Caddy techniques?

[Gakracker]

I am still very new to this and get the impression that shotshell caddy loading is probably one of the more important time savers/losers? My reading from the archives definitely indicates an ongoing evolution to this equipment/skill but do you guys leave the old behind as you move to newer gear and techniques? I am thinking that the twins and quad loading skills are very close but how about the weak-hand 'load four' singles from the belt, is this still a viable option for some situations? Should a new guy practice this technique also or leave it behind and practice the doubles and quads only? One other thought, I have recently received two nice caddies BUT am really concerned about their retention during very hectic activity. The Ap 4X4 is far more secure than their QL/8 loaders. Is this an unrealistic concern?

[usmc1094]

The load 2/4 method is taking over, but I keep my caddies in my range box for stages that you have to go prone on. That seems to be the only downside to the load 2/4. I did pick up one of the EZ8 caddies that you can load 2 from, that wont fall out when you go prone.

If its any indication that you can go fast with the "old style" caddies Daniel Horner still uses them and he's doing pretty good.

[TNGrumpy]

I use chest caddies that are load 2 and Quads. I keep belt caddies in my bad for stages that have lots of shooting. I practice with the belt loader some but not a lot. Practice what you will use the most but be able to use it all.

[JPeel]

I learned to weak hand load from caddies, then load 2 strong hand, then load 2 weak hand. I can't quadload yet and honestly don't think I'll spend much time this year trying to learn.

There are times when one method may be better suited for the stage / situation than the other so even though load 2 weak hand is my preferred, and fastest method, I still practice the others.

One thing I like the caddie better for is pulling a single to port load in the unfortunate event of running the gun dry with one or more targets left to shoot. I should have thought about that last Saturday but left my caddie in the truck

As far as caddie retention, I use 4x4's and Otto's and have never had a shell bounce out when running / moving on the stage. The shells are far more likely to hit the ground once in my hands though.

[amccallister]

I am a huge fan of quad loading, and I use it every chance I get, but I still practice and use regular weak hand caddy loads quite a bit. There are times when you just can't beat a standard caddy, like going prone or if only loading 1-3 shells. The load 2 is a little more versatile than quads because you're not limited to multiples of four, but I would still recommend practicing regular caddy loads.

[Gakracker]

Is it possible that the skills are moving more towards basic shooting and away from the rougher athletic skills? I am thinking that many local type gun ranges actually make it tough to design a lot of the 'big country' shooting stages and skills that test the gears toughness and ability to handle abuse. While browsing the site last night I did find references to some of the popular doubles and quad loaders being somewhat fragile in design.

[chevyoneton]

The shells are far more likely to hit the ground once in my hands though.

Preach it brother!

[bigbrowndog]

weakhand loading is practical and thus works in every situation, quads/twos is not, which is why you have guys on here saying they keep a caddie for certain situations. However weakhand loading does require more practice to become proficient and stay that way. A lot of people do not have the patience or time do put in the practice, and just like learning loading twos before learning to load quads is easier, starting to load weakhand with just three shells makes the transition to 4 much easier. Too many try handling 4 right off the start and fumble and drop and give up, saying its too hard.

Trapr

[BobS761]

weakhand loading is practical and thus works in every situation, quads/twos is not, which is why you have guys on here saying they keep a caddie for certain situations. However weakhand loading does require more practice to become proficient and stay that way. A lot of people do not have the patience or time do put in the practice, and just like learning loading twos before learning to load quads is easier, starting to load weakhand with just three shells makes the transition to 4 much easier. Too many try handling 4 right off the start and fumble and drop and give up, saying its too hard.

Trapr

Should one keep the shotgun mounted when loading weakhand? That's what I do, but don't know if it is correct or even efficient.

