12/2/11

DT Speedload 6 Review

     When the Speedload 6 was originally released it seemed like a fantastic new sidearm.  Unfortunately it was a disappointment.


     Six shots with slamfire and an internal clip made the Speedload a great blaster in concept.  What went wrong?

Build quality
     The Speedload feels great and is very solid and comfortable, if a bit too big.

Performance
     Ranges were less than expected, between 20 and 30 feet.  With brand new taggers 35 is possible.



Reliability
     In my opinion, this is where everything went wrong.  It has a great design, but like the M16, it's overcomplicated.  It relies on a complex system of levers and pushing rods to operate the built in clip and that is the problem.  It is too complicated and if a dart is not perfect or the priming motion is not slow and smooth enough, a jam is likely.  Plus, with all the doors that close off the inside, fixing a jam is difficult too.  Where the Maverick's jams were skipping barrels and minor issues, jams in the Speedload are a major problem and can take minutes to fix.  In it's big brother the Quick 16, this problem is even worse because it is even harder to get to the mechanism where the jam is.



Mod Potential
     Sadly little.  A Nite Finder is a plunger tube and catch and has countless mods.  This is ridiculously complicated and is difficult just to disassemble.



The Bottom Line

Pros:
     Solid build
     Reloading system

Cons:
     Nonstop jams
     Extremely bulky
     No mod potential
     Too complicated

Summary:  Overall it is a great idea that just didn't work out.  It has next to no mod potential and jams are horrific.  Also, ranges are nothing special and it takes up far too much space for a sidearm.  I'd pass and just go with the Maverick instead.

Overall Score:  **

2 comments:

  1. I hate jams at least they were in only my clip fed guns!!!

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  2. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had these problems. It was probably my user error that caused all the jams but the jams are hard to fix. Great idea but just didn't work correctly.

    ReplyDelete