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I have a Ruger SP-101 (357 mag.) that I keep around the house for Mrs. Flintknapper. I have a set of "Hogue" grips on it that fit her hands well.

The problem is: The grips do not allow the use of an H&K #36 speedloader without considerable interference caused by the larger grip.

I know what moon clips are, what they do, and the modification I need to have done to the pistol...but I don't have any practical experience with them.

Questions: 1. Do they securely hold the rounds in place, or will they allow cartridges to become loose in a carrier? 2. The SP-101 has a fairly long ejection rod, but does anyone know if the clip (with all five rounds expended) will drop/eject cleanly from the cylinder, or will it have to be manually "plucked" away?

Yeah, I know she's not likely to have to reload, but I want her to have the option (couldn't find another one like her, and not sure I'd want to).

Thanks for your replies.

1. Yes, they are held firmly in the moonclips. However, the rounds still move a bit as they would with a speedloader. You might have the same problem with clearance when trying to stuff the rounds in quickly past the grip.

2. You should be able to use the ejector rod. That would depend on how long it is now.

The most popular moonclips are TK's by Tom Kilhoffer. Know that you are limited to certain types of brass when using the TK's. If I remember correctly, Winchester cases won't work. Your cylinder will need to be machined. You'll need to check with whatever gunsmith does the work to see if this option is available for the SP101.

Alex Hamilton, Ten-Ring Precision, in San Antonio can answer any questions you have about this type of conversion. 210-494-3063. He's a great smith and a member of the Pistolsmith Guild.

I only have personal knowledge of clips for .45 ACP in revolvers. These used half moon clips.

You might look at Bianchi speed strips for reloads. I used these years ago with J-frames. Another option is the Maxfire speedloader. I know this works in several types of 5 shot cylinders and is smaller than conventional speedloaders.

HTH,

Mike Cornell

Quote: "You might look at Bianchi speed strips for reloads."

+1 on that.

To me, some advantages over speedloader. With practice, able to load 2 chambers at a time.

Thank you, guys!

Flintknapper,

I was web surfing a bit this evening and found a smith that does a moonclip conversion specifically for the SP-101. Looks pretty good and all you need send is your cylinder.

http://www.geminicustoms.com/Moonclips.html

HTH,

Mike C.