[JPeel]

weakhand loading is practical and thus works in every situation, quads/twos is not, which is why you have guys on here saying they keep a caddie for certain situations. However weakhand loading does require more practice to become proficient and stay that way. A lot of people do not have the patience or time do put in the practice, and just like learning loading twos before learning to load quads is easier, starting to load weakhand with just three shells makes the transition to 4 much easier. Too many try handling 4 right off the start and fumble and drop and give up, saying its too hard.

Trapr

Should one keep the shotgun mounted when loading weakhand? That's what I do, but don't know if it is correct or even efficient.

If you can keep the gun mounted and load weakhand you're better than me. I've tried it and am not proficient at it.

[bagdrag]

weakhand loading is practical and thus works in every situation, quads/twos is not, which is why you have guys on here saying they keep a caddie for certain situations. However weakhand loading does require more practice to become proficient and stay that way. A lot of people do not have the patience or time do put in the practice, and just like learning loading twos before learning to load quads is easier, starting to load weakhand with just three shells makes the transition to 4 much easier. Too many try handling 4 right off the start and fumble and drop and give up, saying its too hard.

Trapr

Should one keep the shotgun mounted when loading weakhand? That's what I do, but don't know if it is correct or even efficient.

I would say it depends. If your next shooting position will take more than a few seconds to get to, I wouldn't lock myself into maintaining my mount if fatigue and discomfort will set in during that move. However if it's close enough or targets will be presenting themselves while on the move then of course keep your mount. I wouldn't lock myself into one or the other unless you are significantly faster and more proficient doing one than the other.

[EaZeNuTZ33]

Seems to me that you would be best off trying to learn to load as many ways as possible. I've practiced quad loading weak hand, quad loading strong hand, and traditional weak hand loading. I have a chest rig for quad loading primarily strong hand and haven't had any issues with shells coming loose when prone, but loading prone would be a pain strong hand and I would probably try to load weak hand quads, deuces, or traditional weakhand if loading prone. I keep a single 4 shell Weakhand caddie on my belt at all times for specialty shells of where I need 1-2 extra shells in a stage plan. When I need an array or 3-8 slugs and/or buck, I tend to keep shell types separate by body level with birdshot on my chest rig and slugs/buck on Taccom Qualoads and quick caddies on my belt.

Just my school of thought, in general.....don't close the door on something new, and don't refuse to have a tool in your toolbox, someday you may need it.

[Bradgsxr]

I agree that learning and practicing as many ways as possible is the smart way to go about it, you can never have too many options to go to for all the different stages and scenarios you may face. You might as well invest in an ELS system though as it is the only way you can easily switch back and forth between all the different options for caddies. I started off loading traditional weak hand, then went to load 2, now practicing quads. Traditional weak hand out of regular caddies is by far the hardest but is useful in many situations so I keep practicing it.

[JPeel]

..... You might as well invest in an ELS system though as it is the only way you can easily switch back and forth between all the different options for caddies....

Is that the only way? I use a blade tech belt with the TMMS system and can change out all manner of caddies in just a couple of seconds.

[EaZeNuTZ33]

I use tekloks. Not super fast low ELS, but I've never had to sprint to the next stage and Chinese fire drill my belt around to load it up and immediately shoot either.

[Bradgsxr]

You're right the Blade tech system works also, I have been trying it with tekloks and it is too hard ( IMO ) to quickly switch all the different configurations I want to use. I also don't like having to take my belt off to switch my tekloks as I have put Velcro on them to make them hold more firmly on the belt. I like tekloks, they work fine, but once I started playing with the different loading techniques I quickly realized the limitations of using the tekloks and am switching to ELS. You can get by with anything, it just becomes much easier to re-configure with the ELS or similar set up.

