BudsGunShop.com - moon clips

Robert, no Sir it is not. Although the shell ejector rod will not engage the cartridge case, there are no issues with the cases falling out with a slight wiggle of the revolver as stated and demoed starting at 1:25 in this video : youtube.com/watch?v=gTsX0uTcpQs&t=87s

while they are not required they make life easier without them you have to use a rod (or something else ) to manually push out each fired piece of brass

Robert, you can load the AL9.0 without the moon clips and the firearm will function without issue. The problem then comes when you need to remove the brass. Because the brass tends to expand when fired, they will not all fall out. You’ll need a pencil or cleaning rod to do this one case at a time. That’s why most shooters use moon clips. Pushing on the rod at the front of the cylinder will easily eject all the cases at once. Have a great day!