Funny little speed strips

[R.W.Dale]

I'm not telling anyone not to carry extra ammo. But let's be realistic here, getting in a shooting as a civilian CCW holder is an EXCEEDINGLY unlikely occurrence. More so with a modicum of SA. Amongst those already highly improbable incidents at the very BEST a ccw holder having to reload is SO RARE that nobody can find an example of it happening.

The FACT is that if you're involved in a defensive shooting you will either live or die with whatever ammunition was in your weapon when you put it on.

If you want the security of carrying more ammo however astronomical the odds of needing it then by all means knock yourself out. But don't belittle others who don't who for all you know may be prepared for a plethora of OTHER much more likely non defensive related situations.

For example a fire extinguisher in your vehicle is probably thousands of times more likely to save your or someone else's life than a speed strip.

 

[SKLFCO]

He used that esp thingy!

 

[R.W.Dale]

Now how do you know that?

Lol the thought occurred to me that I don't. But again a pretty safe assumption your not. Considering there's 7billion people in the world who aren't mr nimoy

But in case you are my apologies give my regards to William.

 

[R.W.Dale]

He used that esp thingy!

It's called MATH

 

[PabloJ]

He used that esp thingy!

I had to settle on the thingy for practical reasons: long heavy trigger pull, most moving parts on inside of frame, no sharp angles offering easy concealment. I do not carry spare ammo because it will be of no use to me anyway. To be of practical value spare ammo would have to be carried in second revolver.

 

[PBR Streetgang]

Speed strips were just part of the evolution of faster reloading for LEO.

In the beginning officers had cartridge loops for carrying extra ammo. The loops held ammo but exposed to the weather and environment .Some of the older guys in here might remember seeing officers with green ammo that wouldn't even fit into a chamber let alone shoot if needed.

The next step was nickel cases, these didn't corrode quite as fast. Loops stretched and officers lost rounds due to the nickel cases were smoother.

Then dump pouches came along. You loaded your 6 rounds into this pouch and it dumped rounds into your hand in a perfect world. The truth was the pouch emptied downwards and in a stress situation officers dropped more rounds than they held onto for a reload.

Speed strips were the fix for this situation.

Soon after came speedloaders .

Then autos became the standard and made most LEO revolvers moot..........

 

[Eb1]

I have "sixth sense" always knowing where to park, how to get there, what seat in restaurant to pick

Criminals have no sense. That why they are criminals. That trumps your "sixth sense".

I am just having a good time.. The comment wasn't personal.

 

[btg3]

Speed strips were just part of the evolution of faster reloading for LEO...
Then autos became the standard and made most LEO revolvers moot..........

^^^ This. It's not rocket science.

 

[ericp1]

If you cannot do it with your first load, you are too dead to ponder loader vs strips. Loader or strips are fine for range time (where there is no timer), which lets you do it with your first load.

 

[MCMXI]

I'm not telling anyone not to carry extra ammo. But let's be realistic here, getting in a shooting as a civilian CCW holder is an EXCEEDINGLY unlikely occurrence. More so with a modicum of SA. Amongst those already highly improbable incidents at the very BEST a ccw holder having to reload is SO RARE that nobody can find an example of it happening.

The FACT is that if you're involved in a defensive shooting you will either live or die with whatever ammunition was in your weapon when you put it on.

If you want the security of carrying more ammo however astronomical the odds of needing it then by all means knock yourself out. But don't belittle others who don't who for all you know may be prepared for a plethora of OTHER much more likely non defensive related situations.

For example a fire extinguisher in your vehicle is probably thousands of times more likely to save your or someone else's life than a speed strip.

I can't find any fault with the above post but I doubt that I will ever carry a pistol/revolver without at least one extra magazine/speed strip. If I live a long life I'd rather regret that I did as opposed to living a "short" life and regret that I didn't.

 

[zxcvbob]

I carry a speed strip so I can reload after the gunfight is over. Just in case it's not really over.

 

[sixgunner455]

zxcvbob said:

I carry a speed strip so I can reload after the gunfight is over. Just in case it's not really over.

+1. I always carry a reload, and when I'm carrying my jframe, it's usually in a speed strip. They are convenient, and I practice with them.

R.W. Dale said:

Amongst those already highly improbable incidents at the very BEST a ccw holder having to reload is SO RARE that nobody can find an example of it happening.

"nobody can find" - Erm... with one awkwardly worded google search, I came up with several. Perhaps your google foo is weak? Admittedly, they are few and far between - one study I saw said of 482 civilian shootings studied over a 5 year period, 3 incidents required a reload. That is a non-zero result. Most of the 482 required 2 shots (mean and average).

Does that mean we should all carry 2 shot derringers with no spare ammo, since it will really have no utility anyway? :/

Not me. But I don't stress about how much ammo I have on me when I'm carrying a revolver and one reload (again, usually in a speed strip). I have a bunch of speedloaders and a belt-mounted speedloader carrier for hauling around 3 speedloaders at once- it's for matches, not hiking, hunting, work, going to the mall, or taking my wife to dinner.

It's too simple to put a speedloader in my pocket to decide not too because I probably won't need it. YMMV. I probably won't need my spare tire, either, but I still check the air in it.

 

[Creature]

I carry a speed strip so I can reload after the gunfight is over. Just in case it's not really over.

winner winner chicken dinner

So obvious that no one else saw this.

