Pond James Pond
New member
I've moved to mostly shooting light .44 Mags/stouter .44Spl through my 4" Redhawk in IPSC. I reload with HKS speedloaders. And 90% of my IPSC shots are the Specials.
I am a minority as most here shoot semis and so matches are geared for them.
My problem is, mostly, that my reloads are awkward and slow, taking about 5-6 seconds. By comparison, my mag changes with my G19 or SP-01 were about 1.5-2 seconds.
Now I know practice makes perfect, and this is indeed something I need to do.
However, if I'm to practice, I should focus on practicing the best techniques.
Now the limitations.
I have neither access to lots of equipment so I make do with what I can get, but nor do I have the finances to replace broken/lost bits.
E.g.: one HKS 29M loader = $22. One brass case = $0.60
My setup is a belt with the holster at 3o'oclock, and two workmans' pouches. One at 4.30, and one at 10.30, over my left hip bone.
Ready speed-loaders sit in the pouch to the rear, at 4.30.
Now, the front pouch is probably the issue most on here will have a problem with but the costs above should explain why I have it:
All my spent cases and empty loaders end up in there, not on the floor.
Here is my method as clearly as I can explain it:
Step 1:
Right hand (I'm right handed): Press cylinder release and pass to left hand. Once done, right hand moves back to take a full loader.
Left hand: Thumb on ejector rod; index, middle and ring fingers through the frame pushing the crane and cylinder fully out of the frame.
Step 2:
Left hand: Tilt the gun so the muzzle points upwards at about 10 degrees off the vertical. The grip is sort of running along the line of my hand, wrist and forearm and the backstrap sort of hits my left hip bone. At that moment the thumb pushes the ejector firmly. Ejection is generally clean, but not always, with one case perhaps not dropping free: this is the one that is closest to the breech-face in the frame, where it catches.
Right hand: bringing the loader round to the front.
Step 3:
Left hand: This bit is a bit awkward: I then twist my left wrist outward as if applying at outward wrist-lock. Imagine that the backstrap-hip contact is hinged. This brings the barrel down to about 50 degrees off the horizontal and the cylinder mouths pointing up toward my face.
Right hand: now the right hand feeds the bullets and case mouths into the cylinder, then twist and release, and bullets drop in. As that happens I drop the loader into the pouch that is just under the gun.
Step 4:
Left hand: thumb pushes the cylinder closed and returns the gun to my right hand at which point I resume a two-hand grip.
The issues I see most are:
I do those things so that my expensive and scarce supplies will not get needlessly damaged/lost, so I want to try and maintain that outcome.
However, if there are different ways you can think of that might help me avoid those recurrent issues, I'd like to hear them.
OK. I'm sitting comfortably with a protective cushion clasped against me... let the tirade begin!
I am a minority as most here shoot semis and so matches are geared for them.
My problem is, mostly, that my reloads are awkward and slow, taking about 5-6 seconds. By comparison, my mag changes with my G19 or SP-01 were about 1.5-2 seconds.
Now I know practice makes perfect, and this is indeed something I need to do.
However, if I'm to practice, I should focus on practicing the best techniques.
Now the limitations.
I have neither access to lots of equipment so I make do with what I can get, but nor do I have the finances to replace broken/lost bits.
E.g.: one HKS 29M loader = $22. One brass case = $0.60
My setup is a belt with the holster at 3o'oclock, and two workmans' pouches. One at 4.30, and one at 10.30, over my left hip bone.
Ready speed-loaders sit in the pouch to the rear, at 4.30.
Now, the front pouch is probably the issue most on here will have a problem with but the costs above should explain why I have it:
All my spent cases and empty loaders end up in there, not on the floor.
Here is my method as clearly as I can explain it:
Step 1:
Right hand (I'm right handed): Press cylinder release and pass to left hand. Once done, right hand moves back to take a full loader.
Left hand: Thumb on ejector rod; index, middle and ring fingers through the frame pushing the crane and cylinder fully out of the frame.
Step 2:
Left hand: Tilt the gun so the muzzle points upwards at about 10 degrees off the vertical. The grip is sort of running along the line of my hand, wrist and forearm and the backstrap sort of hits my left hip bone. At that moment the thumb pushes the ejector firmly. Ejection is generally clean, but not always, with one case perhaps not dropping free: this is the one that is closest to the breech-face in the frame, where it catches.
Right hand: bringing the loader round to the front.
Step 3:
Left hand: This bit is a bit awkward: I then twist my left wrist outward as if applying at outward wrist-lock. Imagine that the backstrap-hip contact is hinged. This brings the barrel down to about 50 degrees off the horizontal and the cylinder mouths pointing up toward my face.
Right hand: now the right hand feeds the bullets and case mouths into the cylinder, then twist and release, and bullets drop in. As that happens I drop the loader into the pouch that is just under the gun.
Step 4:
Left hand: thumb pushes the cylinder closed and returns the gun to my right hand at which point I resume a two-hand grip.
The issues I see most are:
- Clean ejections in Step 2 if a case fails to clear the breech face area.
- Clean insertion of the bullets when still in the loader (there is a bit of to-and-fro slop in the loader's grip of the case heads).
- Clean drop-in of the cartridges into the cylinder, requiring manual assistance with the right hand in Step 3.
I do those things so that my expensive and scarce supplies will not get needlessly damaged/lost, so I want to try and maintain that outcome.
However, if there are different ways you can think of that might help me avoid those recurrent issues, I'd like to hear them.
OK. I'm sitting comfortably with a protective cushion clasped against me... let the tirade begin!