:41 PM   #42
RickB
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 1, 2000
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 8,511
Quote:
I've tried steel moon clips and the many different "It's a better mousetrap" mooning/demooning tools.

I was never all that impressed with any of them. Generally fiddly, expensive, bulky, and slow to use.

Hard to believe. My wife uses the BMT mooner/demooner and can unload a moon clip in under 10 seconds with little effort. Reloads take about 30 seconds - again with little effort. Hardly "fiddly" if you can work it that fast. The tool being "bulky" is irrelevant if you load 30 or more for one range session.
And sticking rounds in the cylinder, one at a time, every time, then picking-up the cases off the ground, one at a time, isn't fiddly?
RickB is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.09154 seconds with 10 queries