dryfire reloads

[Qstick]

What is everyone doing when practicing reloads. I can;t decide on making up some dummy rounds so the force needed to reload is the same as in a match or if it won;t make any difference. If you are using the dummy rounds, are you filling the mag to match day capacity or do you just fill it with partial capacity to simulate the weight?

Thanks again for the great advice,

Zach

[PaulW]

I made up 50 dummies. So depends, most of the time I like to fill them up, but 10-12 is plenty good.

[kevin c]

I am loading a full mag into the gun during a stage, so that's what I put into the practice mag - 20 (clearly marked, primer pocket empty dummy) rounds. Ditto for dryfire draw practice.

But then, I only do one reload at a time. Bouncing $150 Grams tuned hicaps off concrete w/ a full load of ammo doesn't make sense. I use my 10 rounders w/ polymer basepads (empty) as the ejected mags. Doing one at a time makes me pause to think about what I may have done right or wrong on that reload (quality, not quantity).

[Ron Ankeny]

I use dummy rounds too, loading to normal capacity. I have been practicing reloads way too much. The top round in the mag is now oval instead of round from crashing into the magwell and all of the finish is gone off of the well. The mags are catching hell too, but when I hit a good reload I get a warm fuzzy feeling.

[kimel]

I had been in the "an empty mag isn't that much different than weighted mag; it's all the mechanics not the weight" camp for awhile. Then at the match last Sunday I found myself juggling my mags during reloads, especially while moving, because they felt different. On one stage where I only needed one reload I managed to jettison two additional mags during the mag change. The peanut gallery enjoyed the juggling act but it didn't do good things for my time.

Back to heavy mags for me! Also time to add a lot more reload on the move stuff to dry fire.

[n2299]

I practice with full dummy round mags. And to make the dummy rounds more distinctive, I paint red nail polish on the bullet. BTW my wife got sick of sharing her's that she finally went out and bought me my own bottle.

[Skywalker]

BTW my wife got sick of sharing her's that she finally went out and bought me my own bottle.

As long as you use your nail polish for bullets only, I can see no harm...

[Qstick]

Thanks for all the replies - it appears that I will be going back to using the Dummy rounds.

This winter I definately went through a long phase thinking that the key was muscle memory, but after watching 8 or 9 straight reloads with dummy rounds fall to the ground last night,I have changed my mind A winter spent reloading light mags certainly cauused me to change my subconscious thought on the force needed to reload. Thanks again for the help,

Zach

[Steve Anderson]

Guys, there is no need to drop a mag every time when dry firing reloads.

Just start with an empty gun, hit the button, then load a fresh mag. picking up mags sucks. You can a always do a few mag drops if you wish, but there's no need to drop one every time.

And yes, you should always use dummy rounds to add weight to the magazines. Open shooters, don't forget to do some draws with a loaded big stick...

SA

[Garfield]

Just start with an empty gun, hit the button, then load a fresh mag. picking up mags sucks. You can a always do a few mag drops if you wish, but there's no need to drop one every time.

What about practicing what you in reality have to do ?

For me it makes a huge difference in having to drop a magazine or not.

So when I am practicing, I try to make sure it's as close to reality as I can get.

So I am dropping a magazine on every practice reload.

(Whenever I find the time to practice, which isn't often nowadays )

[shred]

I usually pop the bottom off the mag, fill it with a reasonable weight of loose bullets, and replace the basepad-- the weight is correct and its instantly obvious it isn't live ammo. They can rattle badly though..

[kdj]

I've been using dummy mags from:

http://cpwsa.com/crtc_safety_mags.htm

They give a good representation of weight and I don't feel bad about dropping them on the floor dozens of times a day

My only complaint would be that they are not quite the size of either 140s with base pads or 170s. I suppose I could add a base pad and then I'd be happy.

Kevin

[Detlef]

for years I used to religiously practice reloads with dummy-filled mags. I have totally abandoned this about 2 y ago and now practice with empty mags, (IMHO) to no loss of effectiveness... But I now shoot exclusively Prod Div., and the 10rds of 9mm aren't making my mags much heavier anyway.

--Detlef

[IPSCDRL]

I do all of my dry firing in the livingroom. I stand directly behind the couch when doing reload drills so that all of the magazines hit the cushions. Just be sure your mags are clean or place an old towel or sheet on the couch. Beats bending over to pick them up off of the floor as well.

