mrchuck
Member
This Winter, I have been carrying my Smith&Wesson Model 60 stainless 357 Magnum. Yes,,,a hand cannon.
I like the 3 feet of fire it blows out the barrel.
I like the 3 feet of fire it blows out the barrel.
So, if you're carrying a 5-shot J-frame . . .
- Thread starter Muss Muggins
- Start date
I load 5 leaving more space on the strips for my big clumsy thumb and fingers. Some of the others here have some interesting
alternatives to consider.
Fastbolt
Member
I've spent a fair number of years practicing with Bianchi Speed Strips. (Some of my older ones had to be replaced because they'd become brittle and were breaking apart in my pockets. 
)
Anyway, when I carry them for my 5-shot revolvers, I carry 5 rounds in them.
Sure, it might be handy to have that 6th extra round someday, somewhere, somehow ... but then I'd have to practice either retaining the strip after using it, or going back to pick it up where I'd dropped it after loading the snub with 5 fresh rounds. Neither practice is something I care to add to my training manipulations.
I dropped speedloaders after using them to recharge revolvers, and dropping speedstrips seems a quick way to free my hand to close the cylinder and get the gun back into operating mode.
Oddly enough, I came across a video of Mas demonstrating the same technique I use. Go figure. We both came up carrying revolvers and trying different loading tools and methods over those revolver years, so it's not surprising we apparently discovered the easiest & fastest way ... for us ... to get the small 5-shot guns recharged and ready. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAXlT3ZLzs[/ame]
)Anyway, when I carry them for my 5-shot revolvers, I carry 5 rounds in them.
Sure, it might be handy to have that 6th extra round someday, somewhere, somehow ... but then I'd have to practice either retaining the strip after using it, or going back to pick it up where I'd dropped it after loading the snub with 5 fresh rounds. Neither practice is something I care to add to my training manipulations.
I dropped speedloaders after using them to recharge revolvers, and dropping speedstrips seems a quick way to free my hand to close the cylinder and get the gun back into operating mode.
Oddly enough, I came across a video of Mas demonstrating the same technique I use. Go figure. We both came up carrying revolvers and trying different loading tools and methods over those revolver years, so it's not surprising we apparently discovered the easiest & fastest way ... for us ... to get the small 5-shot guns recharged and ready. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAXlT3ZLzs[/ame]
Fastbolt
Member
FWIW, I did try the 2X2 method some years ago, but quickly decided I was unwilling to give up a round, meaning having a "dead" charge hole in a freshly recharged snub.
Back when we used to run service revolvers we had a part of the qual course-of-fire where we had to run to the 15yd line from 25yds, shoot 6 rounds, then reload with 4 rounds (either loose or a partially loaded speedloader, of whatever we preferred) and finish for a total of 10 rounds fired. (Don't ask, it was just the way it was, and I wasn't part of the FTU back then
).
Anyway, however you decided to load 4 rounds into a 6 round cylinder, and then fire those last 4 rounds for score, on the clock, you either closed the cylinder so the "first" live round came up under the hammer (and we had folks carrying Pythons and various S&W revolvers), or you started pulling the trigger hoping to get off all 4 live rounds, in time, while encountering those 2 dead charge holes in whatever order occurred due to sequence when the cylinder was closed.
I preferred to see the live rounds and close the cylinder so they came up with the first 4 trigger presses.
In an actual situation, I'd not wish to have that "dead" charge hole come up under my J-frame's hammer when I desperately needed a live round firing.
To me, having that 5th round (versus the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th trigger press "finding" that hole where the missing 5th was supposed to live??) is worth the continued effort needed to effectively manipulate the 5-rd speedstrip ... and drop the empty speedstrip, closing the cylinder and getting the gun recharged.
Everybody's got to figure out their own abilities and limitations, though, and hope any shortcomings or shortcuts don't cost them in the wrong circumstances.
Have a reason for what you decided to do, and make it a good one.
