We talked a bit about this here but I think we can talk about it more here.
I still have not settled on which loaders for my SP-101 and now am going backwards in my decision process. At first I was sure I wanted speed loaders of some type (HKS or Safariland) but now I am thinking I like the idea of the Bianchi Speed Strips better.
Speed loaders will be faster, but will either bulge in the pocket or require a belt carrying pouch. Speed strips will be easier to carry, flat in the pocket; but the reload will be slower.
Now some people are arguing that speed loaders are better, and therefor a better choice. They are right, of course. But I’ll say when I carry my S&W642 like I was doing today, I carry speed strips…and that’s if I have room.
Today I simply didn’t have a spare pocket or pouch to put a reload. Hardly ideal, but let’s face it. I didn’t need to draw or discharge my weapon today, but I was loaded up for self defense.
We could of course Take JP totally to the Ninja Woodshed and say that he needs to go out and get an FNP 45 because it holds 15+1 of .45 ACP, and you can reload it VERY quickly by simply slamming a new 15 round magazine home. Maybe we could discuss the Glock 20 as its 15+1 of 10mm Auto which of course is a more powerful load.
Or maybe if JP is set on Revolvers a Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull, more powerful by far, and carries 6 instead of 5!
Of course all of the above a huge heavy guns. While I’ve seen all of the above concealed they are much more difficult to carry than the SP101. Again better to HAVE a gun than none, and better to have a reload than none.
Frankly when I’m carrying a revolver I don’t have much space for a speedloader, and I find that speed strips take up such little space carrying multiples is VERY easy, vs. maybe ONE HKS Speed Loader in the same pocket. I’d rather have a reload than no, and I’d rather have TWO reloads than one.
Still to grumble about the academics of reload time from Strips vs. a reload goes out the window the moment we’re talking about reloading a semi-auto.
The bottom line is carry your damn gun, and carry as much gun and reload as you can.
Be Safe!
I carry Speed Strips if I’m worried about printing, if not, I carry the HKS speed loaders. And I practice with BOTH at the range…
I’m all in agreement with you on this, Weer’d. I never fault someone for what they carry as long as they do. You can always argue bigger/better until you’re blue in the face, but what good does it do if you don’t like to carry it? I saw buy bunches of guns so you can have lots of options.
I may want to invest in strips. I usually carry 3 hks speedloaders in my pocket, and usually wind up with loose rounds by the end of the day from 1 or 2 of them.
That would be an interesting test.
JayG did a set of informal videos testing reload speeds, but to my knowledge has never mentioned round retention among the various styles of revolver speed loaders.
Ye Olde Skool Trick Mas Ayoob wrote about while you were in diapers. If you carry a 38/357 Wheelie, use a Coonan Magazine for Reloads if you don’t want to use Speedloaders. Lot easier to carry, and the bullets don’t catch on the pocket lining when you really need them (Murphy’s Law Rules!) Same idea for .45ACP Wheelies, just use a 1911 magazine. Empty the Cylinder, put the feed lips against the hole you want to fill, slid the round forward, Bob’s Your Uncle.
I heard the same thing about Desert Eagle magazines being the best “Speedloader” for a Ruger Super Blackhawk.
My favorite thing to carry is my FNP-45 with a pair of extra magazines, and I carry that way most days. What’s not to like about carrying 46 rounds of .45? I could spontaneously take up scuba diving and not need additional weights!
But there are days when I can’t carry that. Those days, I carry either an M&P9c or a 640. Generally with the revolver, I have a pair of HKS speed loaders. I like the idea of speed strips, but haven’t used them personally.
BTW you totally need to do a pictorial or V-Cast on that carry rig. You aren’t a big lady, and that gun is HUGE. I think it will help Women and slight people anywhere get some ideas on how to carry a bit more gun….or in your case a shit-ton more gun.
BTW what ammo do you carry? My go-to .45 Load is the 230 Gr. Federal HST +P load.
I’ve been meaning to do a pictorial on that for that very reason.
As far as ammo, whatever competent I can find for a reasonable price. It eats everything without complaint. Even the .40 that got mixed in during a class with Tom Givens. But that’s a story for another day.
I would love to see that. And I would love to see the brass of that .40!
I saved it just so I could take pictures and write it up!
And, of course, my holster is awesome. It’s sanded and polished stingray. Because I’m spoiled
Heh, I know who you’re married to! 🙂
I’m only carrying around my lil’ ol’ (actually not that old) LCR. With only ONE speedstrip. Every once in a while, I’ll be tooling around town and think to myself, “What if there’s some kind of robbery, with THREE armed individuals, maybe wearing body armor, and what if there’s actually SIX of them? What would I be able to do with a snubnose and nothing more than 10 rounds of ammo? Eek!” But then I realize that that’s pretty unlikely to happen, my LCR will be more than enough gun for 98% of what may happen, and I can wear it under a T-shirt 🙂
If you can carry more gun around every day and it doesn’t bother you, I envy you. Me? I guess I’m willing to compromise.
Actually the comment about diving without weights gives me a thought. How well COULD I swim if I fell in the water wearing my usual compliment of stuff? I’m tempted to try it out sometime, if I could find a place to do it safely. Of course, I’d want to replace my phone and car keys with an equal weight of non-electronics.
Something to think about if you live near bodies of water.
-Mark