Moon clip

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Full and half moon clips loaded with .45 ACP and one Semiwadcutter .45 Auto Rim cartridge. Moonclips.jpg
Full and half moon clips loaded with .45 ACP and one Semiwadcutter .45 Auto Rim cartridge.

A moon clip is a ring-shaped or star-shaped piece of metal designed to hold multiple cartridges together as a unit, for simultaneous insertion and extraction from a revolver cylinder. Moon clips may either hold an entire cylinder's worth of cartridges together (full moon clip), half a cylinder (half moon clip), or just two neighboring cartridges. The two-cartridge moon clips can be used for those revolvers that have an odd number of loading chambers such as five or seven and also for those revolvers that allow a shooter to mix both rimless and rimmed types of cartridges in one loading of the same cylinder (e.g., 2 adjacent rounds of .45 ACP, 2 rounds of .45 Colt, and 2 rounds of .410 in a single six-chamber S&W Governor cylinder).

Contents

Moon clips can be used either to chamber rimless cartridges in a double-action revolver (which would normally require rimmed cartridges), or to chamber multiple rimmed cartridges simultaneously. Moon clips are generally made from spring grade steel, although plastic versions have also been produced. Unlike a speedloader, a moon clip remains in place during firing, and after firing, is used to extract the empty cartridge cases.

History

Smith & Wesson 1917 with .45 ACP moon clips and two auto rim cartridges M1917 revolver.jpg
Smith & Wesson 1917 with .45 ACP moon clips and two auto rim cartridges

The modern moon clip was devised shortly before World War I in 1908. [1] The device then became widespread during the war, when the relatively new M1911 semi-automatic pistol could not be manufactured fast enough for the war effort. The U.S. War Department asked Smith & Wesson and Colt to devise ways to use the M1911's .45 ACP rimless cartridge in their revolvers. The result was the M1917 revolver, employing moon clips to chamber the military-issue .45 ACP ammunition. [2] Smith & Wesson invented and patented the half-moon clip, but at the request of the Army allowed Colt to also use the design free of charge in their own version of the M1917 revolver. After the War, Naomi Alan, an engineer employed by Smith & Wesson, developed a 6-round full-moon clip. [3]

However, many civilian shooters disliked and still dislike using moon clips. Although full moon clips allow a revolver to be very quickly reloaded, loading and unloading the clips is tedious, and bent clips can bind the cylinder and cause misfires. [4]

Moon Clips can be formed by stamped high carbon steel, heat treated and finished to prevent rust. Alternatively they can be made from pre-heat treated stainless steel and cut out using either wire EDM or Laser machinery. They can also be made by injection molding plastic. Each process has its benefits and drawbacks such as cost and durability.

Speed

Moon clips can be even faster to use than a speedloader with the proper training. Jerry Miculek, an IPSC revolver shooter, has demonstrated the ability to fire six shots from a .45 ACP revolver, reload, and fire six more shots to the 6×11-inch A zone of an IPSC target at 15 ft (4.6 m) in under three seconds. This feat was possible by using moon clips to allow quick and reliable ejection of the fired rounds, and a quick reload of all six chambers at once. [5]

Use

Moon clips have been made available for 19 different calibers; .30 Carbine, .327Fed, .380ACP, 9mm, .38 Super, .38S&W, .38Spc, .357Mag, .40S&W, 10mm, .41Mag, .44 Spc, .44Mag, .45LC, .454Casull, .45ACP, .45 Super, .460S&W and .460 Rowland. [6]

Common revolver models that are manufactured to use moon clips:

Rare Ruger Speed Six variant in 9mm Parabellum, which uses half-moon clips to chamber the rimless cartridges Rugerspeedsix.JPG
Rare Ruger Speed Six variant in 9mm Parabellum, which uses half-moon clips to chamber the rimless cartridges
Smith and Wesson Model 625 .45 ACP moon clips. Smith&Wesson625.jpg
Smith and Wesson Model 625 .45 ACP moon clips.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolver</span> Firearm with a cylinder holding cartridges

