I don't know how everyone else feels, but I really dislike having to reload my Marlin .22lr tube-fed rifle one round at a time when at the range.
Yeah you could buy one of these:
Spee-D-Loader 120 Round Speed Loader Works with all Tube Fed Rifles and .22 Ammo
But I'm a cheap skate, so I came up with an idea to do it for almost free.
Go to your favorite restaurant and grab a fistful of straws. I personally found Wendy's straws to work best in my application. They're just wide enough for .22lr, but not too tight to prevent them from sliding in/out easily. They're also just long enough to hold 9 rounds (the capacity of my marlin tube magazine) with a little extra room to play with.
You may need to find another variety of straw to fit your needs.
After I open up all the straws, I take a lighter and melt the one end of each straw. Just the tip needs melted. And it only takes a second; just apply the flame until edge starts to curl up. If the plastic starts to blacken and smoke then you're holding the flame to it too long.
Once the edge curls up, quickly remove the flame and press something flat and hard on the tip of the straw to smash it closed. The bottom edge of an ordinary bic lighter works great for this. Hold it down for a second. Afterwords, test the seal some with your fingers and/or by blowing into the straw some to make sure it's sturdy.
Now, all you need is some sort of cylindrical container to store the straws in after you load them up with your ammo. A pringles chip can was the best container I could find, though personally I'd like something a little narrower.
Anyways, you'll need to put a spacer in down at the bottom so that the straws are fairly close to the lid of the can so that the rounds can't fall out when the can is laid on its side. You could use a aerosol can lid if you find one the right size, or you could just bunch up some paper down at the bottom and put something flat on top of it. I found that an average size metal soup can lid fit nicely into a pringles can.
Since the pringles can lid fits rather loosely to be holding back heavy ammo, I recommend putting a piece of tape over it while in storage.
Throw a dessicant pack in for moisture and you're good to go!
I would take pictures of my setup, but I'm too lazy.
Yeah you could buy one of these:
Spee-D-Loader 120 Round Speed Loader Works with all Tube Fed Rifles and .22 Ammo
But I'm a cheap skate, so I came up with an idea to do it for almost free.
Go to your favorite restaurant and grab a fistful of straws. I personally found Wendy's straws to work best in my application. They're just wide enough for .22lr, but not too tight to prevent them from sliding in/out easily. They're also just long enough to hold 9 rounds (the capacity of my marlin tube magazine) with a little extra room to play with.
You may need to find another variety of straw to fit your needs.
After I open up all the straws, I take a lighter and melt the one end of each straw. Just the tip needs melted. And it only takes a second; just apply the flame until edge starts to curl up. If the plastic starts to blacken and smoke then you're holding the flame to it too long.
Once the edge curls up, quickly remove the flame and press something flat and hard on the tip of the straw to smash it closed. The bottom edge of an ordinary bic lighter works great for this. Hold it down for a second. Afterwords, test the seal some with your fingers and/or by blowing into the straw some to make sure it's sturdy.
Now, all you need is some sort of cylindrical container to store the straws in after you load them up with your ammo. A pringles chip can was the best container I could find, though personally I'd like something a little narrower.
Anyways, you'll need to put a spacer in down at the bottom so that the straws are fairly close to the lid of the can so that the rounds can't fall out when the can is laid on its side. You could use a aerosol can lid if you find one the right size, or you could just bunch up some paper down at the bottom and put something flat on top of it. I found that an average size metal soup can lid fit nicely into a pringles can.
Since the pringles can lid fits rather loosely to be holding back heavy ammo, I recommend putting a piece of tape over it while in storage.
Throw a dessicant pack in for moisture and you're good to go!
I would take pictures of my setup, but I'm too lazy.
