Anyone want to share pointers for reloads

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MartyK2500

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Hey, i dry fire at least 20 minutes per day, 5 days a week.
Last 3 weeks i have been putting a lot of focus on the reload process, as it's been my weak spot since joining IPSC 12 months ago.
Right now seems like the more i practice the worst i get at it, i never was fast reloading at matches but now the way i fumble them in dry fire i started fumbling just like it live fire.
I have had an instructor check my technique and told me what i remember of key elements, is there some sort of advice or reminders to help me out with this.
I'm open to all suggestions, as right now i feel like i am close to getting it right. I did get to do a few 1.4secs (started trigger prepped,sights on target/beep/reload/dry fire 1 SA shot on target), but i do fumble a lot too. It's often the mag not coming in at the right angle and catching on side of magwell. I do dry fire with full mags of real weight duds, so i do get the weight feeling in it.
Thanks in advance.
 
That would make sense for starters, when reloading how do you bring your gun to you?
The sense of my question is by how much you actually bring it in, how much you lower it and what kind of a twist you give your wrists?
 
Don't lower it or twist your wrist, just drop your strong side elbow and the gun should come back to the right spot and be a bit turned where you can see the mag well.
 
Double check your index on the mag. make sure the index finger runs straight down the mag and grip the sides fully with the thumb and other fingers.
 
Thanks guys, tomorow 5pm will go thru my usual dry fire getting home from work. Will try just dropping strong elbow without twisting, and will double check grip on mags. The one thing i was aware and carefull of, i always touch the top bullet with my index, that is why i train with full (duds) mags.
I was getting discouraged, because lately the more i try getting better on reloads the harder i fail, now my brain seems to think it will fail a reload before even trying lol! Guess i'll have to put some positive attitude into it as well...

Edit, yep i have seen this video quite a few times pauls. Unfortunatly it doesnt give much info out, but is very cool to watch
 
It is a good idea to start all dry fire drills with set of repetitions with no time limit, slow and concentrating on the right technique. Then do another set it in half of your normal/baseline speed. Then set par time to few tenth below of your baseline speed still focusing on technique and repeat whole set again. Then start decreasing par time by 0.1..0.2 seconds and finish at few tenth over your baseline speed. With that last set you may have troubles at first, but things will get better after a few days of practice...
 
There is a drill... it has helped me immensely... I'd tell you how fast I can now reload but you'd have to see it to believe it... I'd take photos but I'm just a blur... ;) (I wish)

There is something about stopping right at the mag-well opening rather than slamming it in during practice. I don't know how it works but it helped me get super fast and most importantly really accurate at getting the mag in place. I do fumble... but it's rare now.

ht tp://dryfiretrainer.########.ca/2010/02/burkett-reloads.html

And if you don't have a timer at home you can use the following. I use the "draw at the beep" one just for the par times and the beep sound.

ht tp://www.predatortactical.com/cart.php?m=knowledgebase_detail&id=5
 
MartyK2500 said:
Right now seems like the more i practice the worst i get at it, i never was fast reloading at matches but now the way i fumble them in dry fire i started fumbling just like it live fire.
Click to expand...

Be absolutely sure you are not practicing incorrect movements. It takes a lot of effort to unlearn muscle memory. euxx gives the right general method in his post.

What pistol are you using? Magwell modifications? What mag pouches, and in what location? How are you gripping your magazines when you draw them from the mag pouch?

Consider putting a small dab of bright paint (or a sticker) on the inside of the magwell, right at the mouth where you can just see it when the pistol is turned at the correct angle for reloading. The correct angle is along a straight line from your mag pouch to the pistol's normal reloading position at the sight line. This will serve as a visual index point and help guide the motions of both the left and right hands during reloading. This might not be a legal modification if you're in Production, but it's a useful training aid, regardless.
 
euxx, I was already making gradual drops in time, but never went very slow about it without a timer. It would make perfect sense. When i start reload drill i usually set par at 2.2, and try to drop to 1.5 gradually. But right now i should be going slow mo and let the timer aside for a few sets.

MrFreeze, thanks for the links, i'm at work right now but as soon as i get home i will have a look at this.

