Speed Strips or Speedloaders for Daily Carry?

I like carrying my Model 66. I would feel more comfortable with a reload or two.
What are the pros and cons of Speed Strips and Speed loaders?
Where can I find a leather pouch for each that matches my brown leather Bianchi holster?

ETA: Will a HKS 10-A clear the rubber grips that came on my revolver? (66-4 I believe the grips are Uncle Mike's.)

Thanks!

Speedstrips are slow but fit in your pocket easily.

Some speedloaders (Comp III, Jetloaders) are fast, but quite bulky and can release ammo easily.

Other speedloaders (HKS) won't release as easily and are slow, but faster than speedstrips, and bulkier, but not as bulky as fast speedloaders.

I don't even carry a reload. I'm all about ease of concealment, and no speed___ is particularly appealing for all the negatives above. So I don't bother. I do have speedstrips in the glove compartment, fwtw.

In my police career we began with dump pouches, then speed strips came along and that was considered a major step forward but I didn't think they were that much faster than dump pouches. Then speed loaders came along and the revolver world changed forever.
Speed strips are easier to conceal but speed loaders are so much faster.

Jetloaders are smaller than Comp III, and not much larger than HKS. Whether they fit at all depends on your pockets. Even the jacket of a suit will often take a Jetloader.

I carry a 442 owb on my right side and two speedstrips in my left front pocket. I've been thinking of a design for a custom leather speedloader pouch.
Speedloaders are faster but speedstrips are easier to carry.

FWIW....

When I went through the police academy we had to be able to use dump pouches and do a combat reload in darkness. A great skill to learn.

However, many years later we went to Safari speedloaders. I actually prefer the HKS.

I have used dump pouches, speed strips, and HKS and Safariland Speedloaders. When I carried a revolver in uniform I prefer HKS Speedloaders. When in plain clothes I prefer Bianchi Speed Strips for their concealability. Now a days I carry different guns based on personal preference at the time (when not on the job as a police officer) but I still use the Speed Strips when I carry a revolver. Right now my 2 main revolvers of choice are a 3" S&W 65-3 and a 4" Colt Python.

My wife and I carry HKS speed loaders for our .357 magnums and my .44 magnums. I carry 5-STAR speed loaders for my S&W460XVR. We use A.E. Nelson #61 speed loader carriers for all of our speed loaders. They print much less if you wear them upside down and it makes reloading faster.

5 Star Firearms | Speed Loaders | Range Blocks | Leather Pouches | 100% American Made
A. E. Nelson Leather Co.

When I carry my 3" 66 I carry a Safariland Comp II infront of the holster in a Safariland CD-2 Spring Steel Carrier. I have also started carrying the second one weak side behind my Cell Phone carrier.

I carry in the same manner for several other revolvers I rotate through.

In the Warm Weather months (Snake Season) I will carry a Speed Strip with some shotshells in my pocket also.

I shoot numerous revolvers in our Club Defensive Pistol Matches. I have reloaded with Quick Strips, HKS Speed Loaders Safariland Comp I, II, and III Speed Loaders, Moon Clips, and Jet Loaders.

I guess you need to ask yourself, How serious am I about being able to reload Fast?

Slow to Fast:
Loose Rounds/Dump Pouch
Speed Strip/Quick Strips
HKS Speed Loaders
Safariland Comp I & II Speed Loaders
Safariland Comp III Speed Loaders & Jet Loaders

If you are pocket carrying in a jacket pocket a Comp III or Jet Loader is not a big deal to carry.

You can also belt carry a Comp III or Jet Loader. The biggest issue is what carrier to use. Most competition carriers are a little on the large and blocky side.
You can carry a Safariland Comp III ok using a Safariland 333 Carrier cut apart into 3 single carriers on a band saw. I make the Big Creek kydex carriers for the Comp III's as well as the Jet Loaders, and they also fit tight enough to the body to work ok for concealed carry.

My recomendation for belt carry would be a Comp II in a CD-2 Carrier,
or a Comp III in a cut apart 333 or Big Creek Carrier, or a Jet Loader in a Big Creek Carrier.

For coat pocket carry any of the 3 will work fine.

I reload a lot with speed loaders shooting matches. You are going to reload much faster with a speed loader on the belt held vertical. I swap the revolver to my Left Hand during a reload and grab the speed loader with my right hand. Infront of the holster is the handiest/fastest location to carry a reload.
Next the Comp III and Jet Loader having an extended handle are more positive to get a grip on, as well as more posative to position the ammunition in the revolver chambers with. And the last consideration, the Comp III and Jet Loaders are spring driven for the fastest possible reload speed.

The question is how important to you is your reloading speed? If the answer is Very Important I would go with a Jet Loader or Comp III.

If Fairly Important a Comp II in a CD-2 carrier will probably work for you.

Your cover garment is another consideration. I am retired so I can dress a little more casual than some. I wear a light weight Deluth workmans vest a great deal of the time. I also wear fishing shirts, and I even have some store bought concealed carry shirts.

If you are carrying a 66 you can probably get by belt carrying a speed loader or two.

