With pandemic ammo prices, it pays for itself in one range visit. I’ve had this Advantage Arms conversion slide kit for about 3 years now and have put through over 1000rnds through it without issue.
It is ammo finicky like many 22LR pistols, preferring CCI Mini-Mags and Remington Golden Bullets. I’ve tried Aguila Super Extra and Winchester Super X’s but these cause failures to cycle.
Glock recently came out with the Glock 44, unfortunately we can’t get that here in CA. This solution works better for me because I can use my Glock 17’s frame, with its grip and weapon light for muscle memory.
QuickFill are speed loading ammo tubes made for tube-fed semi-auto rifles, like a Marlin 60. These will hold 22LR, 22 short cartridges. Quick-Fill also makes a version for 22 magnums and 17HMR cartridges. And a Big-Boy version that fit .38 special, 357, 44 magnum, 45 long-colt, and 41 magnum centerfire lever-action carbines. Cheaper per tube than doing it yourself (I tried and it ended up costing me like $6 per tube and about 20min of construction time), so it’s worth it to me to just buy these.
How it works is very simple. You open up the stopper end and load in 15 rounds of 22LR ammo. You load them in with the bullet end first. This is so when you empty them into your rifle’s mag-tube, they slide out, rim end first, and are oriented in the correct position in the tube. It fits into your mag-tube like your brass follower tube. You insert, tilt it and the rounds slide it.
Starting from an empty mag-tube with the inner follower tube removed. We’ll pop off the end and load it. About 5 seconds. Compare that with loading a round at a time. About 2-3 seconds per round. 45 seconds may not seem like a long time. But if you’re at a range that charges by the hour, time is money. And I’d rather use those saved minutes shooting rather than loading. But that’s me.
One downside some have with these tubes is is that they are too long to fit into an ammo can. So don’t. Because they’re roughly the same dimensions as your mag-tube, they’ll fit comfortably nestled next to your rifle in your rifle case or bag. As long as it’s legal in your area to transport ammo in the same container as your firearm. It’s not a magazine, it’s a storage tube.
Another criticism folks have is that the tube is very light and thin to fit inside your mag-tube, so it’s not very strong. A single tube could easily bend or break. But there’s strength in numbers. Bundle a couple together with a rubber band or even tape and suddenly a fragile tube becomes a robust bundle.
Aguila Super Extra HV vs. Federal Auto Match vs. CCI Mini-Mag. Guess which ammo came in first in our test? The test results were surprising to me because CCI’s have been the gold-standard for high-quality 22LR. I rotated between the different ammo brands during the test to isolate the effects of barrel heating affecting the group size (any heating would affect all brands equally).
The results below were calculated using the Range Buddy App for Android OS.
