We have all been there when our thumb is permanently cramping after filling three mags in a row. Every customer you have hates to load semiauto mags — otherwise there would not be a market for reloading gadgets for pushing cartridges into magazines. When we look around stores, most retailers are not addressing this pain point, and it is an easy upsell. Shoving the last five rounds by thumb pressure alone in extended SMG/PCC mags can be painful. A few dirty and oily magazines have also stained up a few good shirts as well taking the fun out of date night at the range. Since female shooters are still the fastest-growing market segment, it should be noted that most ladies do not want to destroy expensive manicures or trash clothes. Enter the industries’ best ultimate mag reloading options — no gloves required, no more stained clothes, zero finger cramps, and no torn up hands or nails.
Simple slide-over sleeve reloaders are slow, provide marginal assistance with pushing down rounds, lack speed, and still require pushing rounds backward into the magazine — they are a marginal helping hand. After over 30 years of fiddling around with various magazine reloaders, these three brands continue to deliver the best magazine loaders in the industry and span reloading .22LR single-stack mags to handgun, AR and AK mags effortlessly. In some cases, they can reload a magazine almost as fast as you can empty one. These loaders take so much hassle out of magazine reloading that if I accidentally leave mine at home when heading to the range, I will circle back to pick them up.
Ultimate Cliploader & Lightnin’ Grip Loader — For semiauto .22 rimfire shooters, McFadden exclusively offers .22LR magazine models that cover a huge span of rimfire semiautos. Both loaders feature a dump-ammo, shake auto-ammo alignment, and fast loading process.
The $29.99 MSRP Ultimate Cliploader is extremely durable and tunable for different single-stack .22LR magazines such as popular Ruger MK II-IV & 22/45, Buck Mark, Colt Woodsman, High Standard, and Stoeger Luger pistols. Ammo is dumped in the hopper, the cover slide closed, shake to auto-align ammo, and insert the mag to reload. If tuned for your magazine, 10 rounds can fill the mag instantly; otherwise, it may require a little jiggle. This has been a better investment instead of additional magazines, and with some DIY modification, it can be customized to work with other single-stack magazines.
With a similar loading process, the Lightnin’ Grip Loader ($29.99 MSRP plus optional adapters) is designed to swap between different adapters that span about 30 different pistol and rifle models, with the 10/22, AR-15/22 and MP15-22, S&W Model 41 and Ruger SR22 being some of the more popular adapters. Once the adapter is snapped in place and a mag is clipped in, a gun grip with trigger is squeezed to load each round very fast. From experience, I can note the Lightnin’ Grip Loader for just the AR-15/22 alone is worth its weight in gold.
The company’s $39.99 MSRP UpLula Universal 9mm-45ACP has delivered one of the best compact, pocket-friendly single- and double-stack pistol magazine loaders on the market. If you’re not currently stocking this item, you should be, due to its extremely broad reloading compatibility with nearly all defensive pistol caliber handguns. The UpLula features a patented squeeze-and-drop-in-ammo reloading process that makes it fast and easy on the hands, even on some of the most stubborn high-capacity pistol magazines. Stocking assorted colors is recommended for both a more eye-catching display and a color that will stand out in a range bag.
Maglula’s LULA $39.99 MSRP rifle and PCC pocket-sized magazine loaders clip onto the magazine and require only a cam toggle to be thrown forward/backward to load each round. The cam pushes down on the left/right rounds to allow for each round to drop in with no force. The toggle is thrown repeatedly through the reloading process. Many models are offered, including AR-15, AK-457, MP5, Colt SMG, CZ Scorpion, S&W Kuna (2026), Uzi, Sig MPX, SR25, FN FAL, Ruger 10/22 and many more. In the MP5, Scorpion, and MPX, the LULA loaders I’ve tested over the last five years have been game-changing hand savers. Because PCC magazines can be so difficult to reload to full capacity by hand, it is an easy upsell when stocking any of these firearm models. The LULA loaders can be the difference between loving and hating to shoot your PCC or some of these other stubborn-to-load magazines. Maplula also offers a simple Ruger 10/22 magazine loader that makes quick work of filling 10/22 magazines.
Starting at $139.99 - Since 2016, Magpump has been the undisputed champ of fast, high-volume and easy reloading for AR-15, AK-47 and 9mm pistol magazines. Magpumps are regularly seen at competitions and used heavily by 3-gun shooters due to their rugged durability and reliability. A store demo model will deliver immediate sales. Magpump offers range-portable and bench-mountable models with lifetime warranties that will serve shooters for generations. I have been running some of these models very hard since 2016, and they have been the best firearms accessory investment I have ever made. My original MITUSA/Magpump 2016 AR-15 loader has loaded well over 500K rounds of 5.56 and 5.45x39, and the other models easily over 100K rounds each, with the only maintenance required being a quick squirt of the recommended WD-40 Specialist Dry Lube.
The Magpumps offer self-sorting hoppers with auto-aligning ammo while delivering one round loaded per lever pull — a 30-round magazine is perfectly loaded in under 30 seconds with minimal ammo handling. The loading process automatically stops when the magazine is full. The company offers specific models for AK-47 (7.62x39) or AR-15 (.223 Rem, 5.56 NATO, 5.45x39 and .300 Blackout rounds) compatible magazines, with $139.99 standard and $219.99 Pro (aluminum and steel components) model variants. The Pro model’s precision metal components offer a smoother reloading experience and slightly faster ammo sorting, which can improve reloading speed.
Magpump’s newer 9mm magazine loaders use a swappable adapter system for wide compatibility with most popular 9mm handguns. The 9mm Magpump includes adapters for Glock, Sig, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, CZ and Ruger magazines, plus a variety of optional adapters for over 36 different pistol magazines. Though smaller loaders like the UpLula are indispensable pocket tools, a 9mm Magpump that can fully reload two 33-round Glock stick magazines in about a minute is a game changer when it comes to range time. For PCC shooters, Magpump is working on a double-stack 9mm magazine loader for PCC magazines which could include MP5, Kuna, MPX, and Scorpion magazine compatibility — fingers crossed.
Final Thoughts
Over the years, these magazine reloaders have made my range time faster and more fun, and for by-the-hour ranges, these loaders pay for themselves quickly. As an editor who tests and shoots a lot, these loaders deliver super fast reloading that collapses range time and allows more time to actually shoot. When shooting with others and especially my wife, this takes one more potential distraction and potential negative task away from the shooting experience and allows us all to enjoy and maximize the range time. This is one set of accessories every shooter needs in their kits.
