I’m planning on getting a loading stand. I’ve got a .44 Pietta 1858 NMA so it looks like the stand that holds just the cylinder would be the best one for me. Are there any advantages to the stands that hold up the complete revolver (instead of just the cylinder) that make them worth considering?
Loading Stand
- Thread starter kflach
- Start date
Some of the "upright" pistol loading stands also work for loading single shot muzzle loading pistols so they can serve a dual purpose.
The Triple P Loader is a really great loading press that works with virtually every cap & ball pistol.
It really helps to make loading a C&B pistol an easy, fun and relatively effortless task.
It was invented by one of our own forum members 6Gun4Fun.
This high quality loading press is truely unique and well worth the price.
http://www.sixgunforfun.com/
The Triple P loader is indeed an excellent tool. However, it wasn't really 'invented' by 6Gun4Fun; it's an improvement on an older loader that's no longer available. He did an excellent job and significantly improved the previous design; I strongly recommend it to people who like to reload outside the gun.
fineredmist
New member
I prefer to load off the frame as it is much easier to handle just a cylinder than the entire pistol. I feel you can load more consistently off frame, top the ball with your favorite lube and capping nipples is definitely easier. While you have the cylinder off a quick wipe with a rag will cleanup a cylinder pin and prolong your shooting pleasure.
Fingers McGee
New member
I shoot Colt style open tops (Colt, Uberti & Pietta). IMHO a cylinder loading stand is a waste of time and would contribute to accelerated wear on the arbor, wedge barrel & frame. Colt style revolvers dont foul out as quickly as Remington style revolvers, so it isnt necessary to relube the arbor after
each cylinder.
With that said, If I were shooting solid framed pistols like the Remington, I can see the advantage of removing the cylinder and loading it separate from the frame. Gives you the opportunity to wipe the fouling off of and lube the base pin and cylinder.
each cylinder.
With that said, If I were shooting solid framed pistols like the Remington, I can see the advantage of removing the cylinder and loading it separate from the frame. Gives you the opportunity to wipe the fouling off of and lube the base pin and cylinder.
IMO loading 'in the gun' contributes to accelerated wear on the loading lever, pivot screws, and arbor joint (you're putting a bending moment on it).
I can't say enough positive things about the Triple P loader, and I use it with all my pistols (all but one of which are Colt patterns).
not a good thing.I've never seen a cylinder that would allow caps to be struck by falling on a flat surface. All of my pistols (Walker, Dragoon, Army, Navy, New Army, Police) have recessed nipples. The only way dropping one would cause an ignition would be if 1) it fell cap-end first, and 2) landed on a protruding, relatively sharp surface 3) square on one nipple.
The odds of that happening 1) at the range which I frequent 2) in the time between loading and reinserting in the frame are pretty much nil.
The odds of that happening 1) at the range which I frequent 2) in the time between loading and reinserting in the frame are pretty much nil.
madcratebuilder
New member
I can load more accurate loads with my triple P using the depth control, all balls are seated the same. I don't use it all the time, particularly with Colts. If I'm shooting for groups then I use it, if plinking I don't. If you only have one revolver to load for the simple wood stands would be sufficient.
Fingers McGee
New member
Using the pistol the way it was designed to be used. It was not designed to be taken apart to reload.
Just out of curiosity, how often do you use your pistols & under what conditions? I use mine at least three weekends per month in CAS competition. Disassembling a Colt style pistol to recharge the cylinder takes up too much time during a stage.
For general plinking or informal competition, a loading stand for Colt style revolvers could be beneficial, not CAS.
I can see where a loading stand wouldn't be a drag and could be beneficial foe ROAs or Remmies.
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I thought that the Triple P Loader had some unique features that were inventive in the sense they were never used on any loader before. It has a unique cam action, magnetic loading tips, wad cutter attachments with a padded disc in the base, and it's indexed rotating cylinder plate also accomodates virtually every model of C&B cylinder.
If the Triple P Loader is considered to be unique and created with features that were never built into any other loader before, then I think that such a new product can be considered to be an invention by virtue of being a new creation.
I may be applying the term in a broad sense, but the Triple P Loader never existed before it was invented by someone and produced as a new product.
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Anywhere from 0 times per month to a couple times per week, punching paper and nothing more.
Having the capability doesn't mean lack of external intent. My wife's van has an onboard air compressor; doesn't mean it "wasn't designed" to have the tires inflated by other sources. These guns have loading levers because most users didn't carry external devices "into the field".
Does CAS allow you to swap charged cylinders?
