The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Wed Aug 14, 2019 12:46 pm
I saw that graphic last night. I take it the boxes with green ticks in the upper left hand corner indicate which clip is optimal for which ammo?
I honestly don't know. I don't think so because they said 2.5-3.5 is best fitment but some of the ones in that range aren't ticked.
I think my 627 and your gun use the same moon clips. If you'd like I can dig up what ammo/moonclip combos I've used with success to give you a guide to start from.
I got the loader you recommended. I haven’t tried it yet, but it seems like it will work. If you think of it, I would appreciate the information.
The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 11:32 pm
Thanks again for sharing what you’ve learned. Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s had to go through this learning curve with 8 round moon clips!
It's a huge learning curve, and I've done plenty of trial and error myself.
heck, TK has this on their website:
That's just how some ammo interacts with their moon clips. Add in different ammo, different moon clip manufacturers....ooh boy.
I saw that graphic last night. I take it the boxes with green ticks in the upper left hand corner indicate which clip is optimal for which ammo?
74novaman wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:19 pm
If loading them is the problem, you might try some speedbeez moon clips. They're easier to load than anything else I've tried (also a little more "floppy" when loaded, but they still can be loaded quickly).
I don't know what moon clip loading tool you're using. I'm using a TK Custom moon clip loader which is all metal and it works well.
Moon clips can be finicky when it comes to loading, unloading, what ammo fits what clips, etc. But if you can find a combo that works well, they're great.
Cool, thanks. I don’t remember the brand of moon clip loader that I have, but it also came with the gun when I bought it. I don’t have it right here in front of me at the moment to check the name. But I’m going to buy that TK Custom loader. It looks like it would fix my problem. I haven’t mic'd out the thickness of the S&W clips, but to the extent that I can load them, they hold the rounds pretty securely. I could live with a little floppiness if I had to, if it meant that I could load the clip more easily. I actually love the TRR8 pistol. It shoots very well, and without too much recoil despite being a lighter scandium framed gun. The frustration with the moon clips is the main reason I haven’t tried to carry it out in the real world yet. I haven’t yet been able to load a single one with the full 8 rounds yet, let alone 2 or 3 spares. I finally just ended up buying a couple of 5-Star Fireams 8N-357/38 Speed Loaders. But like you mentioned above, there’s always the risk of getting a case head stuck under the star, and if that happened during a real defensive shooting, you’d be in real trouble. So if I can get moon clips to work for me, I agree that would be better.
Thanks again for sharing what you’ve learned. Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s had to go through this learning curve with 8 round moon clips!
The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:41 pm
They may well be for most people. All I know is that I find them easy to eject, but not so easy to line up and drop into the cylinder. I think it’s related to there being 8 rounds to line up instead of 5 or 6. I freely admit that it might be due to two things....
lack of practice, and
even with a dedicated tool, I find it almost impossible to snap that 8th cartridge into the moon clip.
So in the end, it’s just easier to use a speed loader, and get over myself.
What moon clips and what ammo? Unfortunately, certain rims and certain clips don't play well together (I've experienced that one, not fun) and can make loading them a real bear.
On the same note, my TK Custom moon clips are noticeably thicker/stronger than my Speedbeez moon clips. Both work fine, but with 8 rounds of 38, the little bit of droop in the SB clips can make them harder to get lined up properly.
And lets be honest: 38 special/357 mag is the hardest to reload via moon clip. Long cases are harder to line up well than short cases...which is why most competition folks shooting with moon clips use 9mm, 38 short colt, 45 acp, etc.
I also continue to struggle with just lining up one round above one hole, and dropping it. When I do that, reloads usually go well. When I try to guide the moon clip all the way in, I'm more likely to bind and slow down. YMMV, but one more thing to try. Let gravity do the work.
It's pretty obvious in this clip:
First reload I'm trying to guide the moon clip all the way in. It's a bad reload. Second one I let it drop a little, and its smoother. Last one I'm having to reload an extra time for a make up shot and I just drop it in a hurry...and it was my fastest reload.
It's counterintuitive and hard to do, but once you start dropping them I think you'll find your reloads start to get smoother.
On the flip side I once got a casing stuck in the cylinder and slipped under the star on a Model 10 in the middle of a stage. I think that was a 15-20 second reload by the time I managed to get the case out of the cylinder, get it out sideways from under the star, and get my speed loader back in action? I'd personally take guaranteed ejection with moons even if I was slower with them than speed loaders on the reload....casings under stars are....less than fun.
Thanks for the suggestions. Right now, the only moon clips I’ve tried loading are the S&W clips that come with the gun. The only cartridges I’ve tried to load into those moon clips are a few rounds of a cheap .38 Special RNFMJ that came with the gun when I bought it (from Carlson), and Hornady 125 grain Critical Defense FTX, which is my chosen .357 carry load in other revolvers.
My observation is that the first round loads into the clip fairly easily, and it gets progressively more difficult with each one. By the 8th round, I just can’t get it to snap into place, and the force required to do it appears to overwhelm the stiffness of the polymer loading tool, causing it to bend under the pressure instead of forcing the cartridge into place. This phenomenon is true with both kinds of cartridges. They’ll all fit in the clip individually, but not as an 8-round set. My working theory is that it isn’t the relationship of thickness of the clip to the size of the groove above the rim that’s at issue. Rather, the clip loses a portion of its flexibility between the flanges as each round is snapped into its place around the clip, until there isn’t enough flexibility left in the material to allow the flanges on either side of the 8th hole to be spread far enough apart to accommodate snapping in the 8th cartridge. Ironically, the removal tool snaps the cartridges out of the clip with very little problem.
The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 3:47 pm
I have a 327 TRR8, and I find that moon clips are a pain in the behind. Speed loaders add weight and bulk, but I can eject spent brass and reload with less fumbling.
I wonder if it's the 8 rounds? I don't have a lot of experience with revolvers but I find I'm much faster with 6 round moonclips than I am with speedloaders.
I’m pretty happy with my 8 round moon clips, much preferred to even my comp3 speedloaders, and those are head and shoulders above any other speedloader I’ve tried.
Moon clips are great.
They may well be for most people. All I know is that I find them easy to eject, but not so easy to line up and drop into the cylinder. I think it’s related to there being 8 rounds to line up instead of 5 or 6. I freely admit that it might be due to two things....
lack of practice, and
even with a dedicated tool, I find it almost impossible to snap that 8th cartridge into the moon clip.
So in the end, it’s just easier to use a speed loader, and get over myself.
I have a 327 TRR8, and I find that moon clips are a pain in the behind. Speed loaders add weight and bulk, but I can eject spent brass and reload with less fumbling.
