Need help with reload technique

[Wiseguy724]

I've purchased dryfire reloaded and have been practicing, I still have tremendous difficulty reloading. I can't progress at all in the book because a lot of the standards and other drills require a reload, which makes coming anywhere close to a good par time impossible if I can't execute a reload properly.

 

My problem is getting the mag into the gun accurately speed. I have one of two issues during 9 out of 10 given attempts. I am young and have good eyesight but maybe I have some other problem that prevents me from being able to get these right.

 

1-When i grab a mag and go to reload the mag hits the grip with either the left or right side of the frame landing directly on the bullets, right in between the feed lips. No way to push through this, once the mag is in this situation the reload is botched and I have to pull back and try again.

 

2- the magazine hits so the forward most lip of the magazine is on the outside of the well, with the front strap pressing down on the projectile portion of the dummy round, with the outer lip being outside the frame again making insertion impossible without having to pull back and try again.

 

I tried pointing the well at my pouches, I tried pointing the well higher so I can look more clearly into the magwell, I tried bringing my pistol close to my body with my elbow touching my chest to keep it stable. I index the mags with my pointer finger as far down the front as possible, almost touching the first bullet. I tried painting a bright pink dot inside the magwell to give me a focal point. I'm trying all the tips and videos I can find on this forum and on the internet and I just can't seem to get the hang of it. I am also trying the 2 stage burkett method and it's not helping. I know "perfection" takes time, but I've been practicing every day except saturdays for a month without any progress, with the majority of my attempts ending in failure. I also need to add that even if I go SLOW, I still can't make it happen. I set a par for 2.5 - 3 seconds and I hit start with my gun already in hand and pointed out on target, still have this problem. No matter how much I slow down I still miss the well, even if I'm not timing myself. I play guitar, mountain bike, ride motorcycles, track cars, I feel like my hand-eye coordination should be good enough to make this happen if I just get the right help.

 

I've been competing for 5 years and I'm not trying to be a GM or even an A class shooter, but I would like to have confidence that I can put a magazine in a gun in less than 5 seconds without throwing it. I can't afford to take any classes with anyone, and I don't have any friends that shoot that I can go to for advice. Any help from here?

Edited December 25, 2019 by Wiseguy724

[Rnlinebacker]

I've purchased dryfire reloaded and have been practicing, I still have tremendous difficulty reloading. I can't progress at all in the book because a lot of the standards and other drills require a reload, which makes coming anywhere close to a good par time impossible if I can't execute a reload properly.
 
My problem is getting the mag into the gun accurately speed. I have one of two issues during 9 out of 10 given attempts. I am young and have good eyesight but maybe I have some other problem that prevents me from being able to get these right.
 
1-When i grab a mag and go to reload the mag hits the grip with either the left or right side of the frame landing directly on the bullets, right in between the feed lips. No way to push through this, once the mag is in this situation the reload is botched and I have to pull back and try again.
 
2- the magazine hits so the forward most lip of the magazine is on the outside of the well, with the front strap pressing down on the projectile portion of the dummy round, with the outer lip being outside the frame again making insertion impossible without having to pull back and try again.
 
I tried pointing the well at my pouches, I tried pointing the well higher so I can look more clearly into the magwell, I tried bringing my pistol close to my body with my elbow touching my chest to keep it stable. I index the mags with my pointer finger as far down the front as possible, almost touching the first bullet. I tried painting a bright pink dot inside the magwell to give me a focal point. I'm trying all the tips and videos I can find on this forum and on the internet and I just can't seem to get the hang of it. I am also trying the 2 stage burkett method and it's not helping. I know "perfection" takes time, but I've been practicing every day except saturdays for a month without any progress, with the majority of my attempts ending in failure. I also need to add that even if I go SLOW, I still can't make it happen. I set a par for 2.5 - 3 seconds and I hit start with my gun already in hand and pointed out on target, still have this problem. No matter how much I slow down I still miss the well, even if I'm not timing myself. I play guitar, mountain bike, ride motorcycles, track cars, I feel like my hand-eye coordination should be good enough to make this happen if I just get the right help.
 
I've been competing for 5 years and I'm not trying to be a GM or even an A class shooter, but I would like to have confidence that I can put a magazine in a gun in less than 5 seconds without throwing it. I can't afford to take any classes with anyone, and I don't have any friends that shoot that I can go to for advice. Any help from here?

Have you ever done Burkett reloads? Sounds like that's what you need to focus on first to build the correct pathway from mag pouch to gun

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[BoyGlock]

Could it be in the mindset? After lots of failure you might be expecting to fail every time all the time. 

[Wiseguy724]

15 minutes ago, BoyGlock said:

Could it be in the mindset? After lots of failure you might be expecting to fail every time all the time. 

 

It might be too late in the day and I'm overtired. I'll try to move it to an AM thing and see if that improves. thanks

 

[124gr9mm]

" I also need to add that even if I go SLOW, I still can't make it happen. I set a par for 2.5 - 3 seconds and I hit start with my gun already in hand and pointed out on target, still have this problem. No matter how much I slow down I still miss the well, even if I'm not timing myself."

 

Go slower.

 

Start with a ridiculous time like 10 seconds and do it perfectly then go from there...

[Wiseguy724]

Just now, 124gr9mm said:

" I also need to add that even if I go SLOW, I still can't make it happen. I set a par for 2.5 - 3 seconds and I hit start with my gun already in hand and pointed out on target, still have this problem. No matter how much I slow down I still miss the well, even if I'm not timing myself."

 

Go slower.

