Police Cartridge Loops/Slides?

[BSA1]

As a youngster I helped another Officer with removing a uncooperative drunk for a restaurant. After we drugged him out, handcuffed and in the car I noticed one of my dump boxes was opened spilling all six rounds on the floor of the restaurant.

I shortly thereafter brought a loop slide and later on speed loaders

 

[bronco45]

When I worked patrol as a Deputy Sheriff we had to put down a lot of animals that were hit and injured on the highway, such as elk, moose and deer. I carried a Model 29 4" with the Remington 240 FN lead round at 1K in velocity. I wore a 1 3/4" Ranger Belt by Bianchi and a Model 5 holster also by Bianchi. I carried a six loop slide in 44 and one speedloader for 44 N frame and two pair of Smith and Wesson cuffs. Black Basketweave with chrome buckle and hardware.

 

[JayFramer]

They loosen up with use. If they are loose in the beginning, they'll stretch out where ammo won't stay. Some pistoleros would also shave the bottom off each loop, at an angle, at the bottom to make retrieving the individual rounds easier.

That’s awesome! How might one go about that? A razor blade?

 

[BC38]

You don’t look old enough to shave, much less be a police officer.

No kidding. But then a lot of LEOs look like they are too young to drive these days - or at least they do to me.

 

[Buford57]

When I came on in 1978 I used dump pouches with speed strips inside. I was informed by old hands that loose rounds in the pouches could be a hazard in a bar fight. They were right. Most of them stayed with loops, but I never did. In 81 I moved to a department that required use of a pair of Safariland speed loaders. I never could get two at a time that worked reliably. Must have been a bad batch sent to the local police supply house. I used them for qualification but carried speed strips in my shirt pocket and HKS speed loaders in my jacket pockets.

In plainclothes I used a Bianchi belt pouch that held 6 rounds on a speed strip and usually another strip in my sport coat pocket.

Interestingly the course of fire for qualification changed with the reloading method. At the first department we fired 2, loaded 2 and fired 6, reloaded and fired 6 at the 7 yard line. The second outfit had us fire 2, reholster, draw and fire 4, reload and fire 6. I always considered topping off the cylinder to be a good skill to have and speed strips took up less space than loaders.

 

[Sistema1927]

Great thread, very informative.

 

[BE Mike]

That’s awesome! How might one go about that? A razor blade?

This might work pretty handily. I'd recommend something to protect the leather below the loops when the cuts are made downward. [ame]https://www.amazon.com/X-ACTO-2-Knife-Safety-Cap/dp/B000V1QV7O/ref=asc_df_B000V1QV7O/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167119535166&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4315774605850045173&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016466&hvtargid=pla-308484349331&psc=1[/ame]

 

[jcs266]

What a fun thread. I really enjoyed being reminded of the revolver days. Mine was a 4 inch 686 in a Bianchi hurricane holster with two HKS speed loaders. We worked the field with 18 rounds of ammo (38 Special +P 125gr Silvertips). lol

 

[usmc2427765]

In 1972, we started with belt loops. By 1974, I was using Date speed loaders and later changed to HKS.

 

[max503]

I recently snagged this Bauer Brothers pouch for $5 at a pawn shop. Looks unused. I've been using it for woods walking.

 

[weatherby]

5 bucks seems to be a popular price around here too.
Occasionally you do find other items too.

 

[bronco45]

Found one of those old double dump pouches, black basketweave, Bianchi with the plastic liners. Repurposed it with 357 Blazer 158 gr JHPs and it rides in my bugout bag as my bugout gun is a Ruger 357 MC

 

[AZretired]

We used these 12 round loop loaders in the NMSP from 1935 to until we began converting to semi-autos in '89. Conversion wasn't complete until the early '90s. Boneheaded management did not allow revolver speedloaders because they didn't like how they looked on the uniform belt. Not kidding.

Oh how well I remember the NMSP regs on 12 round loops and how we tried to get around them I carried a single speedloader behind my holster in a pouch I had altered to make it easy to take off without dissembling my Sam Browne. Below is me in 1980.

 

[Muley Gil]

Oh how well I remember the NMSP regs on 12 round loops and how we tried to get around them I carried a single speedloader behind my holster in a pouch I had altered to make it easy to take off without dissembling my Sam Browne. Below is me in 1980.

Was that your everyday uniform? Personally, I have never been a big fan of bow ties, especially with cop clothes. My deputy sheriff's uniform was a brown shirt with taupe/khaki epaulettes and pocket flaps, worn with a taupe/khaki neck tie in the winter and taupe/khaki trousers. My police uniform was a navy blue shirt, black neck tie in the winter and navy blue trousers with a royal blue stripe.

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
"Tackelberry"?????????????????? Me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The "Flying Donut" has it about right.[From a "County Mountie]
At the SO we supplied are own leather and gun until the guns became standard and issued.[around 1990ish] about the time autos started to get a foothold..
Except for a few places where the row of bullets made a fashion statement.

 

[Groo01]

Groo here
Some of our people used the drop pouch with one side of the top flap
cut away for a tab on the "speed strips".

 

[Jhp147]

Loops-we had drop boxes and a few speed loaders, only deputies still used loops in '79. In the early 80s, the Street Survival lessons included carrying a six-round loop carrier in addition to your speed loaders so you could do a partial reload. Most of us carried. .41 mags and nobody made .41 loops, so a local guy made us some. Looked great with the .41 mag WW nickel plated cases with Silvertips.
I still have the S&W brand Model B67 drop boxes purchased from the academy then. They have a metal liner. Best thing about drop boxes was when you could catch a guy who didn't have his rounds in speed strips (most didn't) with his hands full and reach down and pop open the flap-preferably right at the start of muster (roll call).

 

[charlie sherrill]

When I first started in 1969 I carried a model 10 in a swivel holster with six loops at the top plus I also carried a 12 loop slide and another six target rounds in a pocket for snakes or injured animals. One of my best friends had a 41 mag that I liked so I found one also. It was a 58 new old stock that had gathered dust sitting in a display counter for over five years because they weren't that popular then. I bought it for what the shop owner had in it because he was tired of looking at it. I had the same problem with a belt loop for a 41 but did find one for a 44. I soaked it in water and let it dry in the sun. Ammo fit perfect. I got a model 19 a few years later and tried the drop boxes. I dropped more than I could load so I stayed with the loops. As mentioned above we trained loading two at a time and with some practice I got to where I could load them faster than the drop box. I still load revolvers like this for old times sake. I always carried extra ammo in different pockets so I always had a least 30 rounds on me. Later we were issued 66's and later 686's, both with speed loaders. It was all bottom feeders after that.

 

[mscampbell2734]

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away a company in California named Tex Shoemaker, went out of business 2 years ago, made some outstanding quality leather gear, favored by LAPD and LASD people who really really relied on their gear when the chips were down.

One of the most interesting things they made was a quad speed loader pouch. Two up and two down. Depending on how tall you were it was either great or dug into the top of your thigh when you sat down.

 

[mdf9183]

I joined PD in 1969 and we were issued dump pouches but a lot of the plain clothes investigators wore belt loops.