[sgrc1]

Get your gear on, put some real weight on the mags and practice for real, I drop every mag and use a timer to feel the adrenaline of a real match. One more thing: I practice sight on target - reload - sight on target. It´s what you need to do live so why waste time on anything less..

Yes - picking up every 3-4 reloads sucks, but its the price you have to pay

[yeahyeah]

I bought some cheap!!! ProMags, perfect for dry fire, with dummy rounds. Heck you could load them with live ammo and still use them for dry fire, they are so bad that they will never chamber a round!

[jef]

for years I used to religiously practice reloads with dummy-filled mags. I have totally abandoned this about 2 y ago and now practice with empty mags, (IMHO) to no loss of effectiveness

I'm with Detlef! I just use empty magazines for dry fire mag changes. The only thing I really worry about is the neighbors calling the local police when I am practicing mag changes on the move in the back yard. Seems a middle aged white man running furtively back and forth across the grass with a big stainless gun makes one think one is not gruntled!

[Sterling White]

zzh....

try this... put a milk crate, lined with a towel, on top of a high chair - the crate will catch your mags as they fall. now stand and practice your reloads. if you want to get crazy with this...try it with a very dim light and/or no lights!

....just thoughts, catch you this weekend

[DogmaDog]

With my singlestack .45,

I drop a mag with 2 dummy rounds from the gun (I shoot L-10, so I often have 2 left in the mag after an 8 shot array), and then I reload with a mag full of dummy rounds.

I found that the weight is important, and also that the profile of the magazine is significantly different with a round at the top instead of the follower. Sometimes in practice my follower would catch on the front of the mag well. Weight is important because sometimes I fail to get the mag seated all the way, and after a reload I get "BANG!, click." Using a fully loaded mag with a compressed spring has helped in training to seat the mag forcefully enough.

I also start with the sights aligned, and reacquire them after the reload. Then I'll incorporate movement, too.

As always, safety is paramount! Accept no less than absolute certainty that you have ONLY dummy rounds in your magazines, in your gun, in the same room with you, while you dryfire!

Semper Fi,

DogmaDog

[driver8M3]

i use a mag loaded with dummy ammo. to lesson the damage of repeatedly dropping them on the ground, i use the couch method mentioned earlier, or i put a spare pillow on the ground.

[gmshtr]

QStick,

I just had a discussion about this with one of my friends/co-workers at Shooters Paradise.

My dummy rounds are from Brownells and the cases are painted black, so it's hard to mistake them for live rounds. I still double check, though.

When practicing draws, I like to have at least 12-13 dummies in the mag. The "proper" weight of the gun is most critical while practicing the draw, rather than practicing reloads IMHO.

If practicing speed loads (standing still while reloading) as I would perform in a speed shoot, I drop a mag with two rounds and load a mag with no more than 10 rounds. (If I'm shooting a 12 or 16 round speed shoot with just paper, I always start with the minimum amount of rounds + 3 in the gun and reload with ten rounders.)

Don't be content to just practicing speed loads. Practice loading on the move, loading from one extreme swing from the right to the left, then back the other way. Or practice from standing to kneeling, kneeling to standing, around a barricade (door frame), etc.

Although dummy rounds simulate the weight of a loaded mag, loading with dummies serves a more important purpose. It helps you seat the mags more reliably, and it keeps you from bending the mag lips if you miss a load (which happens alot with me!).

Remember, the best tool to help your reloads is a full length mirror. It's all about mechanics. If you really want to speed up your loads, buy some wrist weights and dry-fire with those bad-boys! A few weeks of that, and even the loaded mags will feel empty!

Hope this helps

Phil Strader

[Shooter Grrl]

Dang Phil - you make it sound like you actually practice <gasp>

What I do for reload drills is use the blue training mags for dropping out of the gun and then use full mags to stuff back into the gun. And no, I don't use dummy rounds.

[gmshtr]

I used to!

I actually shot a match last night at the NRA, and another match Sunday. Hell, I've managed to shoot 1750 rounds since 12/4/02! That's pretty good for me!

phil

[Skywalker]

Hell, I've managed to shoot 1750 rounds since 12/4/02!  That's pretty good for me! 

phil

1750 rounds in 2 years???

Either I need to have some of those magic rounds or there's something wrong with the figure.

[Garfield]

Sky,

I think the number is correct.

As discussed in other threads here on this forum, the number of live rounds fired isn't that important anymore once you've reached a certain level of expertise.

(That's why I'm not shooting so much anymore )