cbmj357, Moon clips work well for DA revolvers chambered in semi-auto cartridges such as a 45 ACP or 9mm. The purpose is to allow the rimless cases to be extracted. Some of the "go faster" tactical shooters have also modified their 38/357 DA gaming revolvers for moon clips. With a lot of practice, a well experienced shooter can shave a couple tenths of a second off their rapid reload time with moon clips vs speed loaders. From a practical point ... modifying a CCW for moon clips doesn't make much sense. Moon clips are a pain in the ass to load or unload, even with the demooning tools. Besides, the clips themselves will bend if handled wrong then won't work when inserted in a revolver.

When you weight the facts .... modifying the gun, PITA loading/unloading, opportunities for failure ..... against the very slight advantage of faster rapid reloading, I would say ... stay with a good quality speed loader. BTW, I have seen 9mm moon clips for the SP-101but I've never seen a 38/357 moon clip. Do they exist?

 

clark says they will convert an sp 101
http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/moonclip.htm

and this outfit as well http://www.tenring.com/contact2.html

i carried a smith 625 for quite a few years (uniform carry) but i also had dedicated speed loader pouches to protect the moons.

 

I had a 1917 S&W .45 and I really liked the moon clips.very fast reloading

 

Moon clips are a necessary evil for S&W Mods 25, 625, and 1917 ... otherwise those 45 ACPs won't extract. SP-101s are hardly in the same class. Besides, a decent speed loader and a little practice with the proper procedures and you can rival the speed with moon clips.

Some more things to consider if you do modify an SP-101: The modification consists of machining off .030" from the back cylinder face. This allows just enough space for a moon clip to fit between the cylinder and the recoil shield. Unfortunately, after the modification, you MUST use moon clips or you will experience misfires. The modification extends headspace from .010" to .040" so with a normal firing pin protrusion, there's just not enough protrusion left for a positive primer hit unless the moon clips are in place to keep the case heads positioned close to the recoil shield. Personally, I don't like modifications that aren't reversible and this one falls in that category. The only way to restore the revolver is to send it to the factory and pay to have a new cylinder fitted.

 

I bought a Taurus 905 revolver, which is a 9mm. it had a very flimsy Taurus moon clip. I did not like it at all. it would not hold the ammo right or even let it line up right to go into the cylinder. I liked the idea of a 9mm revolver because 9mm packs much more punch than a 38+P with a shorter case which means a shorter cylinder and smaller gun, however after firing the gun I had to hammer the spent casings out of the cylinder. I sold the gun back to the gun shop and put the money towards my SP101 in 327 Cal. The Gun shop owner has a scadium 625 with moon clips and the clips in the S&W are much stronger, but still bend easily if carried in a pocket. In my experience I would use a speed loader, unless my gun was used for speed shooting 100% of the time.