Back when we used to run service revolvers we had a part of the qual course-of-fire where we had to run to the 15yd line from 25yds, shoot 6 rounds, then reload with 4 rounds (either loose or a partially loaded speedloader, of whatever we preferred) and finish for a total of 10 rounds fired. (Don't ask, it was just the way it was, and I wasn't part of the FTU back then
).Anyway, however you decided to load 4 rounds into a 6 round cylinder, and then fire those last 4 rounds for score, on the clock, you either closed the cylinder so the "first" live round came up under the hammer (and we had folks carrying Pythons and various S&W revolvers), or you started pulling the trigger hoping to get off all 4 live rounds, in time, while encountering those 2 dead charge holes in whatever order occurred due to sequence when the cylinder was closed.
I preferred to see the live rounds and close the cylinder so they came up with the first 4 trigger presses.
In an actual situation, I'd not wish to have that "dead" charge hole come up under my J-frame's hammer when I desperately needed a live round firing.
To me, having that 5th round (versus the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th trigger press "finding" that hole where the missing 5th was supposed to live??) is worth the continued effort needed to effectively manipulate the 5-rd speedstrip ... and drop the empty speedstrip, closing the cylinder and getting the gun recharged.
Everybody's got to figure out their own abilities and limitations, though, and hope any shortcomings or shortcuts don't cost them in the wrong circumstances.
Have a reason for what you decided to do, and make it a good one.
njr
Member
The Snubby Revolver: The ECQ, Backup, and Concealed Carry Standard [ame]https://www.amazon.com/dp/1581605714/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_G8.Dyb9X7VW8F[/ame]
Description
About the Author
Ed Lovette is a retired CIA paramilitary operations officer. He was also a captain in the U.S. Army Special Forces and is a 10-year law enforcement veteran. He has a long association with Combat Handguns magazine, for which he currently writes the Last Shots column.
Product Description
In this book, former CIA operative and Combat Handguns columnist Ed Lovette pays homage to the short-barreled revolver, or snubby, holding it up as the timeless standard in concealed carry, backup and extreme close quarters (ECQ) defensive weapons. He addresses the four most common complaints about the snubby - grip, front sight, trigger and ammo capacity - and presents viable ways to remedy those issues based on his personal experience. Lovette devotes the second half of the book to defensive tactics, running the gamut from basic personal defense to strategic planning for extraordinary situations such as surveillance and carjackings to considerations specific to the use of the pocket revolver. This book is a must for anyone seeking objective, practical insight into the snub-nose revolver's enduring value.
Amazon Verified Purchase
Good explanation as to why the revolver with the 2 inch or less barell can be effectively used for home/self defense. Gun makers are pushing for semi autos with large capacity magazines to the public. This author makes it clear that if you take the time to practice with this gun, 5-6 shots will be all you really need. If you are still apprehensive then just buy two snubbies! Police use the snubby as a backup because it will save a life. If it is good enough for police, then it's good enuf for you.
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Description
About the Author
Ed Lovette is a retired CIA paramilitary operations officer. He was also a captain in the U.S. Army Special Forces and is a 10-year law enforcement veteran. He has a long association with Combat Handguns magazine, for which he currently writes the Last Shots column.
Product Description
In this book, former CIA operative and Combat Handguns columnist Ed Lovette pays homage to the short-barreled revolver, or snubby, holding it up as the timeless standard in concealed carry, backup and extreme close quarters (ECQ) defensive weapons. He addresses the four most common complaints about the snubby - grip, front sight, trigger and ammo capacity - and presents viable ways to remedy those issues based on his personal experience. Lovette devotes the second half of the book to defensive tactics, running the gamut from basic personal defense to strategic planning for extraordinary situations such as surveillance and carjackings to considerations specific to the use of the pocket revolver. This book is a must for anyone seeking objective, practical insight into the snub-nose revolver's enduring value.
