"Speed Loading" a Single Action

[elvaquero]

To a lot of guys,'speed loading a single action' is an oxymoron. They say reloading is as slow as molasses. I'm not a cowboy action competitor but I wish I had the time to do it. After watching Kevin Costner empty and reload his SA gun in the middle of a gunfight in the movie Open Range, I reflected on how I reload - looks like I do it the same way. I watched a You Tube video on this, produced by Ruger. The technique was as follows: place your gun left side down, in the palm of your support hand, open the loading gate, plunge the ejector rod, forcing out one empty case. With your strong hand slip in the fresh cartridge and reach for the next cartridge from your supply as your support hand rotates the cylinder to the next empty chamber. I tried this and found in works faster than my old way of reloading which was to completely empty my gun, one chamber at a time, then reload one chamber at a time, like I have seen in many westerns.

What I like about this method is it allows you to keep topping off your gun - situation permitting, of course. Sinnce this is new ground for me, I'd like to hear if others have a better method.

[sixshot]

Read an article many years ago about a government trapper in California who swore by a good single action to take many, many lions & bears over about 4 decades using the method you mention. He used a 45 mostly with heavy cast slugs & said that in the heat of battle you could empty 1-2 chambers, reload them in a hurry & keep your gun running. He said he didn't want to mess with a double action where you might dump the whole bunch on the ground with a mad bear or lion right at your feet with the dogs fighting. Always made sense to me. He said he was in some real hairy situations several times where he had to reload fast!

Dick

[44spl]

Current self defense instructors that teach the single action have a different method that's not as much about speed but more about keeping the gun in a ready to shoot mode. The principle involves maintaining the grip on the gun with your shooting hand. All the unloading/reloading is done one at a time with the off hand while the muzzle is held pointing in the direction of the threat. So the gun is never out of service so to speak.

Another practice is to load and reload by swapping out the empty cyl with a full one as seen done by Clint Eastwood in "A Fist Full of Dollars" or one of those other spaghetti westerns. Modern pistoleros go a step further by carrying a spare cyl with 45 ACP cartridges in a full moon clip. The theory and actuality is that the clip mitigates loose cartridges from falling out of the cyl during the cyl swap. This is quite a bit faster w/o much practice than ejecting shells and reloading the cyl in the gun.

[Alaskan454]

I find it's fastest when shooting an ACP single action. I use my double stack 15rd magazines and unload the whole cylinder, then shuck cartridges from the magazines to load all six. I'm getting pretty good at this technique, worth a try.

[bradshaw]

Feb 22, 2016 20:27:22 GMT -5 elvaquero said:

To a lot of guys,'speed loading a single action' is an oxymoron. They say reloading is as slow as molasses. I'm not a cowboy action competitor but I wish I had the time to do it. After watching Kevin Costner empty and reload his SA gun in the middle of a gunfight in the movie Open Range, I reflected on how I reload - looks like I do it the same way. I watched a You Tube video on this, produced by Ruger. The technique was as follows: place your gun left side down, in the palm of your support hand, open the loading gate, plunge the ejector rod, forcing out one empty case. With your strong hand slip in the fresh cartridge and reach for the next cartridge from your supply as your support hand rotates the cylinder to the next empty chamber. I tried this and found in works faster than my old way of reloading which was to completely empty my gun, one chamber at a time, then reload one chamber at a time, like I have seen in many westerns.

What I like about this method is it allows you to keep topping off your gun - situation permitting, of course. Since this is new ground for me, I'd like to hear if others have a better method.

elvaquero.... this trash question invites a trash answer. Why INVITE MURPHY to a gunfight? Best way to stiffarm Murphy?----HIT the TARGET!

Items to consider
* Who the hell carries spare cylinders?
* Do you really want to field strip your revolver in the heat of "battle?"
* Exactly who advocates a "tactical reload" while caught in the embrace of a powerful beast?
* While under attack from a human adversary, is it really wise to stand exposed with muzzle pointed at threat, while reloading?
* How does one cooly reload in the clutch an adrenalized beast wielding claws and fangs?

