Best speedloader in combat

A New York reload.

Some say moonclips are faster than speedloaders, in case that's an option.

I always liked Safariland over HKS.

Safariland is pretty good. The cartridges don’t wobble around and there’s no knob that needs to be twisted to release the cartridges.

The first question would be who is carrying a revolver into combat in this day and age? I vote for indirect fire or air support...

A combat reload with a revolver would be an ugly situation for sure, even in LEO or self-defense situation it's going to be pretty desperate.

Moonclips are the fastest way to reload a revolver with a good setup and practice. I think I could out run a New York City reload if I happened to have my competition setup using moonclips. But from a typical CCW setup a New York City Reload it going to be hard to beat. Setting the NYC reload aside I think the moonclip is still going to be the fastest assuming you can find a way to carry your moonclips in a secure and accessible way.

Best speedloader bar none is the SLvariant loader. I do not speak from experience. They are as rare as a hens tooth

jski said:

Reducing case length is always a positive with speedloaders, so that’s why I started experimenting with 38 Short Colt brass from Starline. Just a tad bit longer than 9mm brass. After I read about ICASE competitors use 38 Short Colt brass, I decided to see if anyone in the reloading community’s talking about it:

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Your got to watch getting too short for some of the push to release speedloaders. You can get to a point where you hit the release before the nose of the rounds are in and lined up with the the chambers and this can send the rounds flying.

I love to watch FC45. Is he a member here I wonder..

I would argue that the VAST number of serious social uses of a firearm are going to be close range and fairly fast affairs.

I would also argue that the VAST number of encounters will be fought with what’s in or on the gun.

I would again argue that if the situation hasn’t begun to resolve itself by the time a reload is needed, and by resolved I mean physically or mentally as in the assailants realize a two way range sucks and they surely left the iron on and need to attend to that, then that reload is a poop show no matter the platform.

All that said my take is pick a speed loader and practice with it. I would reload with the speed loader every time at the range and realize that truthfully if it comes down to an actual under fire reload.......it’s gonna suck no matter what you choose.

I, myself like the 5 Star speed loafers and I am comfortable with a twist function. I would argue moon clips are better for fast extraction of the first rounds then a reload because the clip can be fragile and I would prefer the durability of a speed loader in my pocket.

cslinger said:

I, myself like the 5 star

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I like these as well.

cslinger said:

I would argue that the VAST number of serious social uses of a firearm are going to be close range and fairly fast affairs.

I would also argue that the VAST number of encounters will be fought with what’s in or on the gun.

I would again argue that if the situation hasn’t begun to resolve itself by the time a reload is needed, and by resolved I mean physically or mentally as in the assailants realize a two way range sucks and they surely left the iron on and need to attend to that, then that reload is a poop show no matter the platform.

All that said my take is pick a speed loader and practice with it. I would reload with the speed loader every time at the range and realize that truthfully if it comes down to an actual under fire reload.......it’s gonna suck no matter what you choose.

I, myself like the 5 Star speed loafers and I am comfortable with a twist function. I would argue moon clips are better for fast extraction of the first rounds then a reload because the clip can be fragile and I would prefer the durability of a speed loader in my pocket.

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Having used both speed-loader and moonclips in competition for the past 12+years I would still select moonclips over speed-loaders. Yes the moonclip is a bit more fragile than a speed-loader but they are not so fragile as to be a liability if you properly carry them so they have a reasonable amount of protection. Moonclips for rimless revolvers are noticeable more robust than rimmed cartridges. The moonclips for a 45 ACP or 10mm Auto is 40% thicker than the moonclips typically used in 38/357. My first competition revolver was a S&W 610 and I carried my last two moonclips on a carrier that held one above the other by only holding onto two of the six rounds letting the other four dangle. Never had a moonclip damaged or come apart on me from that holder.

Moonclips are by far the fastest. I gave up on them for carry because I kept damaging them. All it takes is a bump into a doorway or some such. I often wouldn't even notice, but the next day I would pop the clip into the gun for a function test and discover just enough bend to tie up the gun. After the third time, I stopped carrying moon clips.

Next fastest, for me, is a jet style, straight-push loader. Most of my experience with that style is the Safariland Comp-III. They work, but they are huge. My gun concealed better than the loaders.

