Folks:
After seeing a bunch of good discussion concerning revolver reloading techniques in the Wheelgun Challenge III thread, I figured I'd post up Wheelgun Challenge IV which discusses that topic.
This is the fourth installment of this series. I had carried a Ruger GP 100 Match Champion as my main defensive handgun since I was challenged to do so by a good friend in mid-October 2017. It has been a hoot.
In the third installment, I discussed my use of Safariland Comp III speed loaders. In this installment, I am going to talk about my technique for speed loading a revolver and how it has changed.
There are a number of ways to reload a revolver. The technique I used was developed by Massad Ayoob when he was teaching with the Lethal Force Institute (and it still a pretty good technique). In the LFI technique, after the last shot is fired, the cylinder is opened and the muzzle elevated. At this point the left hand (Assuming a right-handed shooter) runs palm down along the barrel and strikes the ejector rod smartly straight down. The revolver is then transferred to the left hand (I put the ejector rod between the pointer finger and middle finger as originally demonstrated by Ayoob) and then drop the muzzle toward the ground. The right hand now reaches for a speed loader and guides it into the cylinder. The right hand releases the speed loader and resumes the master grip on the gun. The left hand closes the cylinder and resumes a two-hand hold. The strengths of this technique are that it is pretty positive and the cupped left hand catches any rounds that miss the charge holes. It is a good technique, but slower than I wanted. By using your strong hand to manipulate the speed loader, you gain a bit better control over the insertion of the speed loader, but at a cost of adding an additional step in the process. Mr. Ayoob felt, as I understand it, that the added certainty gained from using your more dexterous hand outweighed any decrease in speed. It is a valid viewpoint.
One Caveat about using any technique that utilizes your non-dominate hand to eject empty rounds is that sometimes you can tie up a revolver if you over emphatically strike the ejector rod. The cylinder can be driven past the cylinder retaining nub on some revolvers.
After kicking this around a bit with my son and watching him speed load his revolver, I have come to adopt his technique. My son learned this technique from the late L.W. “Bill” Roberts of western Pennsylvania. Essentially, (again assuming a right-handed shooter), the cylinder is released and as the muzzle is elevated, the shooter places his trigger finger through the cylinder window and ideally puts it in contact with the cylinder thus preventing its rotation. The muzzle is elevated straight up, and the left hand palm strikes the ejector rod straight down (just as was done in the LFI method). Why elevate the muzzle straight up? By doing this, it is easier for the empty cases to clear the cylinder and any unburnt powder tends to stay in the cases during ejection. Unburnt powder can easily become lodged under the extractor star and tie up a revolver in short order. The shooter then uses his left hand to retrieve his speed loader and insert it into the cylinder. The shooter then closes the cylinder and gets back into the fight. I modify this by keeping, my revolver at eye level and loading the cylinder with the muzzle slightly depressed but facing my threat. The Safariland Comp III loaders use a spring to drive rounds into a revolver’s charge holes. The spring driven Comp IIIs really work well in this position. My son was raised shooting 1911s and saw no reason he couldn’t reload a revolver by putting his speed loader in his left hand much as he does with a 1911 magazine. My son beat me repeatedly on any timed reloading drill using this technique. I decided to give it a try and have since adopted it.
Upsides: First, it keeps the gun up between you and your threat. This increases your situational awareness. SA helps you win fights. Looking at the revolver near your belt buckle reduces your SA. Don’t believe me? Go to any martial arts dojo and observe students sparring. Do any of them look at their obi (belt)? Not if they want to prevail. I can tell you from watching/teaching numerous folks, that when something goes “wrong” with their handgun, they tend to drop the weapon toward their belt and their eyes become “glued” to the gun. Second, my speed is increased over my time with the LFI technique. Third, the speed loaders seem to clear the gun better than with the right-hand techniques.
This approach is thinking out of the box, but I have found it to work well. Thanks to the late Bill Roberts, the patriarch of combat shooters in western Pennsylvania. As Bill says, “The wheel came first”!
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Originally Posted by Bruce Cartwright
