Bent moonclips - how much bend is too much?

[bigdog02]

Hey guys - curious question on moonclips.
I have a 625 using TK blued moonclips.  Have used it for several matches and at my last match I had a handful of light primer strikes.
It could be any number of things, but when I got home, I demooned them and had a couple laid out and noticed that on a flat hard table, if I press down on one of the tabs, some of them would make an audible BOING and the other side would pop up a little bit.

All of these easily go into my moonclip checker, so my question is this - how much bend in moonclips can cause light primer hits?
I loaded several of the slightly bent ones up and plan to take them to the range, but I am curious.

 

Also are they really this fragile?  I have used them at maybe 3-4 indoor matches (so dropped onto concrete) and a solid 1/3 to 1/2 of them make a slight BOING sound when pressing tabs. on them.
BMT mooner used to load/unload them exclusively.  

[ysrracer]

Needle nose pliers will fix them.

[gargoil66]

12 hours ago, bigdog02 said:

Hey guys - curious question on moonclips.
I have a 625 using TK blued moonclips.  Have used it for several matches and at my last match I had a handful of light primer strikes.
It could be any number of things, but when I got home, I demooned them and had a couple laid out and noticed that on a flat hard table, if I press down on one of the tabs, some of them would make an audible BOING and the other side would pop up a little bit.

All of these easily go into my moonclip checker, so my question is this - how much bend in moonclips can cause light primer hits?
I loaded several of the slightly bent ones up and plan to take them to the range, but I am curious.

 

Also are they really this fragile?  I have used them at maybe 3-4 indoor matches (so dropped onto concrete) and a solid 1/3 to 1/2 of them make a slight BOING sound when pressing tabs. on them.
BMT mooner used to load/unload them exclusively.  

BD2:

 

Yes, they will bend.  Particularly if the ground is concrete or something as flat and hard as the same.

 

How much bend?  Probably enough bend that they drag on the frame when rotating the cylinder.  Even then, for various reasons I doubt they would cause light strikes.

 

If they fit in your checker, my opinion is the light strikes are due to other issues.

 

GG

[Toolguy]

Any bend in a moonclip will act as a spring (it is made of spring steel) and dampen the impact of the firing pin on any round that is held above the back surface of the cylinder. Moonclips need to be very flat to work right. There was a tool made to fix bent ones, can't recall the name at the moment.

[Fishbreath]

TK Custom made one called the Moon Clip Saver, although they don't seem to have it in stock right now.

 

It works very well for my TK .025 .357 moon clips, relatively well for my Revolver Supply .035 9mm moon clips, and not very well at all on my TK .035 9mm moon clips or 0.050 .40 S&W moon clips (but the latter two also don't bend very easily).

[Tampa-XD45]

3 hours ago, Fishbreath said:

TK Custom made one called the Moon Clip Saver, although they don't seem to have it in stock right now.

 

It works very well for my TK .025 .357 moon clips, relatively well for my Revolver Supply .035 9mm moon clips, and not very well at all on my TK .035 9mm moon clips or 0.050 .40 S&W moon clips (but the latter two also don't bend very easily).

Here's picture of it for $145 on an Australian site:   https://www.db-shootingsupplies.com.au/tkc-moonclip-saver-tool-6-7-8-shot

[bigdog02]

Thanks for the info guys - as usual I appreciate it.

I was just not sure how much bend was too much.  Gonna have to be pretty discerning about these from here on out.  I am gonna have a huge stack of questionable ones after a single season of shooting lol.

[625]

If you take your moon clips and put them in a stack. All clips aligned, Then hold up the stack of moon clips and look at them as a group, looking at the edge side and any that are bent will stand out. Moon clip safer tool from TK works great in making them like new. 

[ysrracer]

5 hours ago, Tampa-XD45 said:

Here's picture of it for $145 on an Australian site:   https://www.db-shootingsupplies.com.au/tkc-moonclip-saver-tool-6-7-8-shot

 

Is that pesos or American money?

[gargoil66]

11 hours ago, bigdog02 said:

Thanks for the info guys - as usual I appreciate it.

I was just not sure how much bend was too much.  Gonna have to be pretty discerning about these from here on out.  I am gonna have a huge stack of questionable ones after a single season of shooting lol.

BD:

 

Why not take some that are bent and test them?  Load them and throw them into the cylinder then look at how well the moon clip seated into the recess.   I bet the tension of the ammo loaded into the cylinder is sufficient to straighten out minor bends.

 

Looked at the TK site and no Moon Clip Saver there.

 

A few months back there was a discussion about straightening moon clips.  May want to search.

 

GG

 

[bigdog02]

9 hours ago, gargoil66 said:

BD:

 

Why not take some that are bent and test them?  Load them and throw them into the cylinder then look at how well the moon clip seated into the recess.   I bet the tension of the ammo loaded into the cylinder is sufficient to straighten out minor bends.

 

Looked at the TK site and no Moon Clip Saver there.

 

A few months back there was a discussion about straightening moon clips.  May want to search.

 

GG

 

Precisely my plan!  Headed out Friday to the range with a couple tackle boxes full of moons.
Everything from razor straight to slight BOING bend to visible "who stepped on my s#!t" bent.  Curious to see what goes and what doesn't.

That moon clip straightener looks fantastic.  Would be handy to have after a season and go through smash out the bends.  Until then, might just be some needle nose pliers and a table edge.

 

I will say, I do not see the point in paying 2 bucks per for TK when RS and Ranch are fantastic for much less it seems and may or may not last the same amount of time for me.