Amazon Verified Purchase
Good explanation as to why the revolver with the 2 inch or less barell can be effectively used for home/self defense. Gun makers are pushing for semi autos with large capacity magazines to the public. This author makes it clear that if you take the time to practice with this gun, 5-6 shots will be all you really need. If you are still apprehensive then just buy two snubbies! Police use the snubby as a backup because it will save a life. If it is good enough for police, then it's good enuf for you.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Last edited:
njr
Member
Shooting to Live With the One Hand Gun [ame]https://www.amazon.com/dp/1581606788/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_EaaEybD7GX0FS[/ame]
One of the most influential combat shooting books ever published, Shooting to Live is the product of Capt. W.E. Fairbairn's and Capt. E.A. Sykes' practical experience with the handgun from their many close-quarters gunfights while working for the Shanghai Municipal Police in the 1930s. This expanded edition contains a new foreword by British World War II combatives expert Phil Mathews, which sheds new light on the career of E.A. Sykes - the "forgotten hero" of the Fairbairn-Sykes duo - as well as previously unpublished photos.
Hundreds of actual incidents provided the basis for this first true instruction manual on life-or-death shootouts with the pistol. In clear, concise terms, the book teaches the concepts, considerations and applications of combat pistolcraft. A foreword by Col. Rex Applegate explains how Fairbairn and Sykes introduced their groundbreaking methods into American military training circles at the height of World War II.
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One of the most influential combat shooting books ever published, Shooting to Live is the product of Capt. W.E. Fairbairn's and Capt. E.A. Sykes' practical experience with the handgun from their many close-quarters gunfights while working for the Shanghai Municipal Police in the 1930s. This expanded edition contains a new foreword by British World War II combatives expert Phil Mathews, which sheds new light on the career of E.A. Sykes - the "forgotten hero" of the Fairbairn-Sykes duo - as well as previously unpublished photos.
Hundreds of actual incidents provided the basis for this first true instruction manual on life-or-death shootouts with the pistol. In clear, concise terms, the book teaches the concepts, considerations and applications of combat pistolcraft. A foreword by Col. Rex Applegate explains how Fairbairn and Sykes introduced their groundbreaking methods into American military training circles at the height of World War II.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
njr
Member
As Ed Lovette points out 80% of the snubby is accuracy, 20% is reload. As Sykes points out most of combat accuracy is point shooting within 12 feet. Four positions in their system depending on distance.
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99savage308
Member
I have something maybe better you be the judge. it is a grip panels made by: Ares named Redi-Load grips they hold 4 extra rounds in the grip panels.
Neither is optimal, I'm not sure you want to draw down and hear a click, unless you're training to just repeatedly pull the trigger (and yes, we trained to shoot until the threat was stopped, but generally we didn't just empty the gun.) That might be a sticking point in court. I guess it's a personal decision. I'm just saying reloading a partial cylinder and then trying to guess when your gun is going to fire doesn't seem like the answer. Like I said the "what if" game will always lead to semi autos with effective cartridges and multi round magazines.
Targets Guy
US Veteran
Like has been stated you can never have too much ammo.
What an astounding....
What an astounding array of possibilities. And I just thought they were speed strips.
What an astounding array of possibilities. And I just thought they were speed strips.
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Great point. FWIW, I'm in the "carry 5" category. Mostly because I don't want an empty weapon after having to use it.
I was just putting myself in the "carry 4" camp's shoes.
OP
Great discussion here. I guess my original question should have been "How many rounds do you carry in a speed strip?" as opposed to my "five or six?" question.
Last edited:
Geronimo Jim
Member
I carry the 8 round speed strips. Loads easy and have extra ammo.
Carry them in each of my back pockets and works great. 5 in the gun
and 16 extra rounds that load much easier than the 5 strips.
Carry them in each of my back pockets and works great. 5 in the gun
and 16 extra rounds that load much easier than the 5 strips.
njr
Member
Yeah my impression is that Lovette doubled the percentage of times needed for reload so that you would get plenty of practice
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njr
Member
Again the problem is is ergonomic combatives. Proportionally it's much much faster to load two load two close cylinder fire then it is to load two load two hunt for last hole close cylinder fire. Especially under life and death stress.
I like carrying 6 44s but as another poster mentioned it more Awkward to manage the last two put it back in the pouch close pouch then fire. Good if you have time though.
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Telecaster
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Fixed your post
I load 6 in an 8 hole strip. two, space, two, space, two.
