If you're shooting a 9mm pistol, you need a magazine speed loader you can rely on. These affordable options are the real deal. Reviewers are raving about them.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. ETS - Best 9mm Magazine Loader Overall
Highlight: Fastest and most effective.
Helpful review: This magazine loader is fast to load the magazines, but also fast to load the loader. I opened the box of ammo and then ran the ammo rail, which works like a clip; this is one time the word clip is proper. Then I placed the magazine in the handle section and pushed the top to the bottom, and the magazine was loaded. With practice, I could load up a Glock 19 magazine from an ammo block in about 30 seconds. I do not recommend getting in a hurry like this; I just wanted to see how fast I could get, and it took about 30 seconds to load. This speed loading speed loader is only good on a bench or table. If I were to use some of the smaller ammo blocks out of smaller practice ammo makers, this fast loading would not work as fast. It will all work the same, but when things get tight, speed is less.
I also need to say that the magazine will have to sit on a bench or table; the super speed thing will not happen to do all of this handheld. One of the most important things to make this gadget work is oiling it right when you open it and take it out of the box. The instructions say it is right off the bat, so take a small Prolix bottle and lube it all up. After the first ten or so magazines, the Prolix will be everywhere. From magazine eleven on, a few drops of oil where the instructions pointed out, and I was set.
This loader is not a tiny ring-like thing that fits over the magazine's top; it is an actual two-handed machine. It is designed to go to the range in a range bag and save time and frustration. I would like to include one of these in the presentation box when a client buys a new gun, but this thing is ugly and does not look good in the box. It will look great to buy as an add-on at checkout.
Of all the magazine loaders I have used, this is the only one I will buy for myself and my students. I have ordered 5 of these to put in the range bags and at the cabin for rural shooting days. I also plan to give some to my kids so they can use them and save time. My daughter has issues with her hands due to her job, which made loading a magazine simple and easy for her. By making magazine loading easier for my daughter, she plans to spend time with me at the range, which is worth every penny I could ever spend on products for the range. — Walter C. Waller
Get it from Amazon now: $29.99 & FREE Returns
2. Ludex - Glock Magazine Loader
Highlight: Glock enthusiasts' choice of the year.
Helpful review: This machine works upside down from the rest of the magazine loaders. It allows a shooter to use body weight to load their magazines. This thing is pretty cool and will make a person stop and look. The size is gun bag size, not put in the presentation box size. The bigger size and ability to use body weight make this my second favorite magazine loader ever.
This works, or can work, is the magazine loaded into the loader. Then, the magazine is pressed into the loader, and the detent presses the follower and makes room for the next round. The next round is pushed into a hole that aims the round into place and does not give the option to fall out of place as it is captured in line to load. Then, the magazine is released and loaded with one more cartridge. After that, the shooter has to repeat the same thing until the magazine is full.
The mechanism for loading with this particular loader allows the shooter to hold the magazine and lean forward to compress the spring. Pushing a round into the loading hole can be accomplished after the spring is compressed and held in place by body weight if needed. When loading, this will take all the stress off the shooter's hands, wrists, and fingers or thumbs. My mother can operate this machine easily and quickly with frail hands.
Operating this machine quickly takes some practice, as the mechanics are abnormal. More than the body mechanics, most training is needed to get the shooter's head around how this works.
I only wish this magazine loader was made for the AR15 magazines, as that would take a lot of effort and out-of-range time for some of my students, and they could spend more time shooting than loading. The only hangup with this loader is its size. This will take up space in the ring and on the firing line's loading bench or table. If it becomes a footprint issue, it is made of pretty tough material and could be sat on the ground; make sure it does not get stepped on; I am sure the material is not that tough. — Justin D. Skeens
Get it from Amazon now: $19.99 & FREE Returns
3. MakerShot - 9mm Magazine Loader
Highlight: The manufacturer makes one for nearly every 9mm double-stack magazine.
Helpful review: I am not a massive fan of magazine loaders. I was sent a box full of them to test and see if they could change my mind. More time on the range loading magazines equals more time shooting, so who am I to deny this assignment? I do it because I am a giver.
I took this loader to the range to test fire a newly built Glock 19-style gun that just came off my bench. I purchased five magazines in the presentation box. I figured I would try to find a magazine loader to include with the kit. For this kit, I included Glock 19-style magazines from Magpul with the orange follower, so it is easier to take a quick look at the ammo supply left in the magazine. In case anyone wants to know, I also include 50 rounds of ammo, each round placed in a CNC cut hole, and two one-ounce bottles of Prolix for cleaning and lube.
The Magpul magazines are easy to load and brand new right out of the box, but others have an issue with new springs or weak thumbs for loading all day at the range. This magazine loader is made from heavy-duty plastic. It has reinforcements built into the "neck," as I will call it, so it will not warp or bend for some of the new magazines that can be stiff in the beginning. The reinforcement ribs make it bigger to hold and apply downward pressure to allow more cartridges to be loaded. The plunger is made with a recessed or dished face profile, which allows a little more ease of use when pushing the brass on top of one another.