[Toolguy]

I've been using the same 100 .45ACP Ranch ones for about 30 years. Maybe 5 or 6 bent ones in that time, not counting the dozen or so that USPSA auto shooters trampled intentionally.

[DougCarden]

I recently tried to use the moon saver on some moons I was given in a deal.  If one finger of the moon is bent you can salvage it.  If the moon clip is twisted in any fashion it will not go back to usable condition.  I spent over an hour working on them and threw them all away.  These were for starline 38 special/short colt.  Life is too damn short.  Just buy some more moons and smile instead of being upset when they fail you at the match.......

DougC

[gargoil66]

2 hours ago, bigdog02 said:

Precisely my plan!  Headed out Friday to the range with a couple tackle boxes full of moons.
Everything from razor straight to slight BOING bend to visible "who stepped on my s#!t" bent.  Curious to see what goes and what doesn't.

That moon clip straightener looks fantastic.  Would be handy to have after a season and go through smash out the bends.  Until then, might just be some needle nose pliers and a table edge.

 

I will say, I do not see the point in paying 2 bucks per for TK when RS and Ranch are fantastic for much less it seems and may or may not last the same amount of time for me.

BD2:

 

More like $4.50 a piece for TK.  Not sure about the Ranch because they don't post prices.  You have to email them for a order form.   

 

I don't think TK is making that Moon clip straightener anymore. 

 

Would rather have someone step on a four dollar moon clip I can probably fix than a forty dollar magazine or speed loader I can't fix.

 

All in a day's sport.

 

GG

 

 

[Toolguy]

Back when, I think the Ranch 45 ones were about $40.00 a hundred. I don't know what they are now.

[bigdog02]

I saw that you had to email them for an order form.

I just ordered some Ranch ones this week from the Uniqutek site.

Moon Clip - S&W 625 - Blued - 45 ACP (uniquetek.com)

$30 for 50.

 

 

[pskys2]

Ranch aren't as tight as tk, but with a 45 I never saw an advantage.

90% of my bent moon clips were stepped on by me.

[gargoil66]

8 hours ago, pskys2 said:

Ranch aren't as tight as tk, but with a 45 I never saw an advantage.

90% of my bent moon clips were stepped on by me.

 

PK:

 

I have some for my 627 and they are so loose with Starline brass that no way will anyone do a rapid reload with them.  And they bend at the slightest amount of force.  So they sit in a drawer until I can figure out what to do with them.  The TK moon clips are significantly more rigid and can sustain hits.  I do not have any Ranch moon clips for my 625 so can't comment on them.

 

GG

[Toolguy]

The loose 627 ones may work with Winchester cases.

[pskys2]

3 hours ago, gargoil66 said:

 

PK:

 

I have some for my 627 and they are so loose with Starline brass that no way will anyone do a rapid reload with them.  And they bend at the slightest amount of force.  So they sit in a drawer until I can figure out what to do with them.  The TK moon clips are significantly more rigid and can sustain hits.  I do not have any Ranch moon clips for my 625 so can't comment on them.

 

GG

Yes moon clips for 627/929/38/9mm need to be tighter than for a 45.  It's the geometry of fat 45 holes and angles I suspect.  Now I've had real good luck with the Revolver Supply, they're a bit looser and don't bind up as much.

The TK/Hearthco tight moon clips for the 38's, can't comment on the ones for 45, work great BUT are touchy to either being bent or being affected by used beat up brass.

Before a match I check every moon clip I take in any gun I might be shooting at a match.  If they hang up at all they get put into the practice bin.  I try them with different rounds before doing so though, as really used brass sometimes gets bent rims or burred grooves and can cause binding.

[ysrracer]

I've got an 8-round chamber checker from TK. I load up my moons and drop them in.

 

If any hang up I take the shells out and drop them in one at a time. Then I hold the moon flat, and look for bends.

 

If I find any I use needle nose pliers to fix them.

 

So far so good.

[bigdog02]

Update for anyone interested in how much bend you can get away with.

625 ran all moonclips perfectly: brand new TK with no bend, brand new RS with no bend, used TK with slight bend on 1 or more tabs, used TK that got stepped on with visible full bend.

Sample size was only a couple hundred rounds between all the clips, but that is what I saw.
625 JM, stock firing pin, wolff type 1 main spring.
Shot all factory loads - Federal, SB, Blazer, and PMC.

[gargoil66]

11 hours ago, bigdog02 said:

Update for anyone interested in how much bend you can get away with.

625 ran all moonclips perfectly: brand new TK with no bend, brand new RS with no bend, used TK with slight bend on 1 or more tabs, used TK that got stepped on with visible full bend.

Sample size was only a couple hundred rounds between all the clips, but that is what I saw.
625 JM, stock firing pin, wolff type 1 main spring.
Shot all factory loads - Federal, SB, Blazer, and PMC.

BD:

 

Doesn't surprise me at all.  A firearm and its components are made to take some really high pressures and shock.  There is give built into them so they can function when dirty and in extremes of the environment. 

 

When guys say they don't clean their revolver for hundreds and hundreds of rounds yet they still function perfectly, I believe them.  If a guy says a slightly bent moon clip caused the revolver to lock up, I still believe them but would probably wonder about the headspace of the revolver.

 

Would I go into a match with a filthy revolver and bent moon clips?  Negative.  Just that slight bends in moon clips should not lock up a revolver. 

 

Not saying you have definitive proof but your findings are pretty much what I would have expected.

 

GG

 

 

[Toolguy]

It also depends on how much force the mainspring is exerting on the hammer. If it's set for a 10 or 12 pound trigger pull, it will set off primers in more adverse conditions than if it's set for a 5 or 6 pound trigger pull.