Speed strips for Taurus?

[Glock19Fan]

Hello.

Im pretty set on getting a Taurus model 85 for SD. However, 5 shots of anything would make me fell a little undergunned, so I am planning on getting some speedstrips for it. Im wondering if one speedstrip will work for all revolvers, or will each model and manufacturer require a difference one (assuming the caliber is the same).

Also, where can I get these?

Thanks!

 

[orangeninja]

I think speed strips are in frame class....like for your Taurus 85 look for "J" frame speed strips. I think Bianchi makes some


http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum2876.php

 

[8830]

The only speed strips I know of and have are the Bianchi made for the 38/357. I bought a dozen several years ago and use them all the time. They are lot easier to carry conceal than the speedloaders. I got mine from www.dillonprecision.com

 

[VictorLouis]

The 5-shot series from Taurus take S&W J-frame loaders.

The Speed-Strip was designed for J/K frames. You won't have any trouble with it. It's not fast, by any means, but it beats loose ammo...or no ammo at all.

When you start trying to use them on L/N frame 6-shots, you can feel how the alignment and fit is a bit more awkward.

 

[ktd]

I have used the Bianchi Speed Strips (only one size, unless you count the mythical 44 mag speed strip), and it works just fine with the 5 shot Taurus and J fames snubs. I used to carry two speed strips in the credit card slots of a bifold wallet to back up the two speedloaders on my duty belt.

k

 

[rockstar.esq]

KTD I like'd how you called the .44 "mythical" I have been looking for them for over a year and never found them anywhere!

 

[shep854]

Bianchi .44 Speed Strips are indeed mythical because they have never made any. Bianchi doesn't believe there is a market for them, despite repeated requests. :banghead:

.38 'strips are my primary ammo carrier for my S&W Bodyguard.

 

[BluesBear]

I have pleaded with Bianchi for 20 years now about making Speed Strips in .44 and they keep saying that there just isn't enough demand for them. :banghead:

BTW Lady45 uses Bianchi Speed Strips in her taurus 851 and they work perfectly.

 

[dawei]

Glock19 said

Speed strips for Taurus?

Hello.

Im pretty set on getting a Taurus model 85 for SD. However, 5 shots of anything would make me fell a little undergunned, so I am planning on getting some speedstrips for it. Im wondering if one speedstrip will work for all revolvers, or will each model and manufacturer require a difference one
(assuming the caliber is the same).

Also, where can I get these?

Thanks!

There's SPEED STRIPS & SPEED LOADERS. For the 5 shot Taurus 85 use the HKS#36 Speed Loader. Speed strips can be ordered online from Dillon Pecision.

 

[shep854]

As was mentioned above, Speed Strips will work in all J- and K-frame size revolvers, regardless of make. I have used them with S&W, Taurus, Rossi, and Ruger revolvers. A large (L- and N-frame sizes) revolver may be a problem because of the distance between charge holes in the cylinder. Can anyone tell how well they work with a Colt Detective Special or Police Positive?

Speed Strips can hold six cartridges, so if you carry a 5-shooter, you have the option of either carrying 5 shots, or six, so you have one extra.

 

[seeker_two]

You can also use a SKS stripper clip to hold 10 rounds of .38/.357 as well. The case heads are close enough in size to make it workable, and you get two reloads in about the same size package as a 1911 .45 magazine...

 

[shep854]

Seeker Two, that's interesting information; I have used .308 stripper clips to hold .45ACP on occasion, as well.

 

[BluesBear]

Stripper clips are nowhere near as fast as a Bianchi Speed Strip.

Also the speed strips are flexible and have no sharp edges to wear your pockets.

 

[obiwan1]

There is only one size speed strip and as previously posted are a good way to carry spare ammo. One size (supposedly) fits all unlike "speed loaders". The only thing that I've seen for a .44 is a slide on cartridge pouch made by DeSantis (i think). It would be a lot better than the old "ammo wallet" that I used to carry when I carried my Charter .44.

 

[TarpleyG]

Can someone please explain how to properly use a Speed Strip? I know it is accomplished 2 at a time but I cannot do this anywhere near fast. Maybe I am doing something wrong. Plus, mine are really stiff. Should I work cartridges in and out to loosen them up a bit?

Greg

 

[shep854]

With Speed Strips, "fast" is relative. Compared to speedloaders, the strips are s-l-o-o-w, but next to reloading loose rounds, it's very fast. For the actual use, you just have to practice, and take what you can get.