Like most of the magazine loaders I have used, the trouble with the application is holding the magazine and pushing or pulling (depending on how you would say it) down on the ammo and loading a new round on top of the previous. I have big hands, so this is easy to accomplish, but it is not so much for my wife. For me, this loader's actual value is the bulk, which makes it easier to grab and apply pressure. Some of the loaders that makers supply with a new pistol are thin and very hard to use, to the point I usually toss them in the trash can at the range.
One point to make about this loader is its size. It will easily fit in the gun bag to take to the range; it will even fit in my pocket if there is not much room on the table or shelf at the firing position. Making it a small size or footprint also gives the hands more power to operate. This loader fits in the category of something that will work much better than nothing if a shooter needs assistance loading ammo into magazines. Why not get a small, cheap way to save thumbs and frustration at the range? — Steve Magris
Get it from Amazon now: $18.99 & FREE Returns
4. RAEIND - Universal Magazine Speed Loader
Highlight: Universal Fit.
Helpful review: This magazine loader is a 3D-printed unit. 3D printing allows for 10 colors, so this may be the choice if a person needs to match all their accessories. The maker also includes a very cool logo in the print, which will not wipe off or wear off due to being made as part of the process.
The way this loader works is just like the ones supplied with most guns in the presentation box. The 3D printing makes them very lightweight. They are also thin walls, so I must use my thumb on the "thumb ledge" to use the loader. The one thing this will stop is the lips of the magazine digging into the thumb when loading ammo. The power to press the ammo against the magazine spring is about the same. By making the thumb ledge more prevalent, it does give a bit more leverage.
The loader is made to be used in the hands and can be used by putting the bottom of the magazine on the table. It is made to fit double-stack magazines, but if I had more skill or desire, I could use it to load a single-stack magazine.
The only value this loader brings to my personal gun bag would be the price. I may get one in purple for my granddaughter, who will need one someday. Granddaughter may be able to use this one as a stool or chair for the Barbie collection. — Larry E. McCoy
Get it from Amazon now: $19.99 & FREE Returns
5. RAEIND - Sig Sauer Mag Speed Loader
Highlight: Made to answer the Sig issues.
Helpful review: When looking into magazine loaders, the primary problem child seems to be the Sig Sauer 365. Most buyer reviews say it can load seven rounds, but a new spring will overpower the shooter's thumb power. The standard cure that everyone seems to give the 365 shooters is to load and shoot it more often. It would be great if the shooter had enough money and time to shoot that much. Also, if the shooter does not have hand power in the first place, the spring in the Sig magazine will still cause a problem.
The Sig Fix magazine loader will help load a magazine for shooters challenged by the springs. The loader is a collar-type unit that pushes down on the top round. This type of loader still requires quite a bit of hand power. This loader is designed to use the shooter's thumb on a "thumb ledge," which will require nearly the same amount of hand power.
This magazine loader will always work like it has been designed forever. There is nothing to wear out with it and nothing to assist shooters in pushing the springs to load the next round. This loader will be better than nothing, especially for loading a brand-new magazine or wearing out the thumb against the top of the magazine lips. Another good thing about this loader is that it's easy to carry in the gun bag or put in the presentation box if the Sig 365 did not come with one or the shooter lost the original. — Chris Hayes
Get it from Amazon now: $16.99 & FREE Returns
6. SPEED BEEZ® - Sig Sauer P365 Lever Loader
Highlight: It is fun to look at and even more fun to watch someone try and make it work.
Helpful review: This magazine loader is a testament to a novelty in the gun world. It uses a scissor-like action to take advantage of leverage to press the magazine spring down and then push the new round into place. This will press the bullet more profoundly into the brass when it works.
This deep seating practice by this machine is not a one in a thousand, more like 5 in one magazine. Five will load in a place like they are supposed to, five will be overseas, and the rest won't get in the magazine because it will jam up and not work anymore.
The Amazon advertisement page has some videos attached. Have a watch and tell me if you want to bother with the money upfront, then the time and hassle to send it back for a refund. The plastic is made out of flexes on every pull. This machine will probably break if you give it the benefit of the doubt. Then, good luck getting your money back.
I understand the idea behind this loader. It is a sound plan, but it has poor application. The lever cannot press against the bullet when it loads into the magazine; all that will do is create a problem. If the machine was built from higher-density plastics or aluminum, the flex would not happen and may function smoothly. Still, the same bullet seating issue would remain.
The listing says one round a second, which seems impossible to me. Getting this to release from the warping plastic after pushing the bullet too deeply takes more than a second if it releases at all. Suppose this machine was designed to press the bullet into the magazine utilizing the extraction groove, placed flat on a table, and operated with a lever. In that case, that may be a good idea. If that idea worked, it would still not load one round per second; not many of the magazine loaders on the market could perform at that level, even if they used sound engineering and suitable materials. — Thomas C. Daniels
Get it from Amazon now: $29.95 & FREE Returns