I am a revolver man, and carry one often. A wise man once told me, "There are 3 things that never go out of style: wingtip shoes, the missionary position, and the revolver."
When the opportunity came to get a 8 shot revolver, I bought one. The problem I had was that there weren't many choices in speed loaders for them, and mine, a S&W 327, came with moonclips that allowed the cartridges to wiggle around so much that reloading was time consuming and involved a bit of trial and error. I was hoping HKS would make some, because the ones they made for 6 shot revolvers held the cartridges still and made reloading a breeze. But they never made them.
After some research, I bought a speed loader made by 5 star firearms. They were made of metal and appeared to be well made, but it also held on to the rounds loosely, even more so than the moon clips that came with the revolver. I also did not like the shiny finish.
Unsatisfied, I searched around and found some for sale by Thunder Ranch. At $60 a pop, it was a lot more expensive than a moon clip or the 5 star speed loader. I decided to call Thunder Ranch, and spoke to Ginny, who was the owners mom. She was great to deal with, and told me that the speed loader held the rounds pretty tight, and there was very little wiggle. Considering that they have a great reputation, I bought 2. I tried them out today, and was very happy with them. It held all 8 rounds much tighter than anything I tried. The speedloader came in a matte black finish, and also had some of the round surfaces flattened, making it easier to reload without having the loader get obstructed by the gun grip. Only 3 out of the 8 rounds wiggled, which was no problem because all I had to do was align 5 of the steady rounds into the cylinder and the rest followed. Much easier than trying to get all 8 to align.
I recommend them to anyone who carries an 8 shot revolver. They may be expensive, but I depend on my gun with my life, so they are worth it to me. If I come across something better I will definitely try it and post about it.
From left to right: moonclip, thunder ranch speed loader, 5 star firearms speed loader
When the opportunity came to get a 8 shot revolver, I bought one. The problem I had was that there weren't many choices in speed loaders for them, and mine, a S&W 327, came with moonclips that allowed the cartridges to wiggle around so much that reloading was time consuming and involved a bit of trial and error. I was hoping HKS would make some, because the ones they made for 6 shot revolvers held the cartridges still and made reloading a breeze. But they never made them.
After some research, I bought a speed loader made by 5 star firearms. They were made of metal and appeared to be well made, but it also held on to the rounds loosely, even more so than the moon clips that came with the revolver. I also did not like the shiny finish.
Unsatisfied, I searched around and found some for sale by Thunder Ranch. At $60 a pop, it was a lot more expensive than a moon clip or the 5 star speed loader. I decided to call Thunder Ranch, and spoke to Ginny, who was the owners mom. She was great to deal with, and told me that the speed loader held the rounds pretty tight, and there was very little wiggle. Considering that they have a great reputation, I bought 2. I tried them out today, and was very happy with them. It held all 8 rounds much tighter than anything I tried. The speedloader came in a matte black finish, and also had some of the round surfaces flattened, making it easier to reload without having the loader get obstructed by the gun grip. Only 3 out of the 8 rounds wiggled, which was no problem because all I had to do was align 5 of the steady rounds into the cylinder and the rest followed. Much easier than trying to get all 8 to align.
I recommend them to anyone who carries an 8 shot revolver. They may be expensive, but I depend on my gun with my life, so they are worth it to me. If I come across something better I will definitely try it and post about it.
From left to right: moonclip, thunder ranch speed loader, 5 star firearms speed loader
