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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.

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.

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.

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....

1. lack of practice, and
2. 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.

SQLGeek wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:24 pm

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.