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I'm a big revolver fan in that I like to shoot them and I think they are some of the best woods guns for me.

I've never carried one as an EDC though and when I had a GP100 for the woods I carried speed loaders.

The other thread about strips got me thinking what was the up and down side of both is, as I have no experience with strips and very little with loaders.


This is obviously just an opinion thread so thread drift is fine as long as it's not hostile please.
 
I started out with HK "speed loaders"
Terrible. Clunky and not too smooth, lots of room for loading error. At least in my experience.

I want to try the push button Safariland speed loaders though. Those seem like a decent option.

As of right now, the easiest to carry and load are the bianchi speed strips.
I actually like them more as they are carry friendly, lay flat and can be tossed in a pocket or in a pouch. The speed loaders are a but clunkier.
 
As of right now, the easiest to carry and load are the bianchi speed strips

Definitely Agree. I carry my .38 snubbie about 75 percent of the time because I feel it conceals better under a sports jacket ever since I switched over to wood grips, but that was being offset by the chunky speed loaders. Strips fit nicely into a pocket.
 
I also will regularly carry a 5-shot .38 special snubbie. I am partial to Bianchi Speed Strips because that's what works for me. I typically carry two of them with only 5 of the 6 slots with ammo in them, keeping the last slot empty, closest to the hold tab. This allows you more real estate to grab onto in a stressful situation. This is a technique I learned from reading Massad Ayoob. Here is some useful info on the topic, as well as a vid of the man himself demonstrating the "stressfire" reload with speed loaders.

Revolver Reloads

 
Safariland and a snap carrier that goes around the loader with the loader straddling the belt.
Even a dump pouch w loose rounds works good.. just slow.
 
I started out with HK "speed loaders"
Terrible. Clunky and not too smooth, lots of room for loading error. At least in my experience.

I want to try the push button Safariland speed loaders though. Those seem like a decent option.

As of right now, the easiest to carry and load are the bianchi speed strips.
I actually like them more as they are carry friendly, lay flat and can be tossed in a pocket or in a pouch. The speed loaders are a but clunkier.

This mirrors my experience as well.
 
I bought a coiple of speed loaders and gotb.c a few with revolvers I had bought used.they are way to bulky to comfotably carry for me.
I gave them away and only carry speed strips, i pocket carry a S&W 642 Airweight.
If I open cary I will take a 357mag or a 44, I have speed strips for both.
I bought a leather speed strip pouch and didn't like it so I had some thin canvas pouches made up which are more practical.

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They keep the pocket litter out of your hollow points if you use them.
The bullet tips are not getting banged up by your change, keys or anything else carried in your pocket with your speed strip.
When you pull change out at the store and your speed strip comes out with the change, nobody knows what is in the pouch.

I use to use a Ruger 10/22 for squirrel hunting and got rid of it because of the square magazine.
It was to bulky when carried in my pocket when going from one set of woods to the next.
 
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I use both. Speed strips are better for comfortable pocket carry, speed loaders are way faster if you get the correct type. I don't do the plastic jobbers. My favorite way to carry spare ammo for my revolvers is moon clips. I have a 642 pro that is cut for them as well as a 627pc. I split them over a belt and they (the five shot clips for the 642) are lower profile than a belt buckle. Just made a couple elastic strips with snaps on them to hold them even though I am fairly certain they would have less chance of falling out than my revolver itself. If you are looking for a new revolver see if you can find one already cut for them, if not I would buy both and practice. The extra speed may not be worth the cost of ease of carry. But I always seem to wear cargo pants in the woods as I normally can't fit anything in normal jeans pockets, (giant bubblegum) and I can't get to anything in them very easily (gorilla hands).
Edited to add. "Giant bubblegum" actually seems more offensive than what I typed.
 
For all but one revolver, I go with speedloaders. I too have found the HKS speedloaders worthless. Safariland was better. The ones I really like and kind of standardized on is the Speed Beez. They cost a bit more, but are worth every penny, imho.

One revolver I use the strips instead is for a snubbie that I pack whilst hiking in which minimal weight and bulk is a plus. The wheelgun has five shots of .38 Special +P JHP, one strip has another five, the other strip has shot cartridges.

Works for me. YMMV. :)
 
I'm a big revolver fan in that I like to shoot them and I think they are some of the best woods guns for me.

I've never carried one as an EDC though and when I had a GP100 for the woods I carried speed loaders.

The other thread about strips got me thinking what was the up and down side of both is, as I have no experience with strips and very little with loaders.


This is obviously just an opinion thread so thread drift is fine as long as it's not hostile please.

I only have one revolver and I have two HKS ones for it. Works pretty well eject the spent shells and load a new set.
 
I think it depends on how a person has trained. Although I've used them, a speed loader is cumbersome to carry anywhere other than a duty belt. Speed strips are easier for me.

There is no wrong answer.
 
Check these out - hybrid speed strips that only require 2 motions to fully load. The strips start at around 3:20.
The 5-round speed strip load 3 then 2
The 6 round speed strip loads 4 then 2

 
Just boils down to what you like best, which for many of us older timers, might be whatever we used first for years/decades.

I'm pretty quick smooth with the old round HKS loaders. But I seldom use them, really, except to drill and stay proficient.

As my life seems decidedly un-tactical these days, those black rubber speed strips are far better just for carrying around flat in pockets, etc.
 
Safariland competition 2's & 3's (II & III) are the industry standard for speed, & price. It doesn't take long to acclimatize yourself to use these speedloaders, and practising with them can increase your proficiency to be as fast as autoloaders. Really.

Buy the Safariland loading block in "K" or "L" to simplify things.
Its a pity Safariland didnt make these comp II's & III's for S&W "N" revolvers, but don't disparage the HKS loaders. Again, with practise, they can be very fast......
 

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