A good test of one's skill with a handgun is to track a whitetail, make contact, then plant a lethal hit----from the leather. Hell, start with gun in hand. Said hunter quickly learns there is no substitute for MARKSMANSHIP. Having been followed all day, yon whitetail is apt to depart a hail of lousy shots with the dispatch of smoke in a hurricane.
David Bradshaw

[contender]

I had to chuckle a bit by Davids response. He is correct, in that accuracy first is the best thing. I fully agree.

However David,,, it's a known fact that in the Civil War,, some guys actually did keep spare cylinders pre-loaded for their BP handguns. If they knew a battle was imminent, they would pre-load them up for speed on the battlefield. A cartridge loaded spare cylinder could easily lose ammo by this method.

And as for pointing a handgun towards whatever, out in front of you while reloading, it too has it's place. In USPSA competition, a semi-auto is easier to reload & faster if kept out in front. Todd Jarrett teaches this so you can see the magwell, and keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction. Granted,,, if under attack, the stress factor will cause a lot of things to be out of whack.
Again, accuracy is key & most important.
But trying to speed load a SA revolver will never be very fast,,, as compared to other designs. But some folks do want to get their SA's back into action faster, and try many things to do so.

[bulasteve]

Yup, also taught to keep weapon in semi-raised position, pointed toward threat  as much as possible for reloads of any kind and mal-function disasters. Reloading, for me with either Sa's or a levergun, hopelessly slow due to dexterity impairments. It is what it is, kinda thing. Do the best you can. If you didn't train then practice, your best will be a bit less. This is where life insurance comes in ! If you run enough force-on-force scenarios, you'll find out how well you multi-task. Me ? Not so good, but have learned my limitations, which is better than playing in the theory only category, where egos intrude.Oops, need to clarify, the "egos intrude", well, I've been embroiled in not so nice discussions with folks that have shot holes in paper for decades.. The comment not meant for any particular person here. If during an altercation regardless of how many legs the varmint has, using a SA, you have even a moment of time available, seems wise to knock a couple out and refill those chambers. As the episode progreeses, yes your options run short. Reality.

[elvaquero]

OBVIOUSLY, Mr. Bradshaw, bullet placement is final. It is a point that goes without saying. In fluid situations such as combat with another human, or against a dangerous animal, where the adversary is moving, and adrenalin is pumping, one-shot kills are less likely than when standing on a gun range and taking one's own sweet time shooting at a deer. When I entered law enforcement in 1970 the 6-shot Smith M&P .38 was what we were issued. What we found frustrating was that with our double-action revolvers it was extremely awkward and time consuming and tactically impractical to refresh the weapon before it was empty. That problem was eliminated when we later switched to semi-autos. To this day I am still doing armed work as a member of the sheriff's posse here in AZ (which requires me to requalify annually) and I am licensed to do armed work privately upon request. I still practice what is called 'tactical exchange' with my Glock, in addition to empty-gun reloads against time, and behind barricades.

The reason I shared this technique was because I had never considered it before and I liked the idea that SA revolvers can be quickly reloaded as ammo is expended, situation allowing of course. As others have already mentioned here, refreshing the cylinder load and swapping cylinders isn't new. Regarding my original post. I forgot to add that the instructor advised holding the weapon high enough during the process so as not to be looking down and away from the threat/situation you face.

[CraigC]

I don't believe that method to be fast at all. Best for topping off but not overall speed. Every time I reload a single action, I do it as fast as possible. After tens of thousands of rounds, you get to be pretty good and gain some strong opinions. I can fire five rounds, reload and fire five more rounds in 15secs. Here's how I do it.

1. I bring the hammer to half cock and open the loading gate with the right thumb after the last shot is fired, while it's still in the shooting hand.

2. Transfer sixgun to left hand.

3. Operate the ejector with the right thumb, while turning the cylinder with the left thumb and forefinger. Ejecting empties into my hand. Rimfires get dropped on the ground, centerfires get dropped in a bucket.

4. Transfer sixgun back to right and.

5. Grab five or six rounds all at once from a dump pouch (do it enough and it's automatic). From a dump pouch, they will usually be oriented bullet down.

6. Drop them one at a time into the loading port. Let me clarify, I do not deliberately insert each cartridge into the chamber. I drop them bullet first into the loading port and gravity does the rest, while turning the cylinder with the right thumb/forefinger.

7. When all rounds are loaded, grab the sixgun with the left hand. Slap the loading gate closed with the trigger finger. Lower the hammer with the right thumb and grab the grip with the right hand to be back in shooting position.

All that happens in probably about 8 seconds to no more than 10.

[bulasteve]

"Situations allowing of course', and "gaining some strong opinions" ! Yup, we need to fill in the blanks, so to speak, between these two thoughts. Am all ears, and thumbs, sigh..Stay safe folks.

[sixshot]

For you older Roosters Skeeter Skelton wrote an article once where he shot a single action in a match where any revolver was allowed. He had practiced for months with fast reloads & I believe he set a club record that stood for some time maninly for 2 reasons. He had practiced single action reloading & he was a damn fine shot. Hitting the target always seems to make a difference!
Going back to my earlier story of the Gov. Trapper he said he had tried many different handguns & bullets over the years & was never comfortable with a double action because of the rough terrain & all the fighting going on around him with so many dogs, etc. He said it was much easier to slip out 1-2 empties & replace them & never run dry, although he did run dry a time or two & the dogs saved his life.
Surely some of you read this story, could have been Outdoor Life, back when it was good, or maybe one of the gun mags like Shooting Times, I probably still have it somewhere.
I've been in close to some mad lions & bears, a lion will usually hesitate just a bit with dogs there, a bear is a different story!

Dick

[elvaquero]

Okay, I will try CraigC's method too and see which works best for me. Rather than a dump pouch, I think I will try speed strips. That should save time...

[whitworth]

I think if one finds themselves in this situation with an empty revolver, needing a reload, they've got bigger problems......

My solution is to carry two revolvers......

[CraigC]

Speed strips are convenient for carry but won't be faster than a dump pouch.

[aciera]

Feb 23, 2016 9:17:30 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

Feb 22, 2016 20:27:22 GMT -5 elvaquero said:

To a lot of guys,'speed loading a single action' is an oxymoron. They say reloading is as slow as molasses. I'm not a cowboy action competitor but I wish I had the time to do it. After watching Kevin Costner empty and reload his SA gun in the middle of a gunfight in the movie Open Range, I reflected on how I reload - looks like I do it the same way. I watched a You Tube video on this, produced by Ruger. The technique was as follows: place your gun left side down, in the palm of your support hand, open the loading gate, plunge the ejector rod, forcing out one empty case. With your strong hand slip in the fresh cartridge and reach for the next cartridge from your supply as your support hand rotates the cylinder to the next empty chamber. I tried this and found in works faster than my old way of reloading which was to completely empty my gun, one chamber at a time, then reload one chamber at a time, like I have seen in many westerns.

What I like about this method is it allows you to keep topping off your gun - situation permitting, of course. Since this is new ground for me, I'd like to hear if others have a better method.

elvaquero.... this trash question invites a trash answer. Why INVITE MURPHY to a gunfight? Best way to stiffarm Murphy?----HIT the TARGET!

Items to consider
* Who the hell carries spare cylinders?
* Do you really want to field strip your revolver in the heat of "battle?"
* Exactly who advocates a "tactical reload" while caught in the embrace of a powerful beast?
* While under attack from a human adversary, is it really wise to stand exposed with muzzle pointed at threat, while reloading?
* How does one cooly reload in the clutch an adrenalized beast wielding claws and fangs?

A good test of one's skill with a handgun is to track a whitetail, make contact, then plant a lethal hit----from the leather. Hell, start with gun in hand. Said hunter quickly learns there is no substitute for MARKSMANSHIP. Having been followed all day, yon whitetail is apt to depart a hail of lousy shots with the dispatch of smoke in a hurricane.
David Bradshaw

When NYC cops were one of the few departments still carrying 38 revolvers and many others were carrying hi capacity semi autos they held another distinction...........they reloaded LESS than any other major Police department.
Seems they took time to aim. Without the extra rounds. They made their shots count.
Under pressure makes a huge difference I understand.
But learn to do the best with what you have.

And David I apologize......I owe you the loan of Vaughns book on accuracy.

I will find it and send it out.