Finally is the traditional twist style. I have extensive experience with most of the brands and prefer 5 star. All of the twist loaders are bulky, though, and all of them take more care and coordination than I think I could muster during a gunfight. My failure rate with twist loaders during force-on-force training is about 70 percent.

If I personally thought needing to reload during a gunfight was any kind of realistic possibility I would ditch my revolver in favor of a 1911. As it is, I carry six spare rounds on belt loops.

I only have experience with HKS and Safariland. Of the two I prefer the Safariland Comp II.

Moonclips would be better but if your gun isn't made or modified to use moonclips, it's a moot point.

A second gun.

Safariland Comp II for K, L frames....

I'd agree moon clips offer the fastest reload but they do have some issues with carry.

I'd rather figure how to make moon clips work with carry as opposed to using speed loaders.

Anchorite said:

A New York reload.

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Aka, the Civil War reload

You can buy leather holsters for the moon clips.

http://bigrobsgunleather.weebly.com/speed-loader--moon-clip-pouch.html

They make pocket protectors too for deeper (all be it slower) carry.



I bought mine from TK Custom
https://tkcustom.com/products/accessories/moonclip-checkers/swpmc38
I believe Del Fetti Leather may actually be the maker.
http://www.delfatti.com/PMC-PO Page.html

At least for me, and I am certainly not a benchmark of any kind, I find moons more fiddly when using them for traditional revolver cartridges (.38/.357). Due to the length.

For auto cartridges they are much better for me because the cartridges are noticeably shorter and with .45 you have short and fat and those just magically drop right in. Of course you NEED moon clips for all intents and purposes with these.

I have never used a 10mm revolver so I cannot speak to those.

cslinger said:

At least for me, and I am certainly not a benchmark of any kind, I find moons more fiddly when using them for traditional revolver cartridges (.38/.357). Due to the length.

For auto cartridges they are much better for me because the cartridges are noticeably shorter and with .45 you have short and fat and those just magically drop right in. Of course you NEED moon clips for all intents and purposes with these.

I have never used a 10mm revolver so I cannot speak to those.

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In USPSA until 2014 the S&W 610 was a distance second behind the 625. The distant second place was partial due to it rarity and partially do to it be slightly less effective at the sport. The problem with the 610 was finding good round-nose bullets for fast reloads. With the 625 finding a good round nose 45 ACP bullet is not a problem and those short fat 45 ACP cartridges with nice round nose bullets just gets vacuumed into the cylinder. The 610 was almost as good with 40S&W having a similar length to diameter ratio (ie short and fat) but good bullet choices were far more limited. I ran a lot of Berry's plated as they were one of the few true round nose 40 cal bullets I could find. I also used a lot of Precision Delta RSFP bullets since the flat point on the PD was very small. The 610 moonclips in my experience are one of the toughest though. They are the same thickness as 625 moonclips but due to the extra space between rounds there is a lot more metal in the moonclip and they just seem to tolerate abuse even better than 625 moonclips. -ramblin'

shoebox1.1 said:

Best speedloader bar none is the SLvariant loader. I do not speak from experience. They are as rare as a hens tooth

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I have the experience and it is not my first choice. There is a bit of wobble and it takes a harder push to release than Safariland or Jetloader.

The Shortshooters cut down the cups on their speed loaders for a cleaner release. I have some that came with a gun and do not find them an improvement when loading standard rounds.

I found clipped .38s to be so floppy as to offer me no advantage over a good speed loader. No doubt I lacked technique, although I am fine with a .45 clip gun.

I looked at the short lived small bore clip guns from Smith but did not bite. The .38 Super was very interesting but high priced, the .40 would have taken me into a new caliber. I looked around for a 4" Speed Six 9mm but never saw one. I even toyed with the idea of recylindering a Security Six. Just as well I didn't, IDPA changed the rules (twice) and obsoleted the small caliber clip loaders. Kind of like USPSA obsoleting the .45s.

A 10mm aficionado here got a 610 to go with his G20. The wider flats between chambers and the typical flat pointed bullets often stymied his reload. A heavy chamfer and a search for the few roundnose bullets would have helped but he was not that serious about revolver shooting.

M Ayoob observed that a .44 Magnum speed loader pouch will carry two layers of .45 clips, 24 rounds in a typical two cell pouch. You have to kind of dig for the bottom layer, but if you are in a situation that calls for more than the 18 in the gun and top layer, you will be glad to have them in reach at all.