Seriously. It’s pathetic.
It’s like I’m playing Batman or something. I’m always fiddling with the stuff on my belt. This is too long, that’s in the wrong place. Seriously, it’s like a 1 7/8 X 32 inch pocket protector. Now I’ve got this ammo pack thingie (That’s a tactical term, kids. Only real operators can use it) and it’s thrown everything off. Move the knife over to make room? The multitool? These are the things I worry about.
And I just spent an hour practicing speed strips, which I’ve never used. While watching an episode of The Original Series (Shore Leave. A classic) on my laptop, using my home-made solar electric system. And laughing at the mistakes.
All I need is tape on my glasses.
Aw Joel, don’t you know nerds are the new cool? 😉
My wife mocks me for my 26 inches of gear on my 30 inch waist, so, I read ya. Im a ‘customize it’ geek… I only own one unmodified gun, build my own holsters, and have been known to sew velcro backing into backpacks, so things can be ‘just so.’
If it makes you feel better, my brother-in-law called me a hi-tech redneck after he saw the PVC system I stalled in my old pickup truck.
I’m more the vest-of-holding type than the superhero utility belt sort, though (and that became a running gag at an LRT Conclave several years ago).
“INstalled”, dang it.
You think you got it bad… I had to get sort of dressed up to go to a party for Thanksgiving… and the outfit didn’t have a single pocket!! A gun belt would have looked really strange too. Yikes! Why in the world would I have bought such clothes? Anyway, that was back in Calif. and I did all sorts of nutty things then.
The bottom line was that I had to put my pocket and belt contents into a damned PURSE and carry the stupid thing all evening. Thank goodness the .357m revolver isn’t too heavy. At least it didn’t print. An old pocket holster worked out fairly well. 🙂
Have not carried a purse for ten years, and may never do so again. What a pain in the tush.
Just curious, Joel – why speed strips instead of speed loaders?
PNO, speed strips bulk a lot less with .44, they don’t have breaky mechanical bits, and they were available at the store. Granted they’re not all that speedy, they’re a convenient way to hold spare ammo and I’d be surprised to find myself unexpectedly in an IDPA match.
Thanks for explaining, Joel. I’d just wondered if you knew something I hadn’t considered. I’m getting a family member set-up with their own D/A revolver and I just picked up a few speedloaders for them along with a fairly nice over/under leather case.
It looks to me that with a speed strip one can drop two cartridges in at a time – would that be about right?
I see what you mean about the bulk – any way you slice it – it has to go somewhere. The over/under case is about the size of a small juice can – maybe even a bit taller. With the speedloaders I went with the twist release vs. the ‘bump’ release because it seemed the more reliable design. I’ve noticed too that even with factory grips the cylinder doesn’t quite swing out far enough and there’s a potential for binding between the loader and the grip when reloading. Still beats fumbling around one by one though.
I did fairly well outfitting for this firearm – got a very high quality NOS holster and the loader case off ebay for a touch over 50 – all leather and brand new. Found the loaders (3) on Amazon for 25. Didn’t have to pay shipping for any of it. With the holster and case I easily saved over 100 from what I’d have paid any brick n’ mortar seller in my area. Plus I didn’t have to settle for whatever they had on hand.
I’m glad you mentioned that about speedloaders binding on the frame, because I wondered about that with my own revolver. Seems like there wouldn’t be enough room to maneuver a speedloader – if anybody ever even made speedloaders for this revolver, which was pretty clearly not intended to be primarily a “gunfighting” gun. And as to ready-made holsters, I think I’ve seen two: A pretty good Galco I’ve lost the link for, and a Fobus paddle holster that Amazon (and lots of other places) carries. I’ll never get suckered into one of those again. I may actually have to get serious about having one of the local leather guys work me up one.
I use speedloaders with my Ruger .357 and have no problem as long as I’m holding the gun correctly. Place three fingers through the action (from the other side), holding the cylinder open, and drop the rounds into the holes. You do have to hold it steady, and that can be fun if the cylinder and action are hot from shooting, but I’ve never really had any problems with it. Just takes practice like anything else.