Okay: first a big negative. The company was something of a pan in the butt to deal with. To check order status you had to log in, but their website refused to accept my password, so I couldn't register. I used their 'contact us' feature on their site and left two messages with my email without results, so I called them up and asked about the order and the man who answered told me that my order had been shipped. I asked him to email me the tracking number and he said that he'd email it to me. After two days of not knowing whether this was a fly-by-night outfit, I got the order today.
Their CS might be the absolute pits, but the product seems to be good, and my initial impression of it was reasonably favorable. A few of you might remember the old speedloader from Dade Screw and Machine Company. It was a push type of loader that used 'petals'to release the rounds into the cylinder pushing them down past a retaining spring, then gravity did the rest. The Dade was extremely fast, but the weakness was that it was not very secure. If the loader was dropped, out came the rounds. Although I have never seen one in person, I understand that the SL Variant loader worked the same way. Testng it for retention, I threw the loaded device on my bed and it lost the rounds. Not good. My impression became considerably less favorable.
A common complaint with speedloaders is bulk.That is especially the case with this device as it can't realistically be carried in a pants pocket which is where I carry my speedloaders and moonclips.
Mine is for my Model 627 8-shot N-frame, but the loader for the five-shot J-frame works like mine.
Notice the case in the video. That is a nice touch. As an aside the maker says that the case will work with other brands of loaders for the same gun model. I tried it with my 5-Star loaders and it is slick.
To sum up, this device might look good on paper, and it will likely work very well on the range, but I wouldn't carry it on the streets. At least until I become a lot more familiar with it. I wish that HKS would make a loader for the 8-shot S&W's. I'd try that in a heartbeat.
Their CS might be the absolute pits, but the product seems to be good, and my initial impression of it was reasonably favorable. A few of you might remember the old speedloader from Dade Screw and Machine Company. It was a push type of loader that used 'petals'to release the rounds into the cylinder pushing them down past a retaining spring, then gravity did the rest. The Dade was extremely fast, but the weakness was that it was not very secure. If the loader was dropped, out came the rounds. Although I have never seen one in person, I understand that the SL Variant loader worked the same way. Testng it for retention, I threw the loaded device on my bed and it lost the rounds. Not good. My impression became considerably less favorable.
A common complaint with speedloaders is bulk.That is especially the case with this device as it can't realistically be carried in a pants pocket which is where I carry my speedloaders and moonclips.
Mine is for my Model 627 8-shot N-frame, but the loader for the five-shot J-frame works like mine.
Notice the case in the video. That is a nice touch. As an aside the maker says that the case will work with other brands of loaders for the same gun model. I tried it with my 5-Star loaders and it is slick.
To sum up, this device might look good on paper, and it will likely work very well on the range, but I wouldn't carry it on the streets. At least until I become a lot more familiar with it. I wish that HKS would make a loader for the 8-shot S&W's. I'd try that in a heartbeat.
