Revolvers

No, this is not a blog about Ralph Kramden’s most famous line in “The Honeymooners” TV Show. It’s about Moon Clips. So, what are Moon Clips? They are an adapter which allows rimless ammo to be used revolvers, which generally use rimmed ammo.

However, a few gun manufacturers make revolvers which are chambered for rounds that a normally best suited to semi-automatic pistols. Ruger is one such manufacturer. Their highly popular revolver, the LCR, is one such gun chambered for different size calibers. There are two primary versions, the LCR and the LCRx. The LCR is hammerless and the LCRx has an exposed hammer. (Hammerless, in this case means the hammer is not exposed.) Both of these models are chambered for .38 Special +P, .22 LR, .357 Magnum, .327 Federal Magnum, and 9mm Luger. If, at this point you sang the kids’ song “Which of these is not like the other”, you would not be getting strange looks. That’s because of the five choices of calibers, only the 9mm is rimless and therefore designed to work in semi-automatic pistols.

More often than not, revolvers are chambered for rimmed ammo, so ss the shooter loads each round into the cylinder, the round does not drop all the way through.

So, if you had a huge stockpile of 9mm rounds at your home, and you are just getting into revolvers, you could purchase either model Ruger LCR in 9mm to avoid having to build up a new stockpile of .38 SPL or .357 Magnum rounds.

Then you simply snap five (5) 9mm rounds onto a moon clip and insert the entire loaded moon clip into the cylinder. The moon clip is what keeps the rimless 9mm rounds from falling through the front of the cylinder.

Moon clips are very thin and are generally sold in bags of multiple clips per bag.

Are moon clips worth it? It depends on how well you like revolvers and how large your stockpile of 9mm ammo is. I, personally, am not a fan. I love revolvers but prefer to shoot those chambered in the original designs, namely rimmed cartridges. But that is me. If you like them, buy and use them to your heart’s content. But make sure you sing Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon” when snapping each round into the clip.