IDPA revolver shooters - Retain moonclip with unused rounds?

[8ring]

I'm thinking about converting one of my 625s to a 4" barrel for IDPA purposes. But first a few questions:

Does an IDPA revolver shooter have to retain a moonclip that has unused rounds? (It seems silly to retain a moonclip that has rounds that have been shot because it would be very difficult to put it back into the cylinder.)

If so, doesn't that make weak hand reloads with moonclips virtually impossible to do?

Do SOs holler at revolver shooters if the muzzle points above the top of the berm while the cylinder is open during a reload?

Thanks,

Chris

[COF]

I'm thinking about converting one of my 625s to a 4" barrel for IDPA purposes. But first a few questions:

Does an IDPA revolver shooter have to retain a moonclip that has unused rounds? (It seems silly to retain a moonclip that has rounds that have been shot because it would be very difficult to put it back into the cylinder.)

If so, doesn't that make weak hand reloads with moonclips virtually impossible to do?

Do SOs holler at revolver shooters if the muzzle points above the top of the berm while the cylinder is open during a reload?

Thanks,

Chris

Yes,you have to retain moonclips with unused ammo - of course the only time that happens is if the stage requires a reload after 2-3 shots. You can always make up those -1's and -3's with 0's since they got rid of the round dumping rule. In the 15+ years I've been shooting IDPA I've never had to reload a partial moonclip into a gun to finish a stage. I have used a partial on a stage that required downloading to less than six at the start but then you're not on the clock doing the reload.

Some clubs are squirrelly about muzzles over the berm because of club rules. There is no safer weapon during a reload than a revolver but rules are rules.

[bikerburgess]

one of the clubs I shoot at has a no muzzle over the berm rule but they have a exception for revolvers with the cylinder open, like during a reload.

Mke

[RickB]

No "weak hand-only reloads" are done in IDPA. Since both hands are usually used to manipulate the gun during reloads, it might be hard to determine how a "strong hand" reload is done, but I'd consider a weak hand reload to be one in which the gun must be reloaded differently than when the competitor is allowed to do reloads "freestyle".

[ihocky2]

As already covered, yes you have to retain the partially used moon clip. This is one place the SSR guns have an advantage, reloads with retention are actually pretty easy. Open the gun, tip up and the unused rounds fall into your open hand. Stow them and dump the brass and continue your reload. Lesser experienced SO's will sometimes try to give you a procedural because they do not realize what you did, but when you show the retained rounds they usually get a dumb founded look. With moon clips you are stuck ejecting like normal, so it takes more time and a little more practice if you are used to slapping the ejector rod with your open hand and letting the moon clip drop to the ground. You have to train yourself to eject and keeps you hand in a position to catch the moon clip, takes a little practice but can be done.

[Jim Watson]

Early on, I worked hard on a real revolver Tac Load, pretty much as described by ihocky, but soon found it was seldom if ever called for.

Strong hand and weak hand revolver reloads do not refer to strong hand or weak hand ONLY, it describes which hand the speedloader or clip is handled with.

Carry your reload on the gun side, shift the gun to the weak hand to eject, feed in the reload with the strong hand.

or

Carry your reload on the off side, like an auto magazine, keep the gun in the strong hand, insert reload with the weak hand.