Quick Strips:
You can also do a fairly quick reload with them with practice.
Go with Tuff Products brand.
I recommend getting the quick strips with a capacity of atleast 1 round over what your revolver holds. Why?? A little more length gives you something to get ahold of. I have a Blue Jean Jacket that is custom set up for concealed carry. I have 2 Quick Strip pockets sewn in to the inside. The Tabs stick out the top of the pockets. I have 2 each 6 round Quick Strips in the pockets loaded with 5 rounds. With a Quick Strip you put 2 rounds in the chambers at one time and Rip Up and Forward. Drop in 2 more, etc till reloaded. You also have to rotate the cylinder to keep the empty chambers where you need them. I do this with the rounds as I am loading and stop the cylinder with my finger. A reload with a Quick Strip will probably take around 8 seconds IF you have the quick strip where you can access it quickly, and IF it is oriented correctly when you get ahold of it to start the reload. Everything that is not just like you need it, is adding time to the reload.

A very good Quick Strip Reload should take around 6 - 8 seconds.
A reload with an HKS or Comp I or II should be around 4 seconds from an open top vertical belt carrier.
A reload with a Comp III or Jet Loader should be under 3 seconds from an open top vertical belt carrier.

Unless you are shooting in competition most reading this will never NEED to do an 8 second reload, let alone a 3 second one. However if you are ever in a situation where you do need to make a Tactical Reload the 5 seconds difference between loading methods is a very long time.

I normally carry the Safariland Comp II's with CD-2 Carriers because they are a good compromise between size and speed. I have 6 on my dresser at the moment.
Two are L Frame Comp II's with 357 Speer Short Barrel. They have a Green Dot on the top for identification.
Two are K Frame Comp II's again with Speer 357 short barrel for my 66 snub. They have a Yellow Dot on the top.
Two are K Frame Comp II's with Speer 135 Short barrel 38+P, for my 315 NG, 2" M10, 2" M15, and 4" M64. They are Plain with no dots.

I also have 10mm Moon Clips in Shoot a Moon spring steel carriers for my 310NG and 610.
I also have 38+P 135 Short barrel in 5 shot Moon Clips for my 442 Pro Moon Clip. They are carried in 5 shot J Frame Shoot A Moon spring steel carriers.

I also have lots of 38/357 Quick Strips, and an old Brown Bianchi Dump Pouch I have owned for almost 40 years. I am likely to carry this when I am out running around on the farm, and just need spare ammunition with me.

I use all reloading methods enough I have confidence I can make a reload no matter what I may be carrying. I also live just down the road from Mayberry, and the chances of me being in a gunfight now that I am retired is very low. BUT not low enough that I do not carry a reload or two with me.

Bob

Put three filled speed loaders in one pocket, and three filled speed strips in the other. Now you're able to objectively decide. Then it's time to practice with loading and reloading until you become proficient.

A second gun, known as a "New York Reload" is the fastest reload known to man. When working at the local gun shop I carry my usual J frame but back it up with a polymer frame .380. I also carry one Speed Strip and one spare magazine. Hornady FTX Critical Defense ammo is my choice load.

Whichever you decide on practice, practice, practice.

I recently attended a snub workshop with M. de Bethancourt, who specializes in snub training.

What I learned in eight hours of working hard and practicing, was that I personally prefer speed strips, with one caveat:

When performing a reload, what is your intention?
If getting back into the fight as quickly as possible is the intention.....
I learned that, a speed strip carrying only 4 rounds is perfect for me. It is easier to manipulate, and gets one back into the fight much quicker (as opposed to loading all cylinder charge holes).

during my training, we would fire 5 or 6 shots (depending on weapon being used) and then proceed to reload using the unique method being taught by Mr Bethancourt (revolver stays in dominant/firing hand).
We would then dump two rounds only into the cylinder, and bam! Back in the fight. (we worked on subconsciously indexing the cylinder, so that the rounds loaded were first up in the firing rotation, among many many other details)

Of course, we also trained with multiple types of speedloaders and loose rounds. The main theme of his training was to keep you alive during actual threat to your life.

If anyone here would like some real world snub training, look up snubtraining.com or Northeast Tactical Schools, or simply go to Youtube and look for Michael de Bethancourt.
Here is a quick video that shows some very basic beginnings of what this gentleman teaches:
http://youtu.be/sjRTdXvjBmE

Speedloaders work in the winter b/c I'm wearing a jacket. During the warm months the strip works carried in the small [watch] pocket in my jeans.

Once you practice a lot and realize that no matter how much practice speed strips are really "slow strips", speedloaders are bulky, and the faster ones bulkier and and less secure, you'll come to the conclusion that the revolver is either for backup, or carried as a multiuse gun (for hiking, hunting, etc.), but not an ideal combat handgun if more than 5-6 shots are a remote posibility.

Re: Speed strips

Tip from gun trainer Grant Cunningham:

Carry 4 rounds in strip.

Start at tab end, insert 2, skip space, insert 2 more. This
provides tabs at each end and one in center for grabbing
strip while under stress and guiding/pushing rounds into chambers.

And, I believe, gun trainer Mas Ayoob suggests 5 rounds, thus leaving a second tab at either end.

Time yourself while making the reload. A few seconds would be a lifetime in combat

Also, as you increase velocity fumble factor increases exponentially with a revolver reload.

I love revolvers, and I've practiced a lot with them. Just saying my experiences, not trying to derail the topic.

Loaders!!

The fastest speedloader with the smallest relative physical profile is the Safariland Comp I - in my experience and opinion. Speedstrips definitely conceal better but reload slower. I carry one Comp I and two Speedstrips in my right rear pocket. That's one fast reload and two somewhat slower reloads.

I may be one of a few who, during my LEO days, has used speedloaders under fire and can attest to the fact that I was back up on target quickly and able to come out as the "winner." This was long before the days of the modern semi auto for LEOs.