Even with the grip panels removed, there is nothing speedy about recharging the cylinder with a speed loader.

Is this common with Safariland loaders?...HK loaders any better?...is there a need to replace/modify the latch for use with speed loaders?

I'm a rookie with the M25. Suggestions appreciated.

Thanks,

salty

Sir, speed is relative: Reloading with a speedloader is faster than reloading one round at a time. It's not as simple as an auto--the revolver requires more movements and fine motor skills.

FWIW, I find Safariland speedloaders faster and simpler to use than HK-S models, but SL no longer makes them for .45 Colt. If you have any, guard them closely.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

when using LRN bullets, just get the bullets started in the charge holes and let them drop in from there.

I use HKS speedloaders marked 29 (for .44 Magnum) =less cartridge woble.

I use HKS speedloaders with my 25-13 and never had a problem. It takes practice, but speed will come. And like Ron H. said, its relative. Generally speaking reloading a revolver will always be quicker.

Just line up two of the rounds with their charge holes....the other four will drop right in....Speed strips are now available for 45LC too....got some about a month ago...easier to conceal in the pocket....

Where did you find those?
With christmas coming up I may have to tell the wife a need a few of those in my stocking!

As with speed loaders and most revolver cartridges, round nose bullets or hollowpoints with rounded ogives are faster and less fiddly than wadcutters, semiwadcutters or other bullets with sharp shoulders. One key is to make sure your bore is verticle when you reload so gravity helps pull the released cartridges down into the chambers. Seems simple enough but often overlooked when in a rush.

I have used several brands and styles of speedloaders but finally standardized on HKS because they work pretty well, are reliable and are made for pretty well every 5 and 6 shot S&W revolver I have or are likely to have.

The HKS #25-5 is for .45 Colts - and work fine with my 625MG's. The other model, the #25, has wide tine spacing for the thick rimmed .45 Auto Rims - .45 Colts in a #25 are pretty floppy. Don't expect the .45 ACP ball ammo in a moonclip type reloading speed - that's like a tractor beam. It beats other reloading methods, of course.

Stainz

https://www.tuffproducts.com/product...cat=265&page=1

Tuff Quick Strips available in:

38/357 5rd 6rd 7rd and 8rd!

.41/.44/.45 x 6rd

45 auto rim x 6rd

also available in shotgun sizes gauges rifle calibers etc

great products, great company! Now there's no reason to have loose rounds in your pack or pocket!

/c

I got mine from Simply Rugged when I bought the holster for my SP101. Here's the page on their website: Quick Strips? ? Simply Rugged Holsters

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Gotta love N-frames...

Howdy-
Have a S&W Mountain Gun in .45 LC, and I, too have found I could use the HKS speedloaders marked for a M- 29 .44 mag just fine. Have stopped doing so , though, as I have another 629 now, and don't want to accidentally pocket the right loader with the wrong ammo!
Just what I do.

I've used HK speedloader in a Ruger Redhawk chambered in 45 Colt with no issues. I typically am shooting 325gr LBT-LFN bullets and like a couple of others posts have mentioned, I just get them started and then drop them in.

I don't use them for speed per se, just convenience for reloading at the range.

I used the HK speedloader on a 5 shot 357 snubbie in the past but they weren't a good fit due to the size of the revolver. Seriously considered doing a moonclip conversion but opted for a larger frame revolver.

Resurrecting an old thread, the safariland 44 mag speedloader will work for 45 colt. If you check cartridge dimensions you will discover the base is slightly larger for a 44 mag at .514" vs .512" for the 45 colt. I have loaded and unloaded my 45 colt using a J-S5 (44 mag) with no problems. I will order three more to have on hand.

I have used HKS with success for some time for .45 Colt. In fact just for giggles I qualified with it about three months ago using the speed loaders. The newbies thought it was "quaint."

Make sure you have the right speedloader, for your
revolver.

With the Safariland, just line up bullets with charge holes,
press em in, and when you feel the loader stop, keep
pressing. As soon as you feel the loader "give way", drop
it and press the cylinder closed. Very quick process.

If you spend some time practicing, you'll reload faster
than someone with a semi-auto, who hasn't practiced
his reloads.

The HKS #25-5 is for .45 Long Colts but the grip shape matters a lot. I have four HKS #25-5 for .45 Long Colts. Always get an extra one... just to be safe.