[Brian Payne]

I started with 4 round caddies because I never thought there was anything different. I got to be reliable and for my skill level, pretty quick doing load four weakhand. For some reason I couldn't teach my strong hand to load 4 that way (like Daniel Horner does). I then wanted a second way to load shells using my strong hand for long shotgun stages where after 30 rounds my weak hand thumb had gotten tired. That lead me to the Qualoads from Taccom. With practice I became pretty good with these as well, so now I keep 4 rd shell caddies on my belt on the left side for weak hand, Qualoads on the right side for strong hand, and I have been known to strap on a sleeve of shells on my weak hand forearm as well. The sleeve works well, all you do is roll the shotgun over toward you, pluck the shells out one at a time, and stuff them in. Bennie Cooley, Bennie Hill, and Jeff Cramlit seem to use this method with great success.

The old adage "there is no THE way to do it, but there are lots of A ways to do it". I say practice with them all and have a good time.

[Daft]

I have shot cowboy for years and I am very new to modern 3gun (2matches) so take this with a grain of salt. I played around with different shotgun loading styles for modern and settled on the strong side load two style with the shotgun upside down on the right shoulder. I grab two with my middle finger on the seam between the two so I can jam the second one easier. Being a geezer this method works the best for me. The setup is more expensive no doubt.

[Gakracker]

I have pretty much settled on the EZ8 for a couple of reasons. I do think that a couple of the Quad four style loaders present the shells more conveniently but for my clumsiness there is no doubt that they do not secure the shells as well as the FSL8 or EZ8 style, which actually fully house the shells. The other big advantage to me is the fact that these actually allow most of the loading techniques to be performed from just one caddy. Of the several caddys I currently have, the FSL8 was not one of them BUT I can see no compelling reason to purchase one to try out against the EZ8. The addition of the vertical bar on the FSL8 might even add a bit more complication to the grab?? Hopefully I can recoup some of my cost by selling the extras on Ebay and buying one or two more EZ8 loaders. This style does seem to gobble belt room, any ideas on how many rounds should be available at the belt for fast loads?

[chevyoneton]

I have been known to strap on a sleeve of shells on my weak hand forearm as well. The sleeve works well, all you do is roll the shotgun over toward you, pluck the shells out one at a time, and stuff them in. Bennie Cooley, Bennie Hill, and Jeff Cramlit seem to use this method with great success.

I use a sleeve with the shells under my (left) forearm so I can just reach under with my right (stong) hand and pluck them out and shove them in. This for tight places (like the back of the Suburban at TFG3G last year) or a couple of Oh-S**t! shells. I also have a cheap two shell (vertical) holder on my belt in front of the pistol on my right for a couple of slugs or Oh-S**t! shells. Lots of ways to skin this cat, whatever works for you!

[Jesse Tischauser]

Here is my take on shotgun loading...

The ending is a joke, kind of. I will still carry one or two traditional Caddy's for slugs or in case I need one shell somewhere. I don't practice weak hand reloading anymore. I wouldn't suggest that a new shooter spends too much time on it either.

[Jim Watson]

Are there any videos slow enough or stills with instructions on how to load a shotgun in a hurry?
All I see are brag movies about how fast a well practiced shooter can do it, nothing for the beginner.

[kurtm]

Yes for traditional weak hand loading there is a good 1 minute training film on 3-gun nation of Mark Wills learning the technique.

Mark Pasamanick (sorry I butchered your name Mark!) at Carbon Arms has done several real good training videos on the load two and quads

All of these are slowed down for the new shooter to learn and aren't look at me braging films

[Jesse Tischauser]

Are there any videos slow enough or stills with instructions on how to load a shotgun in a hurry?

All I see are brag movies about how fast a well practiced shooter can do it, nothing for the beginner.

You can call my video bragging but my sponsors call it product placement/promotion. Either way if you watch all those bragging videos or match videos for that matter really CLOSELY like I do you can learn the differences in each of their techniques and build your own.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Jesse Tischauser

[bmiller]

Jesse, how has that setup you are using in your video worked when you are diving prone or exiting vehicles? I have been loading 2, and have been working on quads. I am concerned that the Taccom quads might come loose when negotiating obstacles or going prone. One nice attribute, the quads do not dig into my tactical pouch as much!