.62 cal speed loaders available

[pamtnman]

Tonight a visit to Bass Pro for one thing led to a search for other things not necessarily on “the purchase list,” but things I’ve wondered about and tried elsewhere without success. One such thing is finding a speed loader for the .62 rifle and I suppose for any .62 caliber firearm. The ones that I found tonight work for .62, are not marketed for 62 caliber, but they (a 335 grain 0.605” ball) fit perfectly after the loader has a brief introduction to a pocket knife blade.
These are “Traditions Magnum Fast Loaders,” sold three to a package for $11.00. Each loader is segmented, meaning you can’t push the patched ball through from the other end. The ball has to be stored separate from the greased patch, which will fit in the same space. However, having a wall separating the two ends also means your powder is not exposed to grease, doesn’t get stuck on the patch etc. So there’s plusses and minuses here, but the pluses outweigh the minuses. I plan to keep the greased patch behind the ball in the same “BULLET” compartment. The other end says “POWDER”.
Yeah I like bullet boards, they are traditional and usually attractive wood or creative shapes. But these plastic speed loaders are primo for really fast reloading like during a hunt where I miss the first two or three shots, and the deer is just standing there wondering what just happened

 

[64Springer]

Wouldn't you have to dump the bare ball into your hand and fish out the patch that's stuck in the cavity behind the ball? In the end it seems that a bullet board would be much faster.

Buy three more and drill out the portion that separates the two compartments.

Fill three with powder. Fill the other three with a patched ball that a ramrod can send home.

 

[david w]

If I had to have a quick loader, it would have to be powder only. I carry a bullet board around my neck. The barrel is coned, so all I have to do after dumping the powder is place the board over the muzzle, push the ball/patch into the bore, and then drive it home. However you speed load your rifle, it does no good unless you practice often.

 

[pamtnman]

Wouldn't you have to dump the bare ball into your hand and fish out the patch that's stuck in the cavity behind the ball? In the end it seems that a bullet board would be much faster.

Buy three more and drill out the portion that separates the two compartments.

Fill three with powder. Fill the other three with a patched ball that a ramrod can send home.

Could be a solution. However, I have found the .62 caliber bullet board is really heavy and clunky. These are 335-350 grain balls. Just three is real weight. I don’t think the patch separate from the ball is a big problem, but I’ll find out. Let me know your experience and let’s compare

 

[BJHabermehl]

Could be a solution. However, I have found the .62 caliber bullet board is really heavy and clunky. These are 335-350 grain balls. Just three is real weight. I don’t think the patch separate from the ball is a big problem, but I’ll find out. Let me know your experience and let’s compare

I shoot .58 cal so what weight of the ball board I similar. I use a three holer. And paper cartridges of powder. I load the first ball, powder first of course. And leave the short starter in the block. I put it in the shot bag in one unit with the paper cartridges. When needed the short starter block and cartridge comes out of the pouch in one hand full. This is the fastest combo I’ve found for me. I’ve used them for years

 

[pamtnman]

Maybe drill out these speed loaders and put a dry felt wad in between the patched ball and the powder. I’ll experiment. I’m just thrilled to find something that has the promise of solving the .62 cal speed loader need. Having tried brass tubes and acrylic tubes, finding this soft, resilient red plastic makes me happy

 

[hanshi]

Muzzleloaders with "speed loaders" is kind of an oxymoron, IMHO. I like the idea of a ball board and separate powder charges.

 

[pamtnman]

Muzzleloaders with "speed loaders" is kind of an oxymoron, IMHO. I like the idea of a ball board and separate powder charges.

Yeah I know it and I understand it. But deer drives require immediate reloading, and all the tradition stuff goes out the window. Lot of guys are using plastic stocked flintlocks that shoot sabots, not patched round balls, fired by some pellet something, not black powder. On the other hand, I hunt with nicely made rifles with curly maple stocks shooting round balls. I figure my plastic reloaders are hidden in my possibles bag…

 

[oldwood]

Bullet boards to hold a ball and patch in .62 cal. , only need be 1/4" , to 3/8" so the ball is really easy to align with the muzzle , because the patched ball protrudes through the board far enough to sit in the muzzle , ready to be started. One of my all time favorite Pa. deer season flinters , was .62. Killed a bunch of deer with that gun. More important than bullet board , is make sure to put your short starter on a lanyard attached to your shot pouch. One day in flint season , I killed one deer , and the herd came back to me , and stood 20 yds. from me while I searched for my short starter in the snow. Lesson learned.