Yup!
Admiral B,
You shoot like I do. Seems like a terrible waste of ammunition when all you have to show for it is a dead piece of paper.
I never paid much attention to loading stands until recently when I examined a pistol stand in which the upright is hinged to the base. Put it up for loading, lay it down so it will fit in the shooting box. I guess this is a fairly common design. I played with it for a while and finally decided that the hinge did not have enough strength.
I finally made my own which is in two pieces. The upright is held to the base with a wing nut when in use. For transport the upright comes off and is repositioned so as to be compact. Again the wing nut holds it in place. Seems to work pretty good.
Tnx,
Admiral B,
You shoot like I do. Seems like a terrible waste of ammunition when all you have to show for it is a dead piece of paper.
I never paid much attention to loading stands until recently when I examined a pistol stand in which the upright is hinged to the base. Put it up for loading, lay it down so it will fit in the shooting box. I guess this is a fairly common design. I played with it for a while and finally decided that the hinge did not have enough strength.
I finally made my own which is in two pieces. The upright is held to the base with a wing nut when in use. For transport the upright comes off and is repositioned so as to be compact. Again the wing nut holds it in place. Seems to work pretty good.
Tnx,
I'm rather new at this, but my impression is that the Remmy is intentionally designed so you can remove the cylinder quickly and on a regular basis. Thus the cylinder stand is quite appealing. I hadn't thought about transporting it, though. I guess I'd need to get a rather large "possibles bag" or some other kind of carrying case for all my stuff.
Guess so
I have looked at the loading presses and quickly decided against them for the reason you just stated.
Just yesterday I was speaking on a different thread about the stresses that the load process places on the pistol (using the conventional, cylinder in pistol method). As I am not well informed about those stresses, I was hoping to have someone wade in with some wisdom. Hawg Haggen helped and I am sure if Mykeal is reading this he will come up with some good thoughts.
Obviously both the Colt and the Remington pattern pistols were designed to withstand those forces and it is not my opinion that you can damage a pistol during the loading process any more than during the discharge process. Our toys should not break just because we play with them.
Still for someone who is concerned about it the press offers a viable alternative. Those who use presses have to accept the wear on the pistol by taking it apart with every empty cylinder. I personally to not field strip my pistols. I take plenty of pistols along shoot them until they I run our of ammunition and then bring them home to clean. I stay out about four hours with three to five pistols in my shooting box. I always shoot alone. I am finnicky that way. When I was riding motorcycles I always rode alone too.
I have looked at the loading presses and quickly decided against them for the reason you just stated.
Just yesterday I was speaking on a different thread about the stresses that the load process places on the pistol (using the conventional, cylinder in pistol method). As I am not well informed about those stresses, I was hoping to have someone wade in with some wisdom. Hawg Haggen helped and I am sure if Mykeal is reading this he will come up with some good thoughts.
Obviously both the Colt and the Remington pattern pistols were designed to withstand those forces and it is not my opinion that you can damage a pistol during the loading process any more than during the discharge process. Our toys should not break just because we play with them.
Still for someone who is concerned about it the press offers a viable alternative. Those who use presses have to accept the wear on the pistol by taking it apart with every empty cylinder. I personally to not field strip my pistols. I take plenty of pistols along shoot them until they I run our of ammunition and then bring them home to clean. I stay out about four hours with three to five pistols in my shooting box. I always shoot alone. I am finnicky that way. When I was riding motorcycles I always rode alone too.
Fingers McGee
New member
Yes. There is nothing in SASS rules that prevents someone from removing the cylinder and charging it on a cylinder loading stand. I know of a few people that do just that with ROA or Remmies. I know of no one that does so with a Colt style revolver during a match.
By the same token, if someone wanted to go to the expense to acquire multiple cylinders (at $40 to $95 each) so they could be preloaded; but uncapped, and swapped between stages, there is nothing in the SASS rules that prevents doing that either.
Having spare loaded cylinders opens up a whole new set of circumstances outside of the cost. You need some place in your gun cart/shooting bag/shooting box/cartridge belt to store them, and after a match, you gotta clean them. Anyone that wants to go to the expense and trouble is free to do so. I can think of other things to spend my money and time on.
Try doing it in competition at a SASS or NCOWS match. I'm sure you'll see my point of view then.
What? That it's faster? It might well be, and if you don't have a handy table for the loader, then it's a moot point anyway.
But that's not really what you said - you said that it's too much wear and tear on the gun to take the barrel off and put it back on. And I, well, disagree.