Speed Loaders for S&W 642?

[jcabin]

I recently purchased a 642 off fellow member Jah. It's a great gun and have been carrying it as a BUG for my XDm. Well today met the right conditions, and I was able to use it as my primary for CCing. Being as it only holds 5 rounds, I felt the need to carry some more. So, what I did was keep my left pocket empty, and threw 5 extra hollow points in there.

Needless to say, it's not the best way to carry spare ammunition. So I've been looking into speed loaders and speed strips.

Does anyone have any info/experience on a good brand/model of speed loader? My friend has HKS speed loaders for his 642, but they seem to need some fidgeting before you can actually get the rounds to drop in properly.

What's out on the market? I came up with this Safariland speed loading system, and it looks really cool.

[IronButt]

I have 4 of the cheap speed strips. They're easy to use & don't take up as much room as a speedloader. Speedloaders would be better though & Safariland makes good stuff.
Steve should be along soon. I think he uses them.

[xxthe_beastxx]

I haven't tried any other loaders but I do have HKS speed loaders for my 442. They are a little awkward at first but practice, practice, practice and you will overcome it.

I did watch the video and the Safariland looks cool.

I think there will be a trade off though. If you were to carry the speed loads in a pouch, the HKS seems to have a longer area to grip. You will grab them faster but fumble a little with turning the knob to release the ammo.

[Ronin]

Before kicking my 642 to the curb, I was considering getting the cylinder cut to accept moon clips. Mark at Pinnacle High Performance will do it for around $80. I find moon clips to be a lot easier to deal with than speedloaders. Nice part is with the conversion you can still use individual rounds.

I'm having my wife's SP101 converted later this year.

[jcabin]

Just curious, why did you kick your 642 to the curb?

[gf45acp]

I use HKS's for my 442 and 36, and also for my K frames. I do not have a problem with them, but I have been using them since, oh, about 1983. I also use speed strips for more, as loaders can be bulky in some clothing.
As an example, today I had one loader and two strips.

[LastManOut]

The Bianchi Speedstrips are convenient and compact, as mentioned. The Safariland, with the center button, will not allow you to slip the cartridges out of the holder for a partial reload. It's all or nothing, and dumping hot shell casings into your hand to pick out the live rounds may cause you to drop the whole batch

The HKS (non-Comp) speedloaders are my favorite of the speedloaders. they are shorter and you can release the cartridges one-handed if necessary.

Loose rounds in your pocket work well too. But nothing else should be in your pocket with them.

The best idea I have seen is to have a gunsmith fit your cylinder for moon-clips.

[Ronin]

Just curious, why did you kick your 642 to the curb?

It beat the hell out of my hand and I have a hard and fast rule that any gun I carry has to work as well on the range as the street. The 642 wasn't comfortable to shoot and therefore I didn't have any interest in shooting it. Instead I sold it and got a PF-9 for me and an SP101 for my wife. Eventually I'm going to get a 3" SP101 for myself.

[imashooter2]

I shoot moon clip guns in USPSA and ICORE a good deal. I believe that moon clips are too fragile for carry use. A very subtle bend and they will still drop into the gun, but will drag on the recoil shield and tie it up. This is especially true with the .38/.357 clips which are much thinner than the .45 ACP versions. Only good for games in my opinion.

FWIW, Mark Hartshorn cut my ICORE 686. Craftsmanship was top notch and the turn around was pretty good too.

[USAF385]

I have two different speedloaders for my 642. One doesn't have a name on it, one is worn off (very helpful, I know).

The one is push button and the other you have to twist. I found the twist to be harder to get used to. I have to hold the cylinder to stop it from spinning with my left index finger. The push button is by far easier.