Alpining, you are right, since my practice started going to #### my live started going to ####. Seems like the mistakes i learn downstairs directly get outside.
Using the CZ shadow, production, all possible legal mods done, so no magwell mod. Using ghost magnet holster, the ones with the wings. I will try this tonight put some orange marker inside the well, before a match i could just sand it off and paint black at worst.
 
Use the sticker then, and peel it off for sanctioned comps. If you're not doing it already, focus on the magwell during reloads.

Also make sure you are gripping the mags consistently nice and "deep", basepad in the sweet spot of your palm, with your pointer finger indexed along the leading edge of the mags. Lots of slow reps until you get the motion precisely dialed. Video record yourself, as the different perspective will be very helpful (or have someone watch and coach). Record a series of mag changes from very slow (with perfect form) to too fast (where you start to mess up). That will show you exactly what you're doing wrong. Then you're in a better position to correct it.

Also, practice exclusively from your "first" mag pouch until you get that sufficiently dialed, then move to the other pouches. I'm no mag change whiz, but if I really wanted to spend some time and effort speeding them up, that's what I'd do.

Honestly, you might already be "mag change fast" for your class. I'm a B shooter, and my mag changes are not terribly fast. But simply speeding up my mag changes really won't make me an A shooter. Eliminating bobbled mag changes will certainly help, though, so I try to focus on being slow and smooth on mag changes during comps. You have to balance the benefit of greater speed with the greater risk of foulups.
 
alpining said:
Use the sticker then, and peel it off for sanctioned comps. If you're not doing it already, focus on the magwell during reloads...
Click to expand...

Bad idea. Why would you practice and get used for a visual hint that won't be available to you?

I'd actually go an opposite way... practice reloads in the dark room or with your eyes closed. Don't need to go fast there. Keep is slow and focus on what you feel.

There is a trick you can also use. Take your support hand with a magazine in it and with your eyes closed find a "neutral position" in front of you somewhere around chin level where your support hand don't feel any tension and where your muscle memory brings it naturally every time... Then open your eyes and see where it is. That is the place you need to bring your gun during reload. This will save you lot of time for trying to rebuild your muscle memory and overwrite your natural movements.
 
Alright, i just finished a 45 minutes reloads drill dry fire session. I have to say it was my best one so far. Seems like i was holding mag correctly as i did not focus on anything mag holding.
I kept a few things from here, and they did more than the job.

First off was figuring my natural angle the mag is coming out of pouch at, and to match angle with pistol i only drop strong elbow, no pulling back or twist of the wrists. Then i did my reload drill 20 minutes eyes closed, and stopped and opened them when mag was about one inch from pistol. All this was very slow moving but in the end i even got the mag naturally in with eyes closed. The end of session was starting timer at 2 secs and going down .1 at a time. I got my objective 1.5secs 12 times in a row without fumbling and quit there, i will keep that for tonight.

Alpining, i don'T know what time is to be expected in my rank, as i'm ranked U ;)
Passed black badge in november '12, did 5 matches at RA and EOSC all in all. The trainer i hired quite a few times for learning me IPSC is getting me convinced i now need to get out more, and get match experience.
 
I had been dry firing for almost a year now so i had pretty much a good idea, it's just the last 3 weeks went down hill and i felt like i couldnt go back up anymore.
I was overthinking it, and these few good tips i got here just feel like i'm back on track with this.
 
Good stuff. Keep at it and you will progress. :rockOn:

I just checked my log book and using the links I sent you I can do that particular drill in a comfortable .6 ...from my front mag pouch ...from an engaging target position. It took some time... made for some sore arms ...entertained my family but I got there.

And mag pouch angle... that's a good point. My front mag is angled with the top backwards more than the rest and they get more vertical as they go around my hip. I tried to match the angle of my forarm as it gets above each pouch. This lets me pull mags with as little wrist bending as possible.

I'm getting all pumped up just typing about this game... too bad I have to go to work :(
 
the picture on those two videos illustrates a very good point about a good and bad reloading style.

for whatever reason, the guy on top drops his gun down and is forced to look down; check out his head position

the army dude keeps the gun up in front of his face. that's the way to go.
 
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