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View Full Version : Reloads for a carry j-frame?



Nephrology
05-01-2013, 07:01 AM
With summer around the corner I forsee my j frame getting a lot of quality time with the inside of my waistband. However I have been carrying my reloads with speed strips and have been rather dissatisfied with them beyond the obvious advantage of their concealability.

Does anyone here carry spare rounds with something besides a speed strip? I've looked into a couple 5 shot speed loaders but my concern is that they will discharge in my pocket and i'll be left with an empty speedloaded and a bunch of loose rounds. I shot an IDPA match with my J frame and some borrowed Safariland 5 shots and more than once they went off in my pocket and left me feeling very not so good about htem... are the HKS speedloaders any better? Alternatives I haven't considered? Techniques for making a speed strip a little speedier would be welcome as well...

Mitchell, Esq.
05-01-2013, 08:27 AM
With summer around the corner I forsee my j frame getting a lot of quality time with the inside of my waistband. However I have been carrying my reloads with speed strips and have been rather dissatisfied with them beyond the obvious advantage of their concealability.

Does anyone here carry spare rounds with something besides a speed strip? I've looked into a couple 5 shot speed loaders but my concern is that they will discharge in my pocket and i'll be left with an empty speedloaded and a bunch of loose rounds. I shot an IDPA match with my J frame and some borrowed Safariland 5 shots and more than once they went off in my pocket and left me feeling very not so good about htem... are the HKS speedloaders any better? Alternatives I haven't considered? Techniques for making a speed strip a little speedier would be welcome as well...

Shoot me your number and we can hook up. I can run you through some of the reloads for the j frame debethencourt uses in his class for speed loaders, strips & loose rounds.

TR675
05-01-2013, 08:51 AM
The Safariland Comp 1 was letting the rounds loose? I've never had that happen and I carry it a lot - but apparently it helps to load them in a particular way.

I picked this up from Grant Cunningham: hold the speedloader upside down (charge holes facing up) and drop the rounds in. Then use the button to seat them. gravity makes sure that all of the rounds are seated and their rims are below the retention star. Cunningham says that if you load them the other way 'round, differences in rim thickness or round length can prevent some of them from being retained or prevent the star from fully engaging, leading to lost rounds. I've only ever loaded them via his suggested method and never had any problems.

In my experience, the HKS is more likely to shake loose.

I generally find the speed loaders aggravating to haul around because they mess up the lines in my suit :rolleyes:, and usually stick with the speed strips. Downloading them to four rounds (two, a space, and two more) dramatically increases ease of the reload...

jetfire
05-01-2013, 09:19 AM
I can honestly say that I've never really bothered with carrying a reload for a j-frame; I guess I've always figured that if I get into a fight with my j-frame and I need to reload it, I'm screwed anyway. If I'm carrying a reload, it's because I'm carrying a bigger gun.

Nephrology
05-01-2013, 09:37 AM
I can honestly say that I've never really bothered with carrying a reload for a j-frame; I guess I've always figured that if I get into a fight with my j-frame and I need to reload it, I'm screwed anyway. If I'm carrying a reload, it's because I'm carrying a bigger gun.

I agree, though in my lovely state of CT I am now limited to 10 rounds in the gun and can ONLY use 10 round magazine for a reload. So I am basically limited to the J frame and my 26... until I decide to jump on a .45, which I don't think I will be doing any time soon. I may end up leaving CT sooner than later anyway.

Mitchell, Esq.
05-01-2013, 10:06 AM
Fast reloads & second guns are the new normal capacity in CT...

shootist26
05-01-2013, 10:07 AM
With summer around the corner I forsee my j frame getting a lot of quality time with the inside of my waistband. However I have been carrying my reloads with speed strips and have been rather dissatisfied with them beyond the obvious advantage of their concealability.

Does anyone here carry spare rounds with something besides a speed strip? I've looked into a couple 5 shot speed loaders but my concern is that they will discharge in my pocket and i'll be left with an empty speedloaded and a bunch of loose rounds. I shot an IDPA match with my J frame and some borrowed Safariland 5 shots and more than once they went off in my pocket and left me feeling very not so good about htem... are the HKS speedloaders any better? Alternatives I haven't considered? Techniques for making a speed strip a little speedier would be welcome as well...

I recently purchased a Safariland Comp I and a Safariland Split-6 holder for it. I am not sure what type of speedloaders you were using, but the Comp I has a recessed ejector button so I can't see how it would accidentally discharge in your pocket. The button is specifically recessed so that the nub on the revolver's ejector star has to push it in to get it to discharge.

The HKS speedloaders are easy to accidentally discharge. All it takes is for the knob to be bumped and twisted for it to lose the rounds.