A revolver is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six cartridges, before needing to be reloaded, revolvers are commonly called six shooters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.45 Colt</span> Revolver cartridge designed by the U.S. Army

The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as an official US military handgun cartridge for 14 years, before being replaced by the .38 Long Colt in 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.44 Magnum</span> Revolver cartridge designed by Elmer Keith and Smith & Wesson (S&W)

The .44 Remington Magnum, also known as .44 Magnum or 10.9x33mmR, is a rimmed, large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers and quickly adopted for carbines and rifles. Despite the ".44" designation, guns chambered for the .44 Magnum round, its parent case, the .44 Special, and its parent case, the .44 Russian all use 0.429 in (10.9 mm) diameter bullets. The .44 Magnum is based on the .44 Special case but lengthened and loaded to higher pressures for greater velocity and energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.45 Schofield</span> Revolver cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson (S&W)

The .45 Schofield, also referred to as .45 Smith & Wesson is a revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson for their S&W Model 3 Schofield top-break revolver. It is similar to the .45 Colt cartridge, but with a shorter case and a larger rim. The. 45 Schofield will generally work in revolvers chambered for that cartridge; but the reverse is not true, since the .45 Colt case is longer. United States government arsenals supplied .45 Schofield cartridges for the Schofield revolver and the Colt Army revolver to help simplify their armament needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.455 Webley</span> British handgun cartridge

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildcat cartridge</span> Custom cartridge for firearms

A wildcat cartridge, often shortened to wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge, or may merely be intended as novelty items.

A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing rim, in spite of the fact that some cartridges are known as "rimless cartridges". The rim may serve a number of purposes, including providing a lip for the extractor to engage, and sometimes serving to headspace the cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedloader</span> Device used to reduce the time and/or effort needed to reload a firearm

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson Model 625</span> Revolver

The Smith & Wesson Model 625, is a six-round, double-action revolver chambered for the .45 ACP using moon clips. The Model 625 is an improved stainless steel version Smith & Wesson Model 22 and a direct descendant of the Smith & Wesson M1917 revolver first issued during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M1917 Revolver</span> Revolver

The M1917 Revolvers were six-shot, .45 ACP, large frame revolvers adopted by the United States Military in 1917, to supplement the standard M1911 pistol during World War I. There were two variations of the M1917, one made by Colt and the other by Smith & Wesson. They used moon-clips to hold the cartridges in position, facilitate reloading, and to aid in extraction since revolvers had been designed to eject rimmed cartridges and .45 ACP rounds were rimless for use with the magazine-fed M1911. After World War I, they gained a strong following among civilian shooters. A commercial rimmed cartridge, the .45 Auto Rim, was also developed, so M1917 revolvers could eject cartridge cases without using moon-clips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruger Blackhawk</span> Revolver

The Ruger Blackhawk is a six-shot, single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It is produced in a variety of finishes, calibers, and barrel lengths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.38 ACP</span> Pistol cartridge designed by John Moses Browning

The .38 ACP, also known as the .38 Auto or 9x23mmSR, is a semi-rimmed pistol cartridge that was introduced at the turn of the 20th century for the John Browning-designed Colt M1900. It was first used in Colt's Model 1897 prototype, which he did not produce. The metric designation for the round is 9×23mm SR (semi-rimmed), which is not to be confused with other 9×23mm cartridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruger Super Redhawk</span> Revolver

The Super Redhawk is a line of double-action magnum revolvers made by Sturm, Ruger beginning in 1987, when Ruger started making weapons using larger, more powerful cartridges such as .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, and .480 Ruger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snubnosed revolver</span> Type of gun

A snubnosed revolver is a small, medium, or large frame revolver with a short barrel, generally less than 4 inches in length. Smaller such revolvers are often made with "bobbed" or "shrouded" hammers and there are also "hammerless" models ; the point is to allow the gun to be drawn with little risk of it snagging on clothing. Since the external movement of the mechanism is minimal or nil, shrouded and hammerless models may be fired from within clothing. The design of these revolvers compromises range and accuracy at a distance in favor of maneuverability and ease of carry and concealment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruger Redhawk</span> Revolver