 

[pamtnman]

Bullet boards to hold a ball and patch in .62 cal. , only need be 1/4" , to 3/8" so the ball is really easy to align with the muzzle , because the patched ball protrudes through the board far enough to sit in the muzzle , ready to be started. One of my all time favorite Pa. deer season flinters , was .62. Killed a bunch of deer with that gun. More important than bullet board , is make sure to put your short starter on a lanyard attached to your shot pouch. One day in flint season , I killed one deer , and the herd came back to me , and stood 20 yds. from me while I searched for my short starter in the snow. Lesson learned.

Yesterday I was reloading after shooting at a buck, and in my excitement I put the short starter in my jacket pocket. Then I couldn’t find the short starter and figured it had fallen out of the bag somewhere in all of the rugged drives we had put on all day. I shrugged my shoulders, picked up a rock, and gently pushed the patched ball into the barrel. It works but I won’t advise it

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Paper cartridges loaded with just a charge of powder and patched balls in a bullet board are HC/PC and just as fast if not faster than these plastic trinkets.

 

[pamtnman]

Paper cartridges loaded with just a charge of powder and patched balls in a bullet board are HC/PC and just as fast if not faster than these plastic trinkets.

If it works for you, great. I’m happy for you. Using hand made things brings joy to traditionalists. The rheumatoid disease eating my fingers and thumbs has greatly reduced my ability to handle multiple implements. The plastic reloaders work exactly as I need them. I’m thrilled to have found some that fit the .62

 

[david w]

If it works for you, great. I’m happy for you. Using hand made things brings joy to traditionalists. The rheumatoid disease eating my fingers and thumbs has greatly reduced my ability to handle multiple implements. The plastic reloaders work exactly as I need them. I’m thrilled to have found some that fit the .62

i respect that. I have a friend with rheumatoid arthritis. It can give hime fits. He has to wear a knee brace to walk.

 

[pamtnman]

i respect that. I have a friend with rheumatoid arthritis. It can give hime fits. He has to wear a knee brace to walk.

Having hands that don’t pick up what you’ve reached for and think you’ve picked up is unbelievably frustrating. Even worse is picking up something and thinking you have a firm grip on it, and then your hands just drop it on the ground, floor, whatever. This business of having lots of little gadgets and things is great, if your body still functions like it’s supposed to. But for people who are experiencing aging in especially difficult ways, less is more. I used to be able to sit on a stream bank and tie a size 16 dry fly using my hands and teeth. Now all of my concentration is required to just hold onto the fly and tie it onto the tippet without dropping it. So fumbling around in my possibles bag for something else to handle and juggle and drop is a poor decision when I can hold just one plastic reloader and quickly reload powder and ball from it. For those people here who are not yet experiencing physical challenges, enjoy your time afield. Judge not those who do their best to enjoy what we have all loved since our boyhood.

 

[Timber Wolf]

Loading block with 2-3-4 patched balls hanging around the neck, powder measure handy, could load pretty quick.

 

[oldwood]

When I was hunting deer with a .62 longrifle , I had a well crowned muzzle , but using a loading block with patched round ball , always had to use a ball starter. Once , had one deer on the ground , the herd came back to me after my hunting buddy killed the buck in the bunch , dang , had deer standing in front of me at 20 yds. , had lost my short starter in the snow , and couldn't load , so season ended with one tag left. Was what it was , we filled 11 tags that year.

 

[BS]

This is the fastest and easiest speed loader. Tear [bite] the end off and push down the bore. Seat with ram rod in less than 8 seconds.

 

[pamtnman]

View attachment 243067

This is the fastest and easiest speed loader. Tear [bite] the end off and push down the bore. Seat with ram rod in less than 8 seconds.

Definitely old school, which can work without a doubt. Paper cartridges have been around for a long time. How have these held up to being knocked around or being exposed to wet conditions? The plastic ones are super rugged, and I can carry them around in a jacket pocket all day without damage to their contents. Neither sweat nor rain get at them. Interested in your experience

 

[BS]

Have you ever tried one of the plastic types on the run.

Half the powder when on the ground! Real experience!

Paper is not perfect, but you can figure out a way to keep it dry and ready.

I have done several tests, comparing first patched shot to the second of a tapered paper cartridge. They hit with in an inch at 50 yds.

Plastic is much better than nothing!

 

[pamtnman]

Yeah, my experience with the plastic reloader tubes in 45, 50, 54, and 62 caliber has definitely been different than yours. Never ever had powder spilling all over, but quite the opposite. I do like how our conversation here reinforces how different people with different physiques and different dexterity can benefit from different accoutrements in our hobby here. There is a contingent of traditionalists for whom anything plastic or modern is unacceptable. If that works for them, that’s great. It doesn’t work for me. But then my main purpose with black powder firearms is to hunt, and to bring game animals to hand. Other people also hunt, but they also get great satisfaction from using only natural materials in traditional/ historic forms. I say more power to em