Moon Clip Reloading Technique

[Terrill7]

I have a S&W 625 (.45) which uses moon clips, and I am somewhat new at competitive shooting. When I try to reload, I tend to be "all thumbs" when trying to unload the spent clip, pulling a new clip from the moon clip holders on my belt, and getting it into the cylinder. All the fumbling costs me a lot of time.

No one I know uses moon clips, so I have no one to observe doing it correctly. Can anyone out there describe a proper technique for me, or direct me to a diagram or picture somewhere on the web, so I can get an idea of how to reload efficiently?

Thank you in advance.

terrill7

[hopalong]

Terril7, Welcome to the Forums

Best advice is get Jerry Miculeks Video for Revolver (from Brian) he not only tells you how but shows you in slow motion, name of video is Advanced Revolver or something like that. (pretty bad I have one and can't remember the correct title)

He also tells how the other type of reload is done but with 20 years of experimenting you can't go wrong with his example (he has already done the work of testing for the rest of us, we just need to follow his example)

But until then here is a quick version:

after you fire your last shot, push the cylinder latch button with your right hand, when it is unlocked take your second and third finger of your left hand and push the cylinder open and put them through the hole where the cylinder was to hold the gun.

now take your thumb of your left hand (where the gun is now) and push the eject rod to clear the cylinder of spent shells while turning the gun muzzle up but not too far as to break the 180 degree rule. at the same time reach down and get a new moon clip off the belt with the right hand and bring the gun down to belt level and put the new clip in (you now have the gun muzzle down) TIME Saving note::::

do not try to put the whole clip in the cylinder, get the bullets lined up with the holes and just drop it in, it will go...

after the new clip has seated in the cylinder close it with your left hand while regripping the gun with your right, then move the left back to the original 2 handed grip (Jerry shows you that too in his Video) and Shoot All AAAAAA'S

Good Luck be patient as this is hard to do to begin with.

SAM KEEN / Hopalong

Some of you other guys can add to it if you want to help clarify what I'm telling him.

[Bubber]

Terill7

There are basicaly two different methods of speed loading with moon clips. One method is to switch the revo to the weak hand and the other is to keep the same grip and use the weak hand to eject and load the new rounds. With a 45 either is fast. I will try to talk you through the method I use in which you keep the grip with the strong hand. If you are right handed. After making the shot strong hand thumb pushes the Cylinder release as the weak hand fingers push the cylinder open. The weak hand thumb is used to eject the empties. The revo is slighly pionted up during this manuever. The barrel is now going in a downward motion as you grasp the moonclip with your weak hand, thumb and fingers pointing down. Your index finger should be on a round and then you line up the round with the cylinder hole using your index finger as a reference. When the rounds go into the cylinder you would rotate your weak hand forward using the your heal of your thumb to close your cylinder as you come back on target. I'll let someone else explain the other method as I don't use it and they could do a better job explaining it. Hope this is what you are looking for. They are a couple of videos on the AZwildbunch web site I'll check and see if any can show you anything.

Hopalong and I must have been answering at the same time. Yes as Hopalong says you can get Jerry's Video it slows down the video so you can see it all. Until then take a look at the mpg Driving at this websitelAZWildbunch

It might help. Later rdd

Edited September 30, 2004 by Bubber

[Liota]

Terrill7,

If it looks like Jerry is throwing the moon clip at the gun, it's because he is. He showed the ladies at Kay's Ladies Camp last year how to reload his revolver. It was amazing. I tried it and the darned moon clip just dropped right in after a slight bounce off the frame. Pretty cool. Quick, too.

Of course, Jerry practices all the time. It probably helps a lot.

Liota

[Patrick Sweeney]

Jerry is the King, that's for sure. I use a variant that I learned from him years ago at Second Chance.

As Bubber described, you keep the gun in your strong hand, and reload weak hand. What I did to speed it up were three things:

I use the tips of my left hand fingers to stroke the rod as I reach back for the reload. I just drag them along the rod as the hand swipes back going for the next moonclip, not really trying to punch the rod or anything.

I bring the gun in, straight down (and get lectured occasionally by ROs about coming close to the 180) and turn the gun slightly in, so my right wrist isn't cocked. By getting the gun down, and my wrist straight, the gun doesn't move around as I'm getting the clip to it.

I don't grab the moon clips with my fingers parallel to the rounds. I found that doing so blocked the cylinder from view, and I had to load by feel. Instead, I've been working on two methods: I either grab the moon clip from the side, with my thumb against the back of the clip. (Think: pushing the moon clip in with your thumb, although you don't push, just drop) Or, I grab it from the side with my fingers sideways to the round (Think: holding it as if you were reading the headstamps.)

The "thumb" keeps the left hand pointed correctly for the close and grip, the "sideways" seems a tad faster, and gets the hand forward for closing and grip.

The key with any method is: don't force it. If you try to use force, something will hang up, and your pressure will just make it bind all the harder. If your clips won't drop fully in of their own weight, you have tuning to do. The clips are bent, the chambers tight or dirty, or your dies aren't sizing or crimping properly.

[Redrum]

Welcome to the wonderful world of wheelgun competition!!! Your gonna have fun!!

The one thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is chamfering of the chambers. It will speed up your reloads dramatically.

[Tangram]

Don't shoot revolvers much but I recently looked at this video, _Ultimate Advanced Revolver by Jerry Miculek_. He demonstrates the use of moon clips.

Here is a review by Duane Thomas who posts frequently on this forum.

http://www.sportshooter.com/library/vid_advancedrevolver.htm

I believe that Miculek has made a pact with the Great Cylinder to attract the rounds into their appointed places. Amazing.

Rick

Edit: I guess I should have read the rest to the thread before responding. Oh Ahh.

[Carmoney]

Weird thing happened to me today. I have ALWAYS switched the gun over to my left hand and used my right hand to pull the moonclip off my belt. ALWAYS.

Today, while shooting a classifer ("Six Chickens") at an IPSC match, without ever consciously thinking about it, I opened the 25-2 and popped in a moonclip with my left hand. I realized something was different about the time I was closing the gun.

I have no idea if it was faster or slower than usual, but it felt pretty smooth in retrospect, and I have decided that it's worth some experimentation.

Weird, huh?

Mike

[MikeFoley]

For years I have reloaded moonclips with the gun in my weak hand, opening and ejecting while grabbing the new moonclip with my strong hand and dropping it into the cylinder then regripping. TODAY, I shot an entire match and reloaded only with my weak hand. I was a little slow on a few reloads, but when it worked, it was fast. I am making a conscious effort to change to this method. Revolver is a secondary interest of mine, usually after the tournaments are over I bring it out a few times, and when I shoot twice, it is the second gun.

[Intel6]

I had switched the gun to my weak hand to reload for many years. A few years ago I grabbed a timer and worked on both methods. I found I was about equally fast with both methods but I discoved something that made me switch methods.

I found that every once in a while with the old method I would not re-grip the gun perfectly and it would cause me to slow down during target re-acquistion to correct my grip. This would add time to my reload times. I found that using the weak hand load method I never changed my grip and didn't have the problems I did with the old method.

So I switched to the other load method and have never gone back.

Neal in AZ