Chiappa 9mm Moon Clips

[Gingerbeard Man]

I've got a few Rhinos in my collection but .357/.38 is a little pricey to shoot right now so I recently picked up a 9mm 50DS. Because 9mm is rimless, it's required to use moon clips. Lose the 3 that came with the spinner (I got shorted, mine only came with one) and you're SOL as they are out of stock or you'll pay out the nose for aftermarket....

Or will you?

I did some measuring and ended up buying some .40 moon clips for a Smith & Wesson 646. They were $8.99 for a pack of 8 from Midway. Got them in today and my measurements paid off. They are 100% identical and will hold the 9mm casings perfectly.

I know this info won't help 90% of the people on here but maybe that 10% will appreciate the info and get some spares.

 

[rgo]

Thanks for the info. FYI, it will fire fine without the moon clips, but of course the ejector won't work.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

Thanks for the info. FYI, it will fire fine without the moon clips, but of course the ejector won't work.

Being rimless, is there potential the casing could get forced further down and expand?

 

[rgo]

Being rimless, is there potential the casing could get forced further down and expand?

Might not be impossible, but it shouldn't happen. If you look in the cylinder, you'll see a ledge that holds the case mouth - in other words, the cartridge headspace against the front of the case. When firing, the forces should push the case outward and backward, so I don't see how it could go further forward into the chamber.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

Might not be impossible, but it shouldn't happen. If you look in the cylinder, you'll see a ledge that holds the case mouth - in other words, the cartridge headspace against the front of the case. When firing, the forces should push the case outward and backward, so I don't see how it could go further forward into the chamber.

That is great info. I very much appreciate it. I'll give it a look and a try this weekend.

 

[rgo]

I'm working on a 3D printable moon clip for the 9mm Rhino. First prototype will be ready in a few days. Since they will be made of plastic, they should be easier to load than the metal clips and will be meant to be disposable, but I guess you could reuse them if you take care of them. If anyone's interested in testing some, let me know.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

I'm working on a 3D printable moon clip for the 9mm Rhino. First prototype will be ready in a few days. Since they will be made of plastic, they should be easier to load than the metal clips and will be meant to be disposable, but I guess you could reuse them if you take care of them. If anyone's interested in testing some, let me know.

If you want to send some my way I'd be happy to try them out. Just had the rhino out to the range this weekend.

 

[rgo]

Ready for testing! 3D printed version on the left, original metal clip on the right. The printed ones are kind of flimsy at a thickness matching the original, so I printed a few at different thicknesses to try out. They all seem to work OK, but there's probably a happy medium somewhere. Gingerbeard Man if you want to PM me a mailing address, I'll send you a few to try. No charge.

 

[Crochet556]

Ready for testing! 3D printed version on the left, original metal clip on the right. The printed ones are kind of flimsy at a thickness matching the original, so I printed a few at different thicknesses to try out. They all seem to work OK, but there's probably a happy medium somewhere. Gingerbeard Man if you want to PM me a mailing address, I'll send you a few to try. No charge.View attachment 3488548

Nice. You got a scanner?

 

[rgo]

Nice. You got a scanner?

Thanks! No scanner, worked it up in CAD.