Nephrology
05-01-2013, 10:10 AM
I recently purchased a Safariland Comp I and a Safariland Split-6 holder for it. I am not sure what type of speedloaders you were using, but the Comp I has a recessed ejector button so I can't see how it would accidentally discharge in your pocket. The button is specifically recessed so that the nub on the revolver's ejector star has to push it in to get it to discharge.

The HKS speedloaders are easy to accidentally discharge. All it takes is for the knob to be bumped and twisted for it to lose the rounds.

They were Comp 1s. I think they discharged because they were either improperly seated or , in my rather big jacket pocket, the 2 speedloaders got tangled up such that the long rounds from the one depressed the ejector on the other.

ST911
05-01-2013, 11:25 AM
My J-frames are BUG(s) only, but I carry a speed strip for them. I use a support hand hold of the gun with strong side manipulation of the rounds. I opt for the strips over the speedloaders to reduce bulk.

JodyH
05-01-2013, 12:30 PM
I've found the 5-Star speed loaders (http://www.5starfirearms.com/speed_loaders.html) to be the fastest, most secure way to carry a J-frame reload in a pocket.
The other speed loaders are more prone to self activating in your pocket and speed strips are anything but speedy.
That said, my first thought when the J-frame goes empty is switching to my Spyderco P'Kal.
:cool:

LSP972
05-02-2013, 07:37 AM
My J-frames are BUG(s) only, but I carry a speed strip for them. I use a support hand hold of the gun with strong side manipulation of the rounds. I opt for the strips over the speedloaders to reduce bulk.


Ditto.

I have some HKS and Comp I J-frame loaders, for range use back when I had to qualify with everything I carried. But I always considered them too bulky to tote around in mufti. I'll agree that the Comp Is are much less likely to dump their load inadvertantly than the HKS variety.

Adding to Cunningham's direction on how to orient the loader while charging it, we found (using the Comp I and Comp II for six shot revolvers) that the additional step of pressing the bullet noses against the flat of the palm, while holding the loader w/cartridges bullet-up, ensured a solid lock of the mechanism.

I was digging through my junk the other day looking for something, and found a Crown Royal bag chock full of K and L frame Comp IIs. Brought back a few memories...

.

Nephrology
05-02-2013, 08:16 AM
I've found the 5-Star speed loaders (http://www.5starfirearms.com/speed_loaders.html) to be the fastest, most secure way to carry a J-frame reload in a pocket.
The other speed loaders are more prone to self activating in your pocket and speed strips are anything but speedy.
That said, my first thought when the J-frame goes empty is switching to my Spyderco P'Kal.
:cool:

Interesting... those do indeed look good.

If I stay in CT, I think I might end up somehow justifying a 686SSR and a good set of OWB leather....

Chuck Haggard
05-02-2013, 09:47 AM
I carry a reload just because I am weird like that.

I use the four round speed strip trick that I learned from Ayoob and deBethencourt, makes it far faster to get the gun back into action, even if it's with only two rounds if I am in a hurry.

Nephrology
05-02-2013, 10:54 AM
I carry a reload just because I am weird like that.

I use the four round speed strip trick that I learned from Ayoob and deBethencourt, makes it far faster to get the gun back into action, even if it's with only two rounds if I am in a hurry.

I've been using a 6-shot speed strip loaded with 5 - a pair of 2 and then 3 at the end. It kinda works out, but I will be testing it out in a local IDPA revolver match soon.

NEPAKevin
05-02-2013, 12:33 PM
I believe Walt Rauch is credited with the statement that the definition of an optimist is a man with a j-frame and a reload. Then again, there's also an umpteen page thread around here questioning the sanity of anyone who only carries 5-6 rounds...

Nephrology
05-02-2013, 01:45 PM
I believe Walt Rauch is credited with the statement that the definition of an optimist is a man with a j-frame and a reload. Then again, there's also an umpteen page thread around here questioning the sanity of anyone who only carries 5-6 rounds...

Yes, and this thread is about neither of those things. I have already decided to carry a J frame and a reload. I am comfortable with being called an optimist. In a state with a hard limit of 10+1 carry capacity I am limited to my J frame and my Glock 26, and there are times when the 26 will not do, for me.

FotoTomas
05-05-2013, 02:13 PM
I have a j frame 638 that I often carry as a backup to my Kahr PM9. I carry a reload for each. The 7 round PM9 magazine is in a weak side magazine pocket of my Tru-Spec or 5.11 trousers. The J frame reload is a HKS speedloader in the strong side cargo pocket. Never had any issues with it dropping rounds where my PM9 spare magazine might drop one or two a day.