Speed loaders should be considered as essential for revolvers as magazines are for autoloaders for those who carry revolvers as their primary street, and especially field carry weapon.

A lot of people look at using speed loaders for large cartridges as some sort of joke, when in fact, the larger the cartridge, the more you NEED to have the reload in a speed loader!

I have four quality speed loaders for my S&W M500 4 inch. They make loading much faster and more sure than handling the big shells the old fashioned way. With such large cartridges you can't just hold them all in your hand the way people often to with 38s and 357s, because they're just too big. So that means grabbing them two by two, then one to be sure - or, using a speed loader and plopping all five in at once!

What is even better are Moon clips. Back when the only revolvers that used Moon clips were considered odd ducks, like the M25 in 45 ACP, but now, more and more revolvers are coming from the factory set up for Moon clips and it makes sense, as they are even faster to employ and make the gun more reliable during the reload! With "clips" you drop the entire "bloc" of rounds in, bang away until empty, open the cylinder, muzzle up and the mass of all the shells connected by the Moon clip makes them usually drop free with little to no ejector deployment. Also, for those less skilled in the art of the wheel gun who often point the thing muzzle DOWN when preparing to eject empties, having all the shells connected prevents a botched ejection where the cases are lifted to the extent of the ejector, and one or more teeter out, then drop right back in, UNDER the ejector star! That's a death sentence on the street, and possibly in the field as well. Moon clips prevent it.

As I see it "speed strips" are last century tech and require precision manual dexterity right when the normal human fight or flight response is PREVENTING just such motor coordination.

Speed loaders are much better because they hold all the rounds in the proper circle to drop right in, but then require a twist, or a push to release - if it can be bobbled under stress, it HAS been, and will be again.

Moon clips are as good as it gets for revolvers. They are more compact that speed loaders, and require the least fine motor coordination of all - get the cylinder open and clear, then drop them in. Clearly ammo with a rounded nose profile is better.

While few people can perform a speed reload as fast and as sure as Jerry Miculek, the take-away is that EVERYONE can do a speed reload with Moon clips faster and better than they can with any other device, and LIGHT YEARS faster than single-loading.

To paraphrase the "great" gun philosopher Massad Ayoob who made famous the statement, "No matter how well you can shoot a 44 magnum, you will shoot a 9mm faster and better..." (not a true word for word quote, but close enough to use quotes in an informal post where we aren't listing peer reviewed resource material). "No matter how fast you can reload using any other method, you will ALWAYS do so faster and better with Moon clips!"

Even if your gun did not come with Moons, you can have the cylinder and ejector star machined by TK Customs (and I'm sure others) for a very reasonable cost. If my M25-15 was high on my list for field carry I'd have it done.

Attached Images

S&W500 4in LS.jpg (72.3 KB, 24 views)

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DING DING, winner.

Member Nyeti and some of his colleagues in their LE agency carried Smith .45 Colt revolvers for some period of time and used them to good effect in a very violent work environment.

The reality is that speed loaders are a great tool, but require a lot of practice to get to adequate proficiency. I'll admit I am not at the level I would demand of myself or others to carry a revolver for serious purposes. This is not all that amazing when considering that from my academy (1989, UIUC/PTI) on, the vast majority of my training has been with semi-auto pistols. (Before then, I carried a .41 Magnum and 3 speed loaders with Silvertips and/or the all lead SWC.)

The other reality is among the non-negotiable criteria for revolver grips when carrying it for serious purposes is that they must work with speed loaders. Many of the handsome wood grips that many members advocate are not appropriate for a serious use firearm. I came up at a time when the first thing most of us did was throw out the wood grips and replace them with something like Pachmayr grips, because wood grips and a serious caliber revolver were oxymoronic. Some can use wood grips for serious use ok; I can't. This of course will vary with your hand size, etc. The least important criterion for the selection of grips is appearance. It's kind of like LE uniforms - this is not a parade ground, it's a fight, and all selection criteria must reflect that.

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NHI, 10-8.

If you have a 44 and a 45 and use the same speed loaders pick one and paint the top of the knob on one ie orange equals 44 always.

What Ron H. said!

I believe Safariland also discontinued the old Comp 1s for the N frame 357. I had a bunch back when I owned a 28, but foolishly let them go when I foolishly let the gun go. Now I am the proud owner of a 27-2 and 1 HKS speedloader!