Weakhand SG loading - 3rd and 4th shell

[BigDave]

When loading weakhanded, the first two shells are much faster and easier than the 3rd and definitely the 4th. Watching Keith Garcia's video I'm trying to see if he's doing anything I'm not to roll those shells up into position.

Is there anything you do differently with the 3rd and 4th shell?

I'm starting to practice with just those two in my hand, in the position they'd be in if I'd already loaded 1 and 2.

[Jesse Tischauser]

Interesting! I have the most trouble with the 2nd shell. The first is the next mist difficult because you gotta hit the loading port from the belt and sometimes I miss. The 2nd shell is hard to hold onto because the thumb is loading the 1st shell and it's tough to pinch the 2nd shell innetween my thumb and driving finger. It will almost always be the one to squirt out towards the muzzle and into the ground. Once the 2nd shell is in the gun I simply roll the 3rd down and under the gun as the thumb finishes loading #2 and starts backwards. Same thing goes for the 4th shell.

Post some video of you loading so we can break it down.

[AlamoShooter]

I practice / try to practice a few times at night each week . the more you train with the shells the better the hand learns to handel all three. to the point my left hand shifts the shells better than my right hand now.

If an old dog can learn this, so can you.

[SMSI]

When loading weakhanded, the first two shells are much faster and easier than the 3rd and definitely the 4th. Watching Keith Garcia's video I'm trying to see if he's doing anything I'm not to roll those shells up into position.

Is there anything you do differently with the 3rd and 4th shell?

I'm starting to practice with just those two in my hand, in the position they'd be in if I'd already loaded 1 and 2.

I have the same problem with # 3 and #4. I think the solution is to be sure you keep rolling the shells beside each other during the load so you dont end up with shells away form the chute. try to keep the base of all shells sliding along your ring finger. Hard to explain, but i can feel the difference if done right.

[SMSI]

PS i'm even older than Alamo Shooter and I'm getting the hang of it.

[keno34]

When loading weakhanded, the first two shells are much faster and easier than the 3rd and definitely the 4th. Watching Keith Garcia's video I'm trying to see if he's doing anything I'm not to roll those shells up into position.

Is there anything you do differently with the 3rd and 4th shell?

I'm starting to practice with just those two in my hand, in the position they'd be in if I'd already loaded 1 and 2.

Try to keep your index finger and thumb in contact with the gun during the load. Your thumb does all the work and the rest of the hand just moves the shells.

Keith

[mpeltier]

I'm starting to practice with just those two in my hand, in the position they'd be in if I'd already loaded 1 and 2.

I personally would not practice that way. It is really only practicing loading 2. There is a lot going on when you grab four and load them, it is nearly impossible to duplicate exactly what has transpired without first actually loading two out of the four. I would first go reeeeallly slow to break down each shell going in to the reciever, and speed up a little at a time until you start fumbling. Once you identify what is happening going at that speed you can make a correction and then try it at speed again.

It seems that many weekhand loaders have very slightly differant techniques for this. For instance i think Rob Romero in his video sais he uses two fingers and his thumb to draw from the caddy because the thumb cant extend down past the second finger. Well mine can, I can easily touch the second knuckle on my pinky with my thumb. I have tried the two finger method extensively as he does and end up with a lot of shells on the floor. For my hands a 3 finger grab works perfectly.

Jamie is spot on with his comments, keep practicing (4 at a time, there are no shortcuts) and your hand will figure it out.

[Jesse Tischauser]

Jamie is spot on with his comments, keep practicing (4 at a time, there are no shortcuts) and your hand will figure it out.

+1

I think every hand is going to have a slightly different technique based on your fingers size, flexibility, and coordination. Your speed and ability to load fast will also depend on where you hold the gun for reloads. Some guys bring the gun down to their hip which requires you to load under the gun and you don't get to see the loading port very well. Some guys bring the gun down so that the stock can be in the armpit for additional help holding the gun up. I like to keep the gun up on my shoulder so I can clearly see the loading port. All 3 positions require different had positions and wrist angles too. Try the all and figure out which works well for you.

Try to stay relaxed when you load especially in a match because as we all know tense muscles are slow muscles.

Edited December 1, 2010 by jtischauser

[Firetoad]

Note, I am not a member of NST, Taran Butler, anywhere remotely close to the skill level of the AMU shooters, any kin to Jerry Miculek, etc. As a matter of fact, 99.999% of 3 Gunners would not even recognize my name. At this point, I am not that fast and will not break any speed records. But, speed is starting to come for me as I continue to practice.

After videoing myself, dissecting those videos and basic experimentation, this is what I found that works best for me:

- When grabbing the shells from the caddy, I have the base of the shells against my ring finger and my pinky finger is the only free finger. I am 6'6" and have bear paws for hands with alien-like long fingers. For some reason, resting the shells higher on my fingers and shown in the NST video resulted in nothing but flubs and fumbles for me.

- The shotgun is moved down from my shoulder with the butt of the gun resting on my abs/high hip. I then roll the gun ever so slightly clockwise (from the shooter's viewpoint) and expose the left edge of the loading port to me, the shooter.

- I then load the shells similarly to that shown in NST's video. By rolling the shotgun outward slightly, it forces the loading hand upward ever so slightly. This aids in preventing gravity from having as detrimental of an effect on the shells as you load. It is a little reminiscent of the whole "let gravity work with you, not against you."

As previously stated, everybody is sure to have minor differences with what works best for them.

So, since others have videos floating around and in hopes of becoming an absolute internet sensation, I have uploaded some video cuts of myself and a couple of four-round reloads in an attempt to visually demonstrate what I explained above. The video is comprised of four clips. The first clip is merely untimed practice. The second clip is of a six second par time reload with the third clip being a slow motion and zoomed version of the second clip. The final clip is of a four second par time reload (notice I did not beat the buzzer ).

[biga9999]

Thanks for the info/video. I am 6'7" and had similar difficulties with the Romero finger grab. Dropped quite a few today. Started resting the shells against my rings finger and got quite a bit smoother.

[JMIS]

Great video My goal right now is to be smooth first. I'll try to add speed with more practice later.

[Brian Payne]

Two things that worked for me to help with reloading at speed and not dropping shells.

The first was switching to the 20 ga. shotgun for a season. The smaller shells allowed for holding five shells in the normal 4 rd carrier, and seven shells in the 6 rd carrier. When you get used to loading seven 20 ga. shells at a time, going back to the four 12 ga. shells is a breeze.

The second was practicing with a 6 rd carrier loaded with six 12 ga rounds. Practice loading all six. When you switch back to loading just four shells, the hand will handle the dexterity easily.

Basically just saying to switch the training up a little, and break some of the mental paradigms down. Try going slow for a while until your fingers figure out what your brain is telling them what to do.