Hearthco MoonClips - .45/6shot/625 - Initial Impressions / Review

[alecmc]

First off, let me be the first to say I absolutely LOVE the hearthco 8 shot moonclips for the 627, they are worlds ahead of everything else out on the market. This thread is not meant to bash anything or anybody, just a quick first impressions and questions of the higher end 6 shot .45acp s&w 625 clips

I ordered the higher end moonclips for my 625 after being so impressed by his 8 shot variety, Though i'm not quite to sure about the ones for the 625, maybe I am just over looking something.

My side by side comparison is with standard $1.00-$1.50 moonclips ( black ) , Both using brand new starline .45acp brass. Both clips measure in at .040

While the hearthco clips load and unload a little easier, this I assume to the lesser pronounced " half circle " that hugs the rim of the case, both clips have pretty much the same amount of " wiggle " back and forth, and load pretty much the same for me.

Are the stainless clips more rugged and will hold up better if somebody steps on them? I'm just trying to grasp where the extra money in the product is going. Will they work better with a different brand of brass?

Again, I am not BASHING anything, just pointing some of my initial impressons on the 6 shot variety of hearthco clips, I couldn't find much on the subject when I was researching, so hopefully this may help somebody in the future.

I'll give an update after a few matches to see if they " hold up " better than my cheapy clips.

Thank you.

Pics and quick video

video: cheapies = black / heartcho = stainless

[toothguy]

The quality of the moonclips from TK custom are obviously far superior. But for the 625, the stamped metal ones are good enough. The higher cost is in the stainless steel and the EDM process. For the 8 shooter the tight tolerances are needed for loading rigidity. There are some good videos on his web site showing the process.

http://tkcustom.com/content/machine.asp

Edited December 8, 2012 by toothguy

[Jaxshooter]

None of them hold up to being stepped on unfortunately

[Carmoney]

The Hearthco clips are indispensable for the 8-shooters. Period.

However, I have a set of them for .45 ACP and have only used them once. I don't see any performance benefit over the regular Ranch Products brand, and I like being able to pre-load enough moonclips (that have been pre-tested in my cylinder) for the whole day. It seems to me that in the .45 revolvers, a little bit of moonclip slop is actually a good thing.

[alecmc]

Agreed on the 8 shooters.

I guess I was just expecting to be WOW'D with the $80 dollar moonclips, like I was with the 8 shooter clips.

These were some good results

[toothguy]

Your primers look great, flat as a pancake. What are you loading them on?

[slflr]

EDM, Hearthco/TK Custom moon clips for 627 with appropriate brass are the way to go. Ranch moonclips for the 625 with whatever 45 ACP brass you found out in the cow pasture will serve you well.

[alecmc]

Your primers look great, flat as a pancake. What are you loading them on?

Thanks, dillon xl650.

With a little trial and error, getting depths of .008-.010 on my primers.

[pskys2]

Stainless are more resistant to rusting, but I have some Wilson Moon Clips in Stainless that were the same price, or close, to the blued ones. And they work fine.

The other difference is the consistency of the tolerances. But again with a .45 acp it's just not an issue.

Edited December 9, 2012 by pskys2

[AultGM]

I recently bought 100 Stainless Ranch Products Moons for my 625 and they are working out very nicely. Priced right, too.

[gp100man]

I have both the Ranch and the Hearthco moonclips for my 625. I prefer the Hearthco since they hold the bullets tighter. I would have thought that a reload would have benefited from a little more wiggle, but I have found the opposite seems to be true for me. The tight solid bunch seems to drop in just a little bit better so that is all I use now. And TK is the only guy that I know of that makes the Hearthco for the 45 GAP cases. I just am quicker to pick them up before someone steps on them than I was with the Ranch ones.

Steve

[toothguy]

I'm sure it's tough for TK to compete in the 625 market, but it's nice to see an American company make a product that's to good.

[hearthco]

Thanks for all of the nice comments on my clips. It's pretty tough to compete with the stamping process used to fabricate the majority of the 625/25-2 clips. The cost is indeed related to the edm process. I would ask alecmc to measure the extractor groove diameter on the starline brass vs R-P or Fed brass. Starline groove diameters are smaller in .38 brass and that's why we make a different product for starline 38s. The other benefit to the edm process is consistency. One clip is the same as the next.

Edm clips might not be for everyone, but some folks like them.

[dwarren9]

I have both but I only use my TK moon clips for big matches there seem to be tad quicker on the reload. Plus he supports a lot of the matches we shoot

[alecmc]

just wanted to do a quick update to this,

after having a few matches under my belt with the new clips my impressions have changed, IMO the hearthco clips load better for me, i feel like they are less likely to " bind " up if I have a poor load in the cylinder. At first I didnt think they would make much difference, but I am really happy with them and I'll probably wind up ordering another batch.