Shell Counting Strategies In Shotgun?

[Religious Shooter]

My current method is to just count the rounds mentally as I shoot. As in:

Fully loaded..."0"...Bang..."1"...Bang..."2"...Bang..."3"...Bang..."4"

Reload three shells..."1"

Bang..."2"...Bang..."3"....

The problem I have with this I can shoot faster than I can count. And when that happens the whole thing just goes to pot and I loose track.

How do you guys count the number of shells you have in your SG while running a course?

How do you practice it?

Etc. Etc. Etc.

[stingerjg]

When i used to shoot limited, i loaded whenever i wasnt shooting. Start with 8+1, shoot 5 targets, while moving i would load as many shells as i had time for. Somtimes i could replace all 5 and somtimes i could only get 2 or 3 in. If i had the time i'd load it all the way up, when it was full and no more shells would go in i'd drop the rest of the shells to the ground. (i would carry at least 35rounds on me, so dropping a few was no biggie) I never bothered keeping track of how many i fired.

Now that im shooting open, things are a little different. Im using the Tec loaders, and have to load at specific times. During the walk through, i make a mental note of where i need to do my reloads at. w/ the Tec loaders the time difference between 1 stick and 2 sticks loaded isnt that much difference as far as time is concered.

[wsimpso1]

I am too new to this game to count while shooting the match. I fire plan, and know where I am going to reload, and if it is shotgun, how many rounds. If I have a miss, I count the miss and TRY to add that to my next load, but what usually happens is I end up stuffing another shell to finish. So I really work at getting hits. Planning for where and how many is also planning for the gun going empty on the last shot in this game.

Now if we were training for a real fight, we would load as many as we shoot during the course. My armed citizen routine is pistol and carbine. Let's not even talk about the shotgun...

I am paying attention to counting shots as I learn and get trigger time, and I am hoping that my awareness, including rounds remaining, improves, but I am not counting on it. Here's why: In High Power, the course of fire is always the same, and we either have two clips of five rounds (Match Rifle) or two and eight (Service Rifle), and after five fairly serious years, I was still not sure when the rifle would go empty. Goog thing the Service Rifle tells you by locking open. I have shot lots of dry rounds with the Bolt Gun. I am not holding out hope for knowing how many are in the gun in a game where the course of fire varies as much as it does here.

Good luck.

Billski

[Paule]

I'm no speed demon, but what I have seen work, and what works for me, is to break the course up into shooting sections and reloading sections. This seems to work especially well if you load from shell caddies, such as the CCW or Choate 4-6 rounders. Repetition is the key to these for me, meaning that if you can load four at a time, always try to load four or eight.

Since you start with nine rounds, you have flexibility in when you load, especially loading four. You can shoot 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 rounds before reloading, and can plan your loading start after a particular target. (Hopefully one I remember). Then shoot the next "X" targets until the next reloading point, etc.

Looking for natural shooting breaks and working loading into those breaks seems to smooth out the run for me. Always loading the same number of shells at a time minimizes fumbles as the feel is familiar.

[benny hill]

Every time you move your feet, reload as many as you shot till you get to the end & then run it dry.

[Dave Marques]

If you have enough time to plan a stage, knowing how many you shoold load is GREAT until you miss! Sometimes you have to account for misses, fumbled reloads, etc........

I'm still trying different things out-I count.........and as long as my plan doesn't go to pot, it works. But when the plan hits the fan along with the s*&%, then I shoot my gun dry and load as needed!

Dave M.

[Bronco]

While doing the walk through I find the natural loading points and note the number of targets between them, then all you have to remember is the sequence not each individual round. On a 20 round cof in my case starting with 9 in the gun it might be shoot 4 load 4 shoot 3 load 3 shoot 4 load 4 shoot 9 to empty. With no misses you only have to remember three loading points. Try not to have any flat foot reloads. LOL Keith

[CraigS.]

