I have used all of the speed loaders. I teach NRA classes and demonstrate them to my revolver students. Personally, I prefer the Safariland Comp II which are the push release type of speed loader. In my experience they are the quickest way to reload a revolver. The HKS speedloaders are twist and release. They work fine but are just a shade slower to use than the Safariland. The speed strips are handy for carrying backup rounds and are a necessity for performing tactical reloads to keep your revolver topped off. They load two rounds at a time.

To do tactical reloads the following works for most revolvers. To do a tactical reload grasp the revolver with the left hand with the two middle fingers on the cylinder and the index finger and little finger are on the side of the revolver. This should provide a firm hold on the revolver. Use the right hand to push the cylinder latch. Using the two middle fingers of the left hand swing the cylinder out while maintaining a firm grip on the revolver with the left hand keeping the revolver pointed toward the ground. Several tests may be necessary to determine the angle that works best for a tactical reload. Placing the right hand on the ejector rod push it enough to partially move the rounds out of the chamber. Let the ejector rod back down slowly. How slowly will be determined by your revolver. Most of the time the fired rounds will remain out of the cylinder at bit. This happens because a fired round expands some while the unfired ones do not. The unfired rounds will fall back into the cylinder. If the fired rounds stick out, you can then use your right hand to pick out the fired cases by hand and reload with your right hand using a speed strip. With a little practice this can be done quickly. Practice doing it without looking so you can done this in the dark if need be. If this does not work then dump all of the rounds and fill up with a speedloader. A full gun always works best in a gunfight so learning to do tactical reloads is a necessity.

I do not care much for the rubber twist speedloaders. It is often hard to get the rounds lined up so loading in the dark is harder than with the other types of loaders. . The other types will work in complete darkness with practice.

I don't think the cylinder will spin properly with half moon clips. If they were able to be used then you'd see a recessed area (roughly the size and shape of the clips) on the back of the cylinder.

I like the model 327, it's a good design for it's intended purpose as a shield entry gun. For HD I suppose it's also very well suited, having the light rail and the extra 2 shots, the cumbersome size isn't that important on a gun that stays at home.

Can a moon clip cylinder still accomodate being loaded sans-clips? does it mess up the system at all?