The "Replica" is actually made legally in Japan. Just as high quality as the German ones or better. A Japanese corp purchased the patent rights to manufacture them. Japanese made high quality.
I recently got some of the 44 magnum SL Variant replicas and also noticed the taller brass piece in the center. If you take the speed loader apart the bras extension piece isn't screwed down all the way and needs to be loctite to the brass base piece it screws into. With that done the brass piece will correctly stick out of the speed loader at the right height and you can now adjust the angle that rounds will point when inserted into the speed loader. You need to push down and rotate clockwise to angle rounds inward. You should be able to tell that an adjustment was made because the yellow fingers won't return completely to their original position. As you rotate clockwise the yellow fingers will act as if you're already slightly pressing down on the center of the speed loader.
i ended up having to take mine apart as well, trying to figure out this "adjustment" got them back together and they still work will no longer try to figure the "adjustment" out. safariland ,or even revision ammo pods much better design .
I had order 4 of the L-252 for Colt Python back on June 10. Today is Aug. 31 and finally received them. The seller shipped via sea shipping from Kawasaki Higashi, travelled through Panama Canal, docked in New Jersey. Then handed over to USPS and few across the USA to Seattle. Anyway, the replica is also adjustable through the center knob which I had to make a full turn to use on the Colt. Works quiet well. Also for the L-252 the brass stem is low . One of the four has missing round retainer, that yellow hook thing so QC is not too good. But otherwise it works. Edit: I take that back, the center knob doesn't look it it does anything. But its a perfect fit for Colt Python Edit 2: Do not turn the center knob for if you turn too much the yellow round retainer will retract and it will get stuck in the retract position and it no longer works.
safariland and revision ammo pods work best for me. Ill still practice with these asian sl variants but so far not seeing the value/hype. the big problem is the initial cartridge fit causing cartridges not to line up on initial feed. if its operator error adjusting that knob ,then Ill have to figure that out as well I have no luck getting it to keep cartridges in correct stiffer position
There is a guy making a similar style loader minus the springs. Revision CV is the company name. I believe he even sells them for about $15 on amazon. I have been messing with mine some and seems like decent quality. I really like the functionality for the price. We will see how it holds up.
They are now selling these on ebay from a supplier in Japan as he mentioned. I purchased one for $70 plus $30+ shipping for a two piece set and so far it's been really good. I have both the Speed Beez and the SL Variant for the 686 plus model in 357 mag / 38 SPL and so far fit and finish has been great. Need to do further testing by going to the range but the replica has been pretty good for both fit and cartridge retention. Would like to try out the original one of these days. Customer service has been really good for the SL Variant replica vendor as well with prompt delivery and response from my experience.
Just received my replicas from Japan today for my S&W 686 plus (7 shot) and only took a few days via airmail. They seem to function as expected. The bullet spread is not preset (too wide for the cylinder) and the center trigger goes down as you push-hold and turn clockwise (1/8 turn and release) six clicks with minimal difference, but, the spread is a little tighter. I never owned the original, but the outer shell of the replica has some give when squeezed-in compared to my HKS (harder plastic). Only time will tell regarding durability, but, for now, I will settle for the S L Variant replicas vs my HKS.
just got my pair of 5 round sl variants with the ext handles. took 8 days to get from japan and i even selected "by sea " delivery option. havent used them at range yet but so far im not impressed, safariland speedloaders are far superior for me, the cartridges are not supported as well as the safariland and they wiggle too much , I couldn't manage to figure out the adjustment or get it to adjust. because of that initial slop these loaders dont allow the cartridges to line up initially with the cylinder .they are well made come with german language instructions. thumbs down not worth the high price , safariland my pick for best revolver speedloader for my 5 shots with proper grips/stocks. Revision CV ammo pods , I have off of amazon , very affordable and work similar to safari land ,I have good success with these in 22 rimfire for lcr and the 5 shot 38/357.
Back in the 2000s I was shooting a lot of action pistol competition. In those days there was still some revolver shooting happening, such as ICORE, IDPA, and USPSA. Sometimes I'd go speedloader-sixgun just for the heck of it. I invested in a collection of SL Variants for my Smith & Wesson Model 28 N-frame. I think I bought eight of them from a toolmaker friend and they were virtually new. I tried them in two USPSA matches and abandoned them as unreliable and slow. Even the then-available Safariland Comp 1s produced better results. I also gathered up a collection of SL Variants for Smith L-frames and Colt Python. I'd been using Comp IIs with the Colt in IDPA with considerable success. Switching to the SL Vs immediately lengthened my reload times on the clock and resulted in a higher number of botched reloads (although never as bad as HKSs). In the end, the Safariland Comp IIIs produced the best, most reliable, fastest reloads in these situations. The big advantage of this was that the times were easily trackable via the match timers- it was possible to tell what worked under the (modest) pressure of the match, being timed and observed by a crowd. I also found that the hard-locking Safarilands were less likely to dump rounds inadvertently. The SL Vs did occasionally let a round or two loose during the fast movements of speed reloads, where the Safarilands only very rarely did. I sold off most of the SL Variants as a result.
I picked up some NOS from a gun store in Hungary. I cleaned out their entire inventory, and sold what wasn't compatible with my guns. They're honestly fantastic loaders. I'm surprised nobody has made a comparable loader since. EDIT: Apparently when you buy Janz revolvers they have their own version of the SL Variant which is all aluminum. Also, here's a compilation of notes of what SL Variant loaders work for your revolvers: 357 L-236 S&W J frame 5 shot revolvers, Ruger LCR, SP101, Charter Arms/Rossi 68 L-241 Colt King Cobra, Manurhin MR 73 L-252 S&W 686, 586, 581, 681, Ruger GP 100, Security Special, Colt Python, Taurus 669, 689 and Astra CT6. L-272 Taurus 617 S&W 619, 620, 686+ 7rd L-275 S&W N frame six shot .38 Special / .357 magnum revolvers 44 L-277 S&W .44 629, Dan Wesson,Ruger Red Hawk,Colt Anaconda,.45 Autorim, Mateba Unica 6 44Mag Accesories N-305 Universal Extension Handle Contact: Longwitz HarDia Werkzeuge, BiegelhofstraBe 15, 74924 Neckarbischofsheim, Deutschland Tel:07268/719; Fax: 07628/8753 Patent: patents.google.com/patent/US5953845A/en SL Variant Speedloader Patented in Germany, 1995, official US importation 1999-2005. Discontinued Also note on the 7rd loaders, they locking claws are BLUE, not yellow. My 277s for my Mateba as well as the 275s have yellow retaining claws.
Went ahead and purchased 3 from that somewhat sketchy website. The payment was through Paypal so secure there. The three with airmail shipping work out to be about $44.00 each so definitely not cheap. Will let you know what happens.
Got mine in the mail today signed delivery. The seller was very communicative. Emailed when payment cleared (paypal), emailed pictures of the box with my name handwritten on it as it was going into the post office, emailed with tracking. Mine came with a gift (six shot bendy/curly speedloader deal). I didn't need to make any adjustments. My grips interfere with proper alignment, they still work.