I like to have a set amount that i know I will need with out counting while shooting.

such as on a 17 rd course starting with 9 in the gun

I know that my 8rd side saddle is all i need with out any

misses any extra will come from another carrier.

its easier to add misses than to count the targets while shooting.

Craig

[recon215]

I'm no speed demon, but what I have seen work, and what works for me, is to break the course up into shooting sections and reloading sections.  This seems to work especially well if you load from shell caddies, such as the CCW or Choate 4-6 rounders.  Repetition is the key to these for me, meaning that if you can load four at a time, always try to load four or eight.

Since you start with nine rounds, you have flexibility in when you load, especially loading four. You can shoot 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 rounds before reloading, and can plan your loading start after a particular target. (Hopefully one I remember).  Then shoot the next "X" targets until the next reloading point, etc.

Looking for natural shooting breaks and working loading into those breaks seems to smooth out the run for me.  Always loading the same number of shells at a time minimizes fumbles as the feel is familiar.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Anybody have a link to these CCW caddies?

Thanks

[Run n Gun]

Anybody have a link to these CCW caddies?

Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

demooner.com

[TRUBL]

choreograph.......get it to the point where it is 'natural' or you do not have to think about where you have to relaod....and don't miss!! Or all bets are off

And you get to do all this in the 5 minutes of walk thru....no pressure

[alma]

On a longer shotgun course with most of the targets from the same position (say more than 17 shots) I shoot my gun dry, reload off of my first 3-gun gear.com side saddle (9 rounds) shoot my gun dry, look up at how many targets I have left and load that many to finish the stage.

This works really well for me because if I have a makeup shot my count isn't thrown off. Just try to not finish on a set of targets that may require extra shots because I never want to have to go back for a third reload.

[Overkill]

During the walkthrough I identify the choice loading areas and how many rounds I need to load during that during that loading area so that I'll be empty at the end of the stage. That means that if its reloading after an early array I'm filling it up and if its after a late Array I'm just adding enough to get to the end or not loading at all. So after I've done all the math I'm left with a pretty simple plan that just kinda goes something like... " Load 4 between Array1 and Array2, Load 6 between A2 and A3". Then when if you take an extra shot you just have to remember to load one more to the next reload. I just found I cant do subraction while I shoot and addition while I reload, but a simple "one more next time " or "two more next time" is doable.

[Nik Habicht]

I'm in favor of loading what I shot ---- until I get to a point where I know that I can just load a couple of shells, and finish the stage, ideally with one round left to rack out. The other thing I noticed about shotgun is that my times are affected severely my misses ---- not only do I have to pump the action, and potentially transition back to a target, but it's and extra shell to reload. Even if we're striving for a shell a second, that's a long time to ensure that you hit with every pull of the trigger.....

[M4 Mike]

I agree with the "Load what you shot" theory. I've got enought things going through my mind during the stage. I don't need to count missed shots, fumbled reloads, targets hit, extra shots, how many targets remaining, etc. Seems that you can dump the remaining rounds at the last string, and have a round or two to make up that last out-of-breath shot.

[benny hill]

Alma, never shoot a shotgun dry, it takes way to much time to reload.

[alma]

benny,

I am using a Browning Gold so I can just start shoving shells in the tube and the first one in will chamber automatically. I think browning calls it their "Auto load" or something like that.

There is no difference from a chamber empty load to a chamber full load.

Other than that feature the Browning Gold has an identical action to a Winchester SX2.

[Religious Shooter]

benny,

I am using a Browning Gold so I can just start shoving shells in the tube and the first one in will chamber automatically. I think browning calls it their "Auto load" or something like that.

There is no difference from a chamber empty load to a chamber full load.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cheater!

j/k

[benny hill]

CHEATER!!

[kurtm]

I count the number of shells needed for the course and subtract nine. I don't care if the gun loads it'sself, you still need that number of shells.

[mike.45]

benny,

I am using a Browning Gold so I can just start shoving shells in the tube and the first one in will chamber automatically. I think browning calls it their "Auto load" or something like that.

SMART cheater