S&W 686 Good Speedloader

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mrbladedude

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Hey guys. So recently I purchased my very first revolver. A S&W 686 6 shot with a 4 inch barrel. I am very pleased with this revolver. It shoots extremely well. I would like to get a speedloader for it.

I will not be carrying this gun concealed at all. I have a Glock 19 for that. It mainly is a home defense gun and a range/recreational firearm with maybe woods carry occasionally. So the size of the speedloader essentially does not matter.

I have been looking into the Safariland speedloaders. Are these good choices? They have 3 option. The i, ii, iii. Which one do you think will suit my needs?

Also what do they normally cost?

Thanks
 
First off, welcome to the forums.

I use HKS speedloaders with my own 686, but have had nothing but positive experiences with the Safariland COMP-1 and COMP-2. If it helps you to make your decision, I can tell you from personal experience that the HKS is easier to load but holds the rounds more loosely by design. It's not difficult or impossible by any means to load the Safariland, but it does have to be done a little more carefully to avoid having rounds drop out of it.

The HKS design releases the rounds with a twist of the knob, so you'll have to keep the cylinder from turning during a reload. By contrast, with a Safariland you simply align the rounds with the chambers, push them "home" and they're simultaneously released with a "click."

In my opinion, I think you can't go wrong with either the COMP-2 or the HKS. The rest just boils down to personal preference. Other than that, the only caveat I would watch out for is that certain ammunition works better with speedloaders than others. I had to stop using my preferred round in my Chief's Special for a time because Remington was loading them to a longer than normal OAL.
 
for competition you want the three of the comp 3 safariland
you should also get the loading block and the belt holder that holds three comp 3's
I believe all of these are in the Dillon catalog.
The comp 3's are spring loaded and easy to use with only your support hand.
You can keep your strong hand on the gun during the reload and save some time.
there is also a nice holster that has the front cut out and holds the gun at the proper angle.
you will also need a proper belt with Velcro on the inside to hold everything in place.
I shot PPC for a few years and this setup works
 
Welcome to the forum.

I would recommend HKS over Safariland for home protection. Safariland makes a great product but if you drop the speed loader the bullets will pop out not what you want when you are under stress.
 
luis said:
Safariland makes a great product but if you drop the speed loader the bullets will pop out not what you want when you are under stress.
Click to expand...

Speaking from personal experience, this is true only if the rounds aren't correctly seated in the holder when you lock the spring-loaded knob into place which results in one or more cartridge rims not sitting underneath the "star." I learned that the hard way and haven't made that mistake since. I concede that the extra attention required to load them can be a dealbreaker for some people, but I'd trust my life to a properly loaded COMP speedloader just as much as I would an HKS.
 
I use the Safarilands exclusively if they're available for the particular revolver. Comp IIs probably the most practical of the three choices, but they're all good. The Comp IIIs are fastest, but they handle enough differently from the IIs during loading that it's best to pick one style and stay with it. As far as charging them with rounds- Is are the most difficult and IIIs the easiest. Once you've loaded them a few hundred times (less for you dexterous types) you can do any of them without even looking.
 
I bought a like new leather HKS double speedloader pouch off ebay for about $12 to use with HKS speedloaders for my 686. Somehow leather seems more right to me than nylon or plastic.
 
I use both Safariland & HKS, but prefer the HKS for my 686's & 586's.
586L-Frame

DLC’s S&W 686 L-Frame – Polished.
DSC00679-DLCs686L-Frame.jpg


x
 
mrbladedude said:
Hey guys. So recently I purchased my very first revolver. A S&W 686 6 shot with a 4 inch barrel. I am very pleased with this revolver. It shoots extremely well. I would like to get a speedloader for it.

I will not be carrying this gun concealed at all. I have a Glock 19 for that. It mainly is a home defense gun and a range/recreational firearm with maybe woods carry occasionally. So the size of the speedloader essentially does not matter.

I have been looking into the Safariland speedloaders. Are these good choices? They have 3 option. The i, ii, iii. Which one do you think will suit my needs?

Also what do they normally cost?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Safariland are good as are HKS. If you get Safariland, I prefer the Comp II for all around use, as they are easy to load and also easy to carry should you decide to do so. The Comp III is fine if you want a spring loaded feed of the cartridges into the chamber in addition to gravity. The Comp I is my least favorite as the relatively small knob on top is sort of difficult to turn to lock the cartridges in place.
 
Best Speedloaders

The S.L. Variant brand speedloaders, made in Germany, are considered one of, if not, the best, speedloader. There is no turning of a knob involved. Just push down. Very high quality product, made in Germany. Check out some You Tube videos on it. They are hard to get though, for some reason.
 
I bought the HKS but with the original grips on my 637 airweight, they will not work. the grips are too thick. Replaced them with wood J frame grips and they work fine, however , I put the original grips back on the 637 and with speed strips which also work fine and will fit any pocket. I also have HKS loaders for my 63 .22 . I say go with the HKS, and double pouch, either leather or nylon.
 
I like the HKS. They are reasonably fast, don't spit out cartridges when dropped and HKS makes them for just about every double action revolver I own and they all work the same way. I like the commonality.
 
I've been using the Safariland Comp II speedloaders for a K-frame model 66-2 and have no complaints. I've never dropped one, so I can't comment on that issue. You might also consider Bianchi speed strips. They are much easier to carry and are nearly as fast as speedloaders with minimal practice.
 
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