A friend had a brother that was a tool and die maker, he disassembled a Safariland Comp III I believe, and re-engineered it to a 7 shot version and hand made some for the brother. They were shooting plates and pins, and IDPA in the 90s. I dont know what happened to them, the guy using them later got out of shooting and sold most of his guns.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
This might be a good application of 3D Nylon printing - no or minimal tooling.Originally Posted by Wheeler
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
How big of a deal is the cost to you? If it's not that big of a deal, go for it. My dad has had a 687/686+ since the early '90s and uses HK speedloaders. While Safariland speedloaders are clearly superior, the HKs work fine and the extra round makes a bid difference in overall round count. The 7 shot design works very well and is well proven. I've never used the Speed Beez speedloaders, but like others have used the same design in another brand/type. They work VERY well, faster, but less secure than Safariland Comp loaders.
Basically, if you can afford it, get the pistol. Especially since you have and like a K frame gun. The extra size and weight justifies an extra round.
If you want fast, the Beez are your best option for a 7 shot gun. They are very fast, and very durable in the mechanical sense that you can toss them around and they won’t break. It’s correct that if you drop a loaded one it will yardsale rounds everywhere, so the best solution that is “don’t drop it.” I used a brace of them for a Jedi/Reston class a few weeks ago and never lost pace with the class.
Given the choice between HKS and Speed Beez its no choice at all, gimme the Beez all day long and twice on Sunday.
Now, Beez vs moonclips is a different story. I’m seriously thinking about sending my 686+ cylinder to TK Custom to get it machine for clippy bois, even though I’m not a big fan of 38 guns with clips.
There doesn't seem to be a good place for 7 round revolvers in the organized competitions. IDPA is 6 rounds mandated and USPSA mostly has 8 round neutral stages.
If I had it I would moon clip it. I don't like HKS. Speed Bees are fast but don't drop it.
Id suggest doing a little study, I recall that some brands of brass work better in the clips, Im vaguely recalling it being Winchester, but am not positive. The TK site may have that info. if they only work best or at all with certain brands of brass and you dont have that kind it may be tough to find some right now.
Dad had a 686+ cut for moons, I dont recall he had problems with brass, but that was 20 or so years ago when he was shooting the most.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
TK's website lays out which clips work the best with which brass. The issue with 38 brass vs 9mm is relatively simple, the recess that the clip goes into isn't a SAAMI standardized dimension. This isn't a big deal on 9mm, 45 ACP and (most) 40 S&W, because the recess is relatively large. On 38 Spc and 357, it's small, and again it's different from company to company.
Ugh, sounds fiddly as heck. I'd just suck it up and learn the HKS.
There was a reason why when I built the ACRO revolver concept I specified it for speedloaders. Sure, I can make a gun that works in a narrow envelope for competition, but the idea was to build a modernfighting revolver. I want it to crack all domestic manufactured primers, and I want people to be able to use whatever ammo they can get with it, without needing to know if their clips will work.
Is it that finicky with .357 too?
I dont sort my brass and I doubt I start.
Im not sure this deal is going through anyways but its good to know.
Id like to get a 7rd L or gp100 someday so this is all helpful.
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