The Reload

I was teaching the other night, going through some of my usual drills when we got to reloads. Reloads are some of my favorite things to do, as there is much to do, but in my world, they aren’t very important. That may sound contradictory, but hear me out. Much like driving a stick shift, reloading a pistol allows you to interact with your gun more than some more common skills, like draws and press-outs. I like shooting bolt guns and lever guns, single shots and doubles, all for the same reason. There is more to running them fast and efficiently than just pulling the trigger. Nailing a fast reload consistently shows you that you have mastered a relatively complex gun handling skill, and is enjoyable to do, as well as watch.

That said, reloads don’t matter much for me, as fights in America very rarely go to a reload. The capacity of your gun is usually not an issue either and since I carry a high-capacity gun, my chances of needing a reload really start to drop. Please note, that none of this commentary is in reference to carrying a spare magazine. I am a firm believer in spare ammo. We are talking today about the skill of reloading your gun, not the rationale for having extra ammo with you.

So, back to last night. The guy I was shooting with is an enthusiast, and has been shooting for a while, but has only started looking at it seriously in the last year or so. His draws are good, press-outs are good, and accuracy has improved a lot in the last year. When we got to the reload though, I remembered just how complex a skill it is. Most of us probably take much of it for granted, having learned to do it many years ago, but when you are just learning the reload, there is a lot to look at. I may have given too much info at the time, as even adults can’t really fix more than one thing at a time. As an aside, that is one of the hardest lines to walk when teaching. Give them one thing to work on fixing, or show them everything because you want them to KNOW WHAT TO DO. Usually, one thing is the way to go.

Economy of motion is an issue throughout the reload. The way you go for your spare mag, the way you drop the empty mag in the gun, and the angle your gun takes when bringing the spare mag to the gun, all are times ripe for mistakes. It only continues once the mag is seated in the gun. How you drop the slide, reacquire your grip, and get back on target all matter. One of the really big ones, of course, is how you grab your spare mag. Gerber grab, or index finger along the front? Many people will tell you they use their index finger to index the mag on its front, but when you watch them, that only happens occasionally. If they fumble their shirt in any way, the Gerber grab shows right back up.

Gross motor skills vs. fine motor skills is another area that pops up from time to time. Suffice it to say, if you think you need gross motor skills to reload under stress, then have at it. The rest of us will be using the same fine motor skills we used to draw the gun and empty it in the first place.

There are usually at least a couple of ways to do anything well, and that is true for the reload. I’m not that interested in getting into the nitty-gritty on it right now, but if you want to be fast and effective at it, you need to look at all of it, not just a few major portions of it. There’s a lot more to it than many realize, including me.