Revolver Gear: HKS Speed ​​Loader

If you’re going to be carrying around a defensive revolver, you’ll want the HKS Speedloader.

I still remember the first time I saw an HKS speedloader in action.

I was working in the gun room and my boss, Mike Carbone, found them and stocked them for me. When we sold him a duty-style or defense revolver (which was second best-selling after Detroit in the 1980s), he said, “Then you’ll want a speedloader.” Most of it was questionable because it was new.

Mike picks up the demo loader and throws it onto the store floor, causing it to bounce off the floor and into the corner, dislodging it from a strategically placed wooden ammo box. The customer picked it up, Mike picked it up, turned the knob, and the bullet fell free. The sale has been completed.

Made of durable plastic (before the word “polymer” was a household word) and aluminum, the HKS worked, although the demo round was not chambered and should not have fired. did.

However, there were some minor drawbacks to HKS’s durability. First, it specialized in calibers and revolvers. Caliber is a given. A .38 speed loader wouldn’t expect him to be able to hold 0.44 seconds and vice versa. However, the cylinder diameters of various revolvers were different and had to be spaced just right for the bullets to fall from her HKS into the cylinder. As a result, we had to stock all of our products to cover them. This was despite the fact that most of our customers are Detroit police officers, and most carry .41, .44, and .45 guns. Still, those who packed five-shot J-frames often wanted extra ammo as well, so we stocked the full line.

A simple current check reveals HKS, and the full line is even better. We count 21 models that fit many revolvers (mostly S&W, Colt, Ruger, Taurus) from .22 LR to .45 LR. That’s most wheel guns these days, right?

nothing is perfect

HKS has some minor drawbacks.

First, the lock and release are rotary knobs. The revolver’s cylinder must be locked in place (this can be done using proper technique with your thumb or fingertips). If not, just turn the knob and the cylinder will rotate. There is no spring propulsion, so the muzzle must be pointed down to apply the load. Gravity is required, but gravity only acts in one direction. Durability means some bulk. A loading strip is a flat plastic/rubber strip that can hold 5-6 rounds in a row and can be carried in a pocket or in a flat pouch. It’s not as fast or safe as HKS, but it’s flatter.

Finally, the HKS webpage provides information, but does not allow you to place orders. You need to go to a retail store or online store. The simplicity of its design means that if the revolver remained as the go-to defensive carry handgun, we would be drowned in Chinese clones. However, the HKS Speedloader (assuming you don’t get fooled by knock-offs) is manufactured in the USA using materials made in the USA.

It wasn’t long before Mike had to retire that HKS speedloader. Not because he broke it. Word spread quickly and he no longer needed to demonstrate…even though the speedloader was not on the approved wear list as a uniform item. However, the Detroit Police Department officers don’t care, the shift supervisor inspects them, lets the officer take them off, and the HKS pouch and loader are back on the officer’s belt before the first cup of coffee gets cold. I knew that. .

When something is so good that people break the rules and use it, you know it’s good.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the August 2023 issue of the magazine. gun digest magazine.

Speed ​​loader details: