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Many wheelgun owners have heard of them but never used them, as they are a throwback to yesteryear. We are talking about the humble but very effective speed loader, and once you figure it out, you’ll fall in love.

The first revolver speed loader patented was that of William H Bell in 1879. Bell’s device was a simple metal disk with a rotating locking mechanism that held six revolver rounds. When used with a top-break revolver of the time, such as the Smith and Wesson Lemon squeezer, the speed loader would drop six ready rounds in the cylinder extremely rapidly.

The Brits used a number of Prideaux and Watson speed loaders during World War I for their Webley topbreaks and, after a thirty year hiatus, by the 1950s Pachmayr of Los Angeles built a rubber-plastic speed loader while Matich and Dade Machine Screw quickly followed in their wake.

By the 1970s, police and security as well as those “in the know” had were using speed loaders and their ugly stepsister, the speed strip, for faster reloads.

HKS, Safariland, and 5 Star make the most commonly encountered loaders.

First off, there are two types of speed loaders.

The first, made by companies such as HKS and 5 Star, use a center loading knob that hold 5-6-7-8 cartridges, depending on your revolver choice until you are ready to use them. Turning the knob one way secures loose rounds when you are charging the loader. Turning them, the opposite will drop the rounds. HKS generally makes them with plastic bodies while 5 Star runs flashy aluminum billet jobs that cost a little bit more.

The second type are made by Safariland and others that, similar to the other style, use a small plastic knob in the center to lock the rounds into place, but use a centerline button on the opposite side that, when popped by the ejector rod dimple on the revolver’s cylinder, set the loader free and drops the rounds into the chambers. These are very fast and often used in competition. Safariland makes three different models of these.

Finally, there are speed strips with the best-known maker of those being Bianchi. With no moving parts, these phenolic strips are very durable and easy to use.

These rapid reloading devices are a little tricky to use, but can cut that dangerous time without a loaded gun very short indeed.

With speed loaders, loading your revolver is a four-step process.

And to read about that process, head on over to my column at Ruger Talk