The Ruger Redhawk is a DA/SA, large-frame revolver introduced in 1979 by Sturm, Ruger & Company. Made from high-grade steel, it is available in a stainless steel finish. The Redhawk is reinforced to handle extra stress, making it very popular for use by handloaders as it is able to handle both .45 Colt and .44 Magnum loads. In addition, the cylinder itself is longer than most competitors', allowing ammunition to be loaded to a longer overall length. This allows for either increased powder capacity, heavier bullets without compromising the powder load, or a combination of both. Custom ammunition manufacturers even have loads made specifically for Ruger revolvers that cannot fit in shorter chambers or revolvers of weaker construction. This makes the Redhawk popular as a bear defense gun among hunters and trappers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cylinder (firearms)</span> Cylindrical revolver part that holds rounds

In firearms, the cylinder is the cylindrical, rotating part of a revolver containing multiple chambers, each of which is capable of holding a single cartridge. The cylinder rotates (revolves) around a central axis in the revolver's action to sequentially align each individual chamber with the barrel bore for repeated firing. Each time the gun is cocked, the cylinder indexes by one chamber. Serving the same function as a rotary magazine, the cylinder stores ammunitions within the revolver and allows it to fire multiple times before needing to reload.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.45 Auto Rim</span> Revolver cartridge designed by the Peters Cartridge Company

The .45 Auto Rim, also known as 11.5x23mmR, is a rimmed cartridge specifically designed to be fired in revolvers originally chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson Model 22</span> Revolver

The Smith & Wesson Model 22 is a 6-shot, double-action, large frame revolver chambered in .45 ACP using moon clips. It's a refined commercial version of the M1917 revolver first issued during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colt New Service</span> Revolver

The Colt New Service is a large frame, large caliber, double-action revolver made by Colt from 1898 until 1941. Made in various calibers, the .45 Colt version with a 5½" barrel, was adopted by the U.S. Armed Forces as the Model 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruger Security-Six</span> American revolver

The Ruger Security-Six and its variants, the Service-Six and Speed-Six are a product line of double-action revolvers introduced in 1972 and manufactured until 1988 by Sturm, Ruger & Co. These revolvers were marketed to law enforcement duty issue, military, and civilian self-defense markets.

References

  1. U.S. Patent 923,068 , Elmer E. Neal
  2. Josserand MH, Stevenson JA: Pistols, revolvers, and ammunition. New York, Bonanza Books (a division of Crown Publishers), 1972, p. 143, 263.
  3. Cunningham, Grant (13 October 2011). Gun Digest Book of the Revolver. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. pp. 120–121. ISBN   978-1-4402-1814-9.
  4. Skelton, Skeeter (June 1973). "The Best 45 Autos are Sixguns". Shooting Times Magazine. Peoria, IL: Primedia: 30.
  5. Petty, Charles E. (2004). "How fast is fast? Gentleman Jerry Miculek tackles McGivern's record". American Handgunner. July–August.
  6. E., Doug. "The Pros and Cons of Using Moon Clips". The Firearm Blog. Vertical Scope. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  7. "Ruger Introduces .45 Auto / .45 Colt Redhawk Revolver". Ruger Press Release. 2015-06-15.
  8. "Ruger Announces .45 Auto / .45 Colt Redhawk Revolver". American Rifleman. 2015-06-15. Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  9. Johnson, Richard (2015-06-16). "New Ruger Redhawk in .45 Colt/.45 ACP". TheFirearmBlog.com.
  10. Quinn, Jeff (2015-06-17). "Ruger Redhawk 45 ACP/45 Colt Double-Action Revolver". Gunblast.com. (For images of Ruger's machined .45 ACP/.45 Colt cylinder, see the photos in Jeff Quinn's Redhawk review of the cylinder, rimmed .45 Colt in the cylinder without moon clips, and rimless .45 ACP in the cylinder with moon clips.)
  11. Dowell, William Chipchase, The Webley Story, p. 178, Commonwealth Heritage Foundation, 1987.