Leave them stiff, or the ammo will be likely to fall out.

As for stripper clips, I see it as a way to secure rounds, not as a loading device for pistol magazines.

 

[ktd]

I call them mythical cuz some people say they have actually seen them, but you know...I pretty much try not to believe anything I hear rather than see, and sometimes I will doubt that too.

another little trick I use is I got some pager cases from the junk (I mean gun) show, and it turns out that two loaded speedstrips fit perfectly in them. It works nicely with my paddle holster.

you can buy speed strips at most decent gun shops and most mail order cop shops.

btw, glock19fan, feeling undergunned is a state of mind. I have felt quite comfortable with a snub and no reloads and have also felt quite undergunned with a rifle, pistol, and full combat load. practice practice practice and you will feel better about it, then do not worry about it too much.

ktd

 

[BluesBear]

TarpleyG,

Hold the strip between the pad of the thumb and the big knuckle of the forefinger.

Insert the first two rounds. Slide your thumb down to apply proper pressure to fully seat cartridges into the cylinder.

Peel strip away firmly and smoothly at a 90º angle. (The one round is a little too far out of the cylinder for illustration only.)

For five shot revolvers you'll have one round left over.

With practice you can open the cylinder, dump your empties, reload from the strip and close the cylinder almost as fast as with a speed-loader.
Lady45 just did it in 6 seconds and I just did it in 4½.

 

[Glock19Fan]

Thanks BluesBear!

How well do they stay in there? Would the cartridges come out if they were roughed up in a pocket?

Also, how do you like the 85? Have you had any problems with it?

Thanks again!

 

[BluesBear]

I carried back up/off duty ammo in Speed-Strips for about 10 years and never lost a round.

That's a Taurus Model 651, shrouded hammer .357 Magnum that my sister-in-law gave Lady45 for a belated Christmas gift. The sister-in-law has a Model 85 that my brother bought so long ago I really can't remember. It has always been flawless.

So far we've got about 500 rounds through it and it's got the nicest out of the box trigger pull I have ever seen on a snub. It's extremely accurate and since it's all steel it's very shootable with magnum loads.
But when you pop off a Silvertip, Armscor SP or a Hornady XTP, other shooters at the indoor range tend to walk over and ask what you're shooting.

I'm going to do an in-depth range report as soon as we get to 1000 rounds.

 

[shep854]

BluesBear, nice job!

 

[Bart Noir]

Photo credits where due!

Those hands belong to Lady45! I know that 'cause BluesBear would never have such a pretty colored shirt.

And nice illustrations, you saved this forum several thousand words. But isn't the model number 851? I am always behind on the Taurus model numbers.

I hold the strip the same way, but start feeding the rounds that are closest to the little tab, in other words, from right to left. You show it from left to right and I will practice both ways to see which is faster.

Bart Noir

 

[Bart Noir]

The speed strips work just fine with the Detective Special / Police Positive Special revolvers.

Bart Noir

 

[BluesBear]

The Taurus 851 is a .38 Special.
The Taurus 651 is a .357 magnum.
Lady45 is holding a Taurus 651.

I really should have color-corrected those pics. The dummy rounds are bright orange, not yellow. We just snapped those pics on the spur of the moment for this thread in reply to TarpleyG's request.

Speed strips work well with ANY .38 or .357 revolver. But on the larger cylinders you can only load one chamber at a time holding the strip perpendicular to the cylinder. In fact the original instructions that came with speed strips in 1969 only showed and instructed single chamber loading.

I think this was a throwback to the original Bianchi Speed Strips introduced a few years earlier (¿1966/67?) that were made of metal and were a totally different design.

I have tried starting at the tab end but during fast reloads I have lost rounds that way. The remaining rounds are being pressed against the cylinder when you pull the strip away.
I have never lost a round by starting at the other end that way you are pulling the remaining rounds away from the cylinder.
And it's just faster/easier for me.

They're great for tactical reloads.
But the real secret to using speed strips is practice.

 

[ktd]

I did not think about it, but I shoot left handed and it is a bit easier to use a speedstrip left handed, just like speedloaders. Insert your right thumb through the frame to pop the cylinder and keep it there, holding the cylinder with your other fingers wrapped around the front of the frame, and use the left hand to load the rounds. Even when shooting right handed I palm the revolver in my right hand and load with the left, it works smoother for a lot of people.

k