Anybody tried the new Thumb Loader (AR-15/M16-.22LR) by Christie's Products on the BDM website yet? Price looks good compaired the the older machined device but it isn't the same product either.
I heard they were coming out with a more affordable model. I'm sure L4E will be all over one soon as he has both KT22s. Wow! Only $10? http://blackdogmachinellc.net/loader-ar-15-m16--22lr-thumb-loader-by-christie-s-products.aspx
[pre] AR15.22 Conversion- 30 RND Skinny Body Magazine - Smoke C1-SMOKE 1 $30.00 $30.00 Loader AR-15/M16-.22LR Thumb Loader by Christie's Products AR-15TL 1 $10.00 $10.00 Subtotal: $40.00 Shipping & Handling: $6.00 Tax: $0.00 Order Total: $46.00 [/pre] I'll let 'cha know! The mag loader looks like the simple thumb push down sleeve, similar to the Glock version that sells for about $5. It may be all I need to load the mags. It's difficult to tell how well it'll work without try it. I started to search for online reviews. Someone at AR15.com has probably reviewed it, but I was in a hurry, and I had intended to try a skinny mag anyway and this was a good opportunity to combine the shipping. You can probably find the loader (and the mag) a little cheaper from a distributor, but again, I didn't feel like looking to save a few dollars today. The To Do list is long, and the day is growing shorter by the minute! Black Dog shipped fast the last time, and I don't even need a range trip to evaluate the mag loader. I should know something by Wednesday or so. I'll post my impressions. Thanks for the tip. Keep nibbling away at my gun fund like this and I'll never get that RFB I've been wanting.
My order from Black Dog Machining LLC just arrived. I like the look of the smaller 30 round "skinny" magazine. Here it is with the Christie's Products magazine loader, which is just a simple sleeve that fits over the outside of the top of the magazine with a little tab that pushes the rounds down into the magazine to make room for the next round. Here's a closeup of the operation. Note the tab pushing the .22 LR round down into the magazine to make room for the next round. I was able to load the new 30 round skinny mag with 30 rounds of ammo in 81 seconds. That was when I was seated at my desk, with 30 rounds in a pile on the desk in front of me. My impression was that it's a little faster than loading the rounds by hand without the mag loader, but the big advantage was the savings in wear and tear on my thumb. The mag loader (or magazine) seemed a little finicky and would catch every now and then, but overall it was a fairly smooth operation and quite a bit better than without the mag loader. Ten dollars seems a bit steep for a couple of cents worth of plastic, but this is a low volume injection molded item and the high cost of the mold must be spread over fewer sales. If MagLULA makes a $30 loader for this magazine, I'll probably get it. I won't be spending $200 on the CNC artwork in the more automated and faster magazine loader. The skinny mag didn't seem to manually feed as well as the blockier AR style mags. It seemed to be slow to feed the next round, especially for the first 10-15 rounds. I'm afraid that'll cause the bolt to cycle with a failure to feed. I haven't shot it yet with the new mag, so I don't know if that's true or not. It may have something to do with the offset of the rims in the skinny mag.
