Pachmayr 02650 Competition Revolver Speedloader, Smith & Wesson J Frame, .38 Special, 357 Magnum, 5 Shot, Blue Silver (Pack of 1)

Very nice build and quality product. Small and compact but works well. I like its all metal compared to a SKS plastic body speed loader. Will get more of these in the future. Carrys well in a pocket. Good product and well made. Would recommend.

The HKS is too fat and the 5 Star works but the rounds are very loose and flop around when held by the speed loader. This model holds the cartridges securely, without flopping or rattling around. There is even a cushion ring at the bottom to dampen the cartridge rims from clanging around. Fits the LCR 38/357 with either the standard finger groove grip or with the bantam boot grip installed. Best speed loader for the 357 LCR I've found to date.

Fits cartridges well, easy to use, good quality materials, smaller than others used

I have a couple of SafariLand plastic speed loaders and have never gotten them to work just right with my Taurus 5-shot .38 Special snubnose. All the fiddling to release the cartridges into the wheel removed the ’speed’ from speed loader. I was wary when ordering this Pachmyr aluminum speed loader, but what a pleasant surprise upon removing the loader from the Amazon box, loading the five cartridges and, actually, speed loading them into my wheel gun. If the .38 were my primary carry weapon, I’d order another loader, but since it’s my backup to my G19X, the one speed loader satisfies my needs. Blessings 😊

I ordered two. BOTH broke and fell apart on my FIRST ATTEMPT to load them. Pieces of junk, but the blue colored aluminum looked nice...

Thanks and kudos to another reviewer for the idea! Tight to load and use until tried a small couple of drops of light, non gummy oil (EWL or GS synthetic) at base of knob in a couple of places. Exercised a few times w/o cartridges, then a few more w DUMMY cartridges. Now turns as well as other brands do. Can use one-handed with off hand while keeping firing grip. Have oversize grips on my SP101, fits as well any either of the other brands. Some folks like speedloaders in which rounds "jiggle" and some don't. I'm among those who don't so wanted to replace my HKS and 5 Star. I like Safariland loaders but they don't make them for this gun, seem to pretty much be an afterthought product for them these days. Like: large knob; angled shape easier to grab vice round on HKS, compact design, all metal like 5 star but rounds held tightly.

Normally I don't bother writing reviews, but I felt these particular speedloaders deserved a fair shake. First, let me start off by saying that the speedloader design itself is solid. The all-aluminum construction feels durable, the knob is large and textured for a good purchase, cartridges are held securely, and the shape allows for good clearance on most grips. These speedloaders work perfectly fine on K and L Frame revolvers. The problem lies with the J-Frame model. The rubber o-ring on these speedloaders holds the cartridges tight, with a fair amount of tension. This means the knob requires a firmer twist than an HKS, and especially a 5-Star. Now, this isn't an issue on K or L Frame revolvers, as there's plenty of room to get a solid grasp for a firm turn of the knob. However, on a J-Frame, there's noticeably less clearance between the (fairly) large knob and the frame of the revolver. This makes it all but impossible to get a good, one-handed grasp of the knob when reloading. Without a firm grip, the knob suddenly feels incredibly tight and you can't twist it to release the cartridges. This might be less of an issue depending on how you like to reload your revolvers. I use my weak/support hand for reloading, so it's an issue for me. Your mileage may vary. Let me conclude by again reiterating that the design itself isn't bad, but just isn't very compatible with this particular frame size of revolvers. If you're looking for speedloaders for your J-Frame, or equivalent, then I personally recommend checking out the 5-Star speedloaders. Those are, bar none, the best speedloaders I've found for J-Frames. I appreciate Pachmayr/Lyman continuing to release new revolver-oriented products. Revolvers continue to remain relevant to this day, and with many people (myself included) still using them, it's good to see that they still receive aftermarket support. If I were Pachmayr/Lyman, I would revisit this speedloader and perhaps make some changes to make it easier to use on J-Frames (or equivalents). Maybe shorten the diameter of the knob? UPDATE 3/13/20: I recently discovered a solution that makes these speedloaders work much better. If you get some lube down in the chambers, and work the knob back and forth to make sure it gets in there, then it makes the knob much easier to twist with loaded rounds. I did spray some Ballistol down into the chambers of each of my speedloaders, and yes, they do make a huge difference. Now, I could actually recommend these speedloaders to a prospective user. To be fair, the customer shouldn't need to lube these themselves to get them to work properly...but fair is fair, and I will say that the Pachmayr speedloader works great IF you take the extra steps to lube it. Review remains three stars due to being so stiff from the factory.

I personally own several J frame S/W revolvers (5 shot) and use both Tuff speed strips and speedloaders. I like the rubber Ergo grips especially on my 640 357 Mag 5 shot because the Ergo offers the best clearance for all speedloaders. I read a review concerning this new Pachmayr Aluminum 5 shot ( P50 model) and noticed a reviewer stated that he did not like the "O" ring buffer in the loader as it made it difficult to load and unload. I find this as a positive rather than a negative as rattle and looseness are eliminated. The best feature is the across-the-flat diameter of the Pachmayr which measures 1.275" as opposed to the more more popular HKS which is made of plastic and measures 1.333" and rubs on the cyl release on one of my guns and on the grip of a non Ergo revolver. Size matters. In addressing one persons mention of the lock/unlock direction being counter-intuitive,CW vs CCW to release the rounds: just remember righty tighty lefty loosey. I do not like the HKS and prefer the excellent aluminum 5 Star and this new Pachmayr polygonal shaped loader. A great product from Lyman and well distributed at Amazon.