 

[ericp1]

beag nut:

I have Ruger SP101 .357 (5 round).
I find the speed strips can load cylinder a wee bit faster (maybe 1/2 second?) than freehand, BUT ... the speed strips are a great way of keeping precounted rounds easily available in your pocket. Avoids possibility of trying to load a chamber with a car key or comb or whatever in a stress situation. Speed gain is not in the loading, but in the reliable obtaining of the ammo. In a range situation, not much value. In a stress situation, maybe a life saver.

Last night I spent about an hour loading cylinder free hand vs strip.
Strip is definitely a good organizer / pocket storage aid.

 

[leadcounsel]

Ya know, there might be some wisdom in stopping shooting for a moment to assess or take cover. ...

SS might be abit slower, but still effective. For the size and weight of a speedloader AND the revolver, may as well just carry a Glock.

 

[sidheshooter]

I don't know about all that "size of the speedloader" stuff.

An HKS for a j-frame with 5 rounds of 129gr +P Hydra Shok (chosen because those pointy, hard little things practically fly into chamfered cylinders--something that cannot be said of Remington's soft, easy-to-deform, and excellent 158gr LSWCHP +P loading; the rounds that will be ejected out as empties...) is pretty easy to throw in the right hand slash pocket of any light jacket.

The weight and bulk of the HKS payload and a 642 in 2 different locations is less obtrusive to me than a G26, but OMMV. I'd rather have the G26 in a multiple attacker scenario, I'll give it that, but the 642 and a spare is pretty great for optimist duty. Never goofed with strips. Seems like there is almost always a pocket to drop a single HKS available somewhere.

 

[MedWheeler]

R.W. Dale writes:

Cite me one JUST ONE instance where a civilian in a defensive shooting had to reload before the threat was naturalized.

I'm going to assume you mean neutralized, since getting shot while committing a felonious assault has little to do with becoming a US citizen.

Just one? Okay, I'll try.

Jonathan Davis, retired US Army captain, expended two revolvers and felled seven of at least eleven attackers who had ambushed him and two friends. Both friends had already been shot, with one killed there and the other to die a week later.

After running out of ammunition in both guns, he then proceeded to kill four remaining attackers (who had also run dry and charged him with blades) in a knife fight.

Seeing three more men coming from another direction, he drew one of his fallen friends' revolvers, but did not need to use it, as the new arrivals were coming to help.

Okay, I admit that this took place in 1854, but it is indeed "one incident."

I first read of it in Massad Ayoob's "Ayoob Files", but the most-eloquently-stated account I've come across of the incident can be found here: www.badassoftheweek.com/captaindavis.html

 

[MK11]

Lance Thomas, civilian gunfighter extraordinaire, went for the New York reload in a couple gunfights, after expending rounds in both revolvers and Sig P220s.

 

[tipoc]

It's unfortunate, I think, that many think of handguns as tools mostly for gunfighting and overlook all that guns can do.

Speedloaders and speedstrips both have their role in my experience. Folks here have covered many of the benefits of both.

Speedstrips though are unparallelled in topping off a cylinder. 3 rounds are fired to signal a search team in the Sierras. You remove the spent rounds and reload from the speed strip. Same with the warning shots to scare off the bear or cougar, then top off. Same with the elk struck by a truck suffering on the side of the road.

So in any situation where you feel you need to top off a cylinder, the strips are hecka handy. Even in defensive situations.

tipoc

 

[William Boyd]

I'm still pondering that Gamestalker says that he "almost always experience premature release". I don't see how either a speedloader or a speed strip would fix this.

 

[MCgunner]

I bought a Safariland Comp 1, the only one half way as portable and concealable as my HKSs. After less than a year of carry in a weak side pocket, the thing wouldn't release my rounds. I had to smash it with a shop hammer on my anvil to break it and get my ammo back. Safariland?...no thank you very much.

I like speed strips, simple, reliable, fast enough, and very portable. I usually carry 6 .38s which will work in my .357 if needed and will also stoke my pocket .38 BUG. The BUG is a five shooter, the .357 a 6. Works for me. I used to carry one of each, speedloader and speed strip figuring I might need a tactical reload, not want to dump all rounds for the speed loader, but that's more pain than it's worth. The main thing is to make the first shot count.

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, speeds strips ain't expensive. You wanna sell yours? They do wear out, eventually.

 

[chuckpro]

I do carry a HKS speed loader with my j frames. (for me with my Hands, guns and grip combination they work best) I also have them for my k frame that i used to hunt with until i had to fire two shots at a White Tail and only wounded her. I wanted to top of my gun before following her(she was crippled and i wanted to end things as soon as possible) and ended up just dumping the HKS into my hand and reloading the two spent casings. I started carrying a dump pouch but have moved up in caliber and carry my spares in a hard case.

For me it raised the question if i was in a confrontation with my j frame( or other revolver) and didn't fire it dry , do i dump all cartridges and reload from speed loader or just try to reload the spent cartridges?( keep in mind that i believe that if i ever had to use a firearm in self defense i would be responsible to control the situation until our civil servants showed up to take over the situation.

 

[jimbo555]

When I carry my j-frame I always have 1speed strip with 6 rounds. Even if I never need it it's comforting to have it!

 

[beag_nut]

Thanks to everyone for their input. Even when it got a little off-topic for a while back there.
Now, the next time I see a post saying how quickly someone can reload using a speed strip (compared to a speedloader), I have some "ammunition" (so to speak) to refute those statements, since so many people have said the exact opposite.
For me, I will use the speed strips I bought as a means to "custom-load" my cylinders: sometimes with snake-shot, other times with powerful penetrating rounds, and still other times with a couple of blank cartridges. All depends on where I am at the time.
They ARE easy to conceal, a definite plus.