my tired old fingers

How many shooters use magazine loaders?

  • Do you use a magazine loader?

    Votes: 30 88.2%

  • How long was it before you discovered they existed?

    Votes: 8 23.5%
  • Total voters
    34
M

Mike Silverton

Inactive
My interest in handguns has centered on revolvers, the prize possession a Dan Wesson .357 magnum. But I've long been taken with the look of the 1911 and having read reviews of the Dan Wesson Valor I took the plunge.

The pistol arrived, flawless and handsome, with two stainless mags. Understand, I'm an old guy (80). This may help you to appreciate the pain and suffering I underwent trying to stuff .45 ammo into mags the springs of which appear to have been manufactured by sadists in hell. Six rounds for each mag was the best I could manage. I showed up at my local gun shop -- the place includes an outdoor range I've used often -- and told Carl, the proprietor, about my torture session.

Thanks to Carl, I now know that there are loaders for pistol magazines. I bought one that morning, an UpLULA, and am as happy as a pig in mud. A remaining challenge, getting control of the Valor's spring (another bit of hellish metalcraft) when trying to seat the barrel bushing, seems to be coming along.
 
Uplula loaders are great.

My fiance loves hers. I can manage loading just fine, but it really helps her.


Get a bushing wrench and it makes getting the pistol together and apart easier.
 
http://www.amazon.com/McFadden-Machine-Ultimate-Clip-Loader/dp/B004YF931Y/ref=sr_1_1?

This has made shooting my Mark II and Buckmark a lot more fun!
 
I love the Uplula I got for my 40 cal and the one for my AR15. They make loading a lot easier and faster. As for getting a bushing wrench for the 1911 I would suggest a plastic wrench to avoid scratching your gun. Maybe I am too obsessive but I won't use a metal bushing wrench.
 
Back in the early 90's before the UpLula was invented, the HKS company (of revolver speedloader fame) built thumb-operated magazine loaders.

I bought my first in 1994 and if you look at the way the plastic is formed on one, you say out loud "no way that this won't break" but I still use that one to this day (and I have many of them) and I have never broken one.

The downside to the HKS is that if you have a wide array of magazines, you need different loaders to fit them. The UpLula is 2-3 times the cost but it works for MANY different mags.

The other difference is that the UpLula requires you to push the mag bottom down on a firm surface like a bench or table (I hear some people use their gut) but the HKS uses just your right hand and thumb to operate.

I love my HKS loaders and have NO plans to change.
 
I use the one that came with my G19. Works great. I rented a G21 and it did not have a loader. Man that was a b**** to load even 5 rounds at a time.
 
Ive been using them since the late 60's, early 70's. Loaded a lot of SMG magazines with them over the years. Stuffing 30+ rounds into some of those mags can be a real chore.

Didnt really use them much for pistols until the UpLula showed up. Main reason was, it sped things up. I really havent found the pistol mags to be bad to load, especially if youre only loading a couple, but start loading 15-20, and you start to appreciate them.
 
I use the freebie loader that came with my Springfield XD, because those magazines can be difficult to fully load.

Otherwise, no, I don't use a loading tool.
 
I've got an Uplula and I love it. I don't use it for all my guns but it has been a real thumb saver when it comes to loading those last few rounds in some of the stiffer high-capacity magazines.
 
I don't use them but only because I don't usually bother to full load magazines at the range. I load five, shoot five, load five, shoot five. Keeps the ammo box even. I do the same thing with revolvers.

I'm in no hurry to shoot up my ammo and leave. I'm not training for a gunfight. I'm just shooting for the fun of it.
 
I don't have one but I have an old AMT Automag II 22magnum that is a real Bugger to load the mag. After having carpal tunnel surgery on both wrist it was almost impossible. Things are a little better now but it is still pretty tough.
 
One advantage to low capacity autos is it's easy to charge the mags.
No problem loading up seven rounders.
Some of the high capacity guns that can hold up near twenty rounds can be a bear, though.
There's no way to load some of those mags up full by hand.
 
If you attend a 2 or more day training session and shoot ~500 rounds a day, you will wish you had an Uplula. I see bandaids on fingers on day 2 of those that don't have a speed loader.
 
Oh, heck yeah I use a magazine loader. When I'm shooting my AC556, I might go through 10 30-40 round magazines in an hour or so. When I bought my Carbon 15 pistol it came with a .223 magazine loader - it now resides in the case with my AC556.

My first magazine loader was included with my Glock 17 - I use it to load lots of 9mm for other guns as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top