Gravity is not your friend. That is, except for some rare instances when it actually is. The Unorthodox Designs SLAP (Single Load And Press) Loader for SIG P320/250 harnesses the power of gravity to quickly and easily load steel SIG P320/250 standard or high-capacity magazines. The loader is especially effective when loading factory FMJ ammo with brass or nickel-plated casings.
The SLAP loader is available exclusively at GunMag Warehouse where it cost $19.99 at the time of this writing. There is also a version available for double stack Glock 9mm or .40 S&W magazines.
(Full Disclosure: GunMag Warehouse is an affiliate advertiser of SurvivalBlog.com. If you order using the above link, SurvivalBlog will receive a modest commission on the sale.)
If you load a lot of magazines or if you find magazine loading to be difficult, this tool could make your life a whole lot easier.
Background
GunMag Warehouse recently contacted SurvivalBlog to tell us about Unorthodox Designs’ new SLAP Loader for the SIG P320/250. It sounded like an interesting product at a reasonable price. I requested a sample for testing and evaluation. Gunmag Warehouse was kind enough to agree. Not long afterward, a box from Gunmag Warehouse showed up on my porch.
First Impressions
The box arrived via UPS Ground from GunMag Warehouse, 2700 Rental Car Dr., Dallas, TX 75261. The box contained a packing list, the loader, and a 50-round box of Ammo Incorporated 9mm Target & Range Ammo 115 grain FMJ. GunMag Warehouse noted that this particular loader is designed for steel magazines only (not polymer). They also mention that there is a video online demonstrating how to use the loader.
The product box contained the loader in a plastic bag and a 5.75 x 2.94 slip of paper with instructions. Those instructions were very simple:
1. Insert a compatible magazine into the loader sleeve.
2. Insert a round, projectile first, into the feed ramp.
3. Firmly press down on the magazine until the loader sleeve is fully compressed. Release and repeat until the magazine is loaded to capacity.
4. To unload: Use the notch on the side of the loader to strip rounds from the magazine.
The loader is made of polymer with a Zytel-like base that prevents it from sliding on your work surface.
Initial Testing
The SIG P320 magazine that I used for the testing was fairly new. As a result, the spring was still quite stiff. It was so stiff that it made it impractical to fully load the magazine. Although the magazine was rated to hold 17 rounds, it was virtually impossible to load more than 16 rounds by hand. The force required to load the 17th round was so great that I feared that I would either deform the cartridge or bend the feed lips of the magazine if I loaded the last round. I settled for loading just 16 rounds during my testing. Some day, when the spring is less stiff and the magazine is broken in, it may be easier to load the 17th round.
I took the magazine, the loader, and the Ammo Incorporated ammo and loaded the magazine in accordance with the instructions recorded above. The process was quick and easy with the amount of force required being similar to the force required to operate a standard stapler.
The notch in the side of the loader was highly effective at stripping rounds from the magazine. The loader passed the initial testing with flying colors.
Time Trials
Next, I used a stopwatch to compare how long it took to load the magazine by hand versus how long it took to load it using the loader. I alternately loaded the magazine by hand and then by using the loader three times each.
It took between 50.17 and 59.82 seconds to load the magazine by hand, with an average of 54.93 seconds and a median of 54.81.
It took between 21.70 and 22.20 seconds to load the magazine using the loader, with an average of 22.00 seconds and a median of 22.20 seconds.
So using the loader, I was able to load the magazine in less than half the time it took me to load it by hand.
Other Loads
I decided to test the loader using a variety of other cartridges to see if it could handle them as well as brass-cased FMJ ammo.
The first of these other loads was Remington UMC 115 Grain JHP. The hollow points made it more difficult for these cartridges to slide down the feed ramp of the loader than it was for the Ammo International cartridges with their rounded noses. If I tipped the loader as I dropped each round into the feed ramp so that the feed ramp was positioned at a more vertical angle, the JHP rounds slid better. But I could only load 15 rounds of the Remington ammo using the loader and had to load the 16th round by hand.
The second alternate load was Winchester PDX1 Defender 124 Grain Bonded Jacketed Hollow Point. The nickel-plated casings of the Winchester ammo slid down the feed ramp even better than the brass casings of the Ammo International cartridges. But like the Remington ammo, I was only able to load 15 rounds using the loader and had to load the 16th round by hand.
The third alternate load was Blazer Aluminum-Cased 115 Grain FMJ. The aluminum casings did not seem to slide down the feed ramp as was well as the brass ones. But by simply tipping the loader a bit, I was able to easily load 16 rounds.
The fourth alternate load was G9 Defense 80 Grain Solid Copper External Hollow Point. The Solid Metal Fluid Transfer (SMFT) design of the G9 bullet did not interfere with the operation of the loader as much as hollow point designs did. The loader was easily able to load 16 rounds of this ammo.
The final alternate load that I used in my testing was Wolf Military Classic 115 Grain FMJ. The steel cases of this ammo tended to hang up in the feed ramp of the loader, but fed okay if the loader was tipped.
I then repeated my testing with the Ammo Incorporated load to determine if the feed ramp had become sticky during the course of my testing. The Ammo Incorporated rounds still fed well.
Detachable Box Magazine History
James Paris Lee patented the first detachable box magazine in 1879. The concept was first widely used in the Lee-Metford rifle of 1888, and adapted to handguns in the Borchardt C-93 of 1893.
The stick magazine developed for the Thompson Submachine Gun in 1918 was a very early example of an effective double-stack detachable box magazine. The Model 1893 Mauser rifle had earlier introduced a staggered stack design to a fixed box magazine. The Browning Hi-Power popularized the double stack magazine for handguns, beginning in 1935.
Unorthodox Designs
The name “Unorthodox Designs” is very popular, as I found with a web search. It is being used by an architecture firm in Gurguon, India, an interior design studio in the same city, a movie prop company in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada, and of course the firearms accessory company in the United States that is responsible for the design and production of the SLAP loader.
That particular firearms accessory company currently has SLAP loaders as their primary product. The company was founded in 2021.
I really like the SLAP loader concept. My favorite handgun is a Rock Island Armory MAPP FS in 9mm. In the unlikely event that Unorthodox Designs produces a SLAP loader for that handgun, I will be first in line to buy it.
GunMag Warehouse
GunMag Warehouse was founded in 2012 with the goal of keeping every magazine that is currently in production in-stock at the warehouse and ready to ship. In the years since their founding, GunMag Warehouse has expanded their product line to include ammunition, optics, loaders, gun parts, cleaning equipment, targets, cases, holsters, and a host of other items. In order to accommodate this vastly growing inventory, the company moved from a 6,000 square foot warehouse in Miami, Florida to a 60,000 square foot warehouse in Dallas, Texas in 2020. Their product line has increased from about 8,000 distinct items back when they were primarily carrying magazines to about 30,000 distinct items today. They are seeking to become the one-stop shop for all of their customers’ firearm accessories needs.
Conclusions
The Orthodox Designs SLAP Loader makes it much easier and faster to load magazines than loading them by hand. It is also more effective than other loaders that I have used. If you own a SIG P320 or P250, or a double-stack Glock 9mm or .40SW, it would probably be worth your while to pick up one of these loaders.
Disclaimer
Unorthodox Designs provided me with a sample of their SLAP Loader for testing and evaluation as well as a 50-round box of Ammo Incorporated Target and Range Ammo, 9mm FMJ 115 grain. G9 Defense had provided me with a sample of their 9mm 80 Grain Solid Copper External Hollow Point for an earlier review. I tried not to allow the kindness to these vendors to hinder my objectivity in this review, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.
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