Tips To Make Revolvers More Speedloader-Friendly

by
posted on August 12, 2025
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
revolver with speedloader
Photos courtesy of author.

Choose Stocks Wisely

speedloader function
Properly relieved stocks are critical to smooth speedloader function. Note that the HKS loader cannot get a straight shot at the cylinder with these grips.

There are a few things you can do to enhance the efficiency of your revolver when using speedloaders. The most critical is to ensure the stocks used are sufficiently relieved for clearance with the chosen speedloader. Surprisingly, a lot of revolvers meant for the self-defense market are equipped with grips/stocks that are incompatible with most speedloaders. The left stock panel must be relieved properly to allow the loader a straight shot into the chambers. Stock clearance needs to be sufficient with the longest loaded cartridges that will conceivably be used in the gun. If the panel is too proud in this area, it will push the loader outboard, resulting in the cartridges entering at an angle and binding up. Few things are more frustrating to a new revolver shooter than trying to make a speedloader work with ill-fitting stocks.

Ammo Matters

solid copper bullet and jacketed hollow points
The solid copper bullet and jacketed hollow points on the left load much more easily from speedloaders than the sharp-edged lead wadcutter and semi-wadcutters on the right. Slippery nickel-plated cases help, too.

Along those lines, some thought should be given to the ammunition used for these applications. The shape and composition of the projectiles in loaded cartridges can have a dramatic effect on loading. Bullets with rounded ogives feed much better than do bullets with sharp shoulders. Bullets with gilded metal jackets or of solid copper construction are smoother than soft-lead bullets. This is not to say that lead wadcutters or semi-wadcutters aren’t terminally effective, but they’re better-suited for the initial load in the cylinder. If a reload is required, jacketed bullets make it easier to complete it without drama. Nickel-plated brass cases are more “slippery” than plain brass and should be chosen for speedloader use when possible; most rounds loaded for defensive purposes use nickel-plated cases, but it’s not a given.

One Custom Touch
It’s gratifying to see manufacturers starting to offer chamfered chambers on production guns. This is a simple modification that gunsmiths have been doing for serious revolver practitioners for decades. Breaking the 90-degree surface at the back edge of each chamber mouth with a shallow bevel makes sinking bullets into chambers noticeably easier. Taurus offers a chamfer on its Executive Series guns and S&W does likewise for the popular Lipsey’s Ultimate Carry revolvers. If I could recommend only one upgrade to a defensive revolver, this would be it. Chamber chamfering is inexpensive and can be performed by any reputable gunsmith.

Keep Them Clean

Chamfering the chambers
Chamfering the chambers on a revolver cylinder is a simple gunsmithing operation that pays huge dividends when using speedloaders.

Just keeping the chambers clean and free of carbon build-up will greatly aid rounds dropping in freely from loaders. This is especially important if the gun is chambered for a magnum round and practice is conducted with shorter “Special” cartridges. The carbon ring of the shorter cartridge will prevent the magnum-length cartridges from fully chambering if left untended. Keeping the area underneath the extractor star and the area of the breechface behind the cylinder free of carbon and debris will aid smooth function.

Latest

Joe Coogan Westley Richards .410-bore “Federal” model
Joe Coogan Westley Richards .410-bore “Federal” model

More Than A Century Of Elegance: Westley Richards’ “Federal” Model .410

A svelte, antique, sub-gauge side-by-side sparks memories from an Africa past—then is transformed to elicit stateside admiration more than a century after it was crafted.

The Armed Citizen® Sept. 22, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Was There Ever An M15 Rifle?

Also known as the the T44E5, an M15 rifle existed briefly in the late 1950s, however short-lived, that squad automatic weapon was surpassed by the M14E2 and eventually the M60 general-purpose machine gun.

Preview: Do All Outdoors .22 Dialed Spinner

The .22 Dialed Spinner from Do All Outdoors is a .22 Long Rifle-rated target system that provides the shooter with instant visual and auditory feedback—even when he or she misses the bullseye.

The KS7 Gen2: KelTec Updates Its Single-Tube Shotgun

KelTec slimmed down its KSG bullpup shotgun design with the original KS7 in 2020, which used a single magazine tube, and the design has been refined further in 2025.

Preview: 5.11 Deploy TL-USB

The flat-bodied Deploy TL-USB from 5.11 Tactical is a highly rugged handheld light that comfortably slips into a pocket ...

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.