 

Start with a ridiculous time like 10 seconds and do it perfectly then go from there...

Thank you

[mlmiller1]

Go as slow as necessary to make it right.  Be sure magazine base is in the palm of the hand, fingers wrapping magazine, index finger pointing mag at mag well.  Isolate the insertion movement repeatedly over & over.  Then move mag further away continue over & over.  Slowly moving further & further away extending the movement over & over.  It will start to fall into place.  No rushing!  Over & over.  Start at the end of the reload.  Finish reload.  Then just keep backing up.  Adding in more distance & movements as you build on the initial insertion.  Dont rush.  If this doesnt make sense, pm me with contact info & I will send you pictures of what I am describing.

[BoyGlock]

Do you also bungle it in LAMAR? If not, theres no reason to believe you cannot do it. 

[Wiseguy724]

2 minutes ago, BoyGlock said:

Do you also bungle it in LAMAR? If not, theres no reason to believe you cannot do it. 

 

LAMAR?

[Wiseguy724]

13 minutes ago, mlmiller1 said:

Go as slow as necessary to make it right.  Be sure magazine base is in the palm of the hand, fingers wrapping magazine, index finger pointing mag at mag well.  Isolate the insertion movement repeatedly over & over.  Then move mag further away continue over & over.  Slowly moving further & further away extending the movement over & over.  It will start to fall into place.  No rushing!  Over & over.  Start at the end of the reload.  Finish reload.  Then just keep backing up.  Adding in more distance & movements as you build on the initial insertion.  Dont rush.  If this doesnt make sense, pm me with contact info & I will send you pictures of what I am describing.

 

I get the picture on this one, I'll give that a try tomorrow after I reset. Thanks for the help.

[BoyGlock]

9 minutes ago, Wiseguy724 said:

 

LAMAR?

Load And MAke Ready command at the start of a cof stage

[Wiseguy724]

Just now, BoyGlock said:

Load And MAke Ready command at the start of a cof stage

 

Not that I can recall specifically, My mind is in a different place while loading in that timeframe, that might have something to do with it.

[BoyGlock]

Just now, Wiseguy724 said:

 

Not that I can recall specifically, My mind is in a different place while loading in that timeframe, that might have something to do with it.

Could be overthinking w/ conscious mind when it should be subconscious. Been there. Whenever I practice my reload or draw, when I consciously think of my hand properly grasping the fresh mag I usually bungle it. Whenever I “think” of proper grip in my draw I usually grip it wrong. I mentally focus on pushing the mag release button to cure this. In draws I intentionally focus on the support hand on my belly for awhile. 
 

[Shep]

For me it helped to bring the gun in close and watch the mag until it was at least half way in the magwell. If I take my eyes off the magwell to soon it was probably gonna get bobbled

[CPD7119]

Try doing reloads in the dark or covering your eyes. It helped me smooth things out.

[RAP]

I had a similar issue to the OP when I first started. I was getting very frustrated because of the lack of progress. I broke the entire process into micro drills without a timer. I would work on just grabbing the magazine; with a focus on properly gripping the mag. Once I felt I had the technique of gripping the magazine adequately down I moved to gripping the magazine and moving it to the magwell. Again, I would do this until I felt like I had this adequately accomplished. Next I would grip the mag and insert it into the gun. I did this until I felt I was adequately confident. When I felt like I had these techniques down I would do a complete reload without a timer. I did this until I was confident in my techniques. Speed was not on my radar, however, I was getting faster as I improved without trying too. Once I was confident I started using a timer. It took me about 3 months to get below a 2 second reload consistently. Below 2 seconds was 1.9 - 1.8 seconds. Yes, it took awhile but I also learned to breakdown my reload and help me understand what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong and needed to change. 

[Tabasco]

How consistent is how you are grabbing the mag?  Besides the other parts, if you aren't getting some consistency on where the mag is sitting in your hand before you bring it up to the pistol, you may have more inconsistencies that make it harder to seat the mag.  One other thing I found, it wasn't how close up your finger was to the feed lips and first bullet, but having the based of the mag in a good comfortable place in my palm, but I have tiny dwarf hands.  If the bottom part of my palm was not touching the base pad a bit, it would be very had for me to get the force needed to push mag up into the pistol and I ended up pushing too far to the sides and it would botch the reload...but this is just me.

[Wiseguy724]

I think the idea of micro- drills and also going backward increasing the distance are good methods to work on. I'll try and have a better attitude and re think the mental aspect and that will probably help as well. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

[Out of Ammo]

Burkett reloads

 

[MemphisMechanic]

The most important thing to look at is consistent presentation:

 

1. Are you gripping the magazine correctly every single time?

 

2. Is your gun in the exact same place every single time?

 

Both of these vary a little bit for most novices.

[MemphisMechanic]

50 minutes ago, Out of Ammo said:

Burkett reloads

 

I’d like to add a sub-set to this which helped me.

 

Hold the gun in the position you’ve decided to use when reloading. However high you like, with magwell pointed at incoming magazine.

 

(Your gun needs to be positioned so that your offhand is pointing the mag into the gun STRAIGHT by the way. Mag tube and forearm in a staight line... no bend in the wrist when you arrive at the *properly aligned* magwell!)

 

I suggest finding the sweet spot and holding the gun there, rotated and ready. Grip the mag properly, draw it, turn your arm over and feed it straight into the gun, inserting halfway. Pull it back out, put it in your pouch, and repeat.

 

Isolate the portion that’s hurting you. Do that 25% of the entire reload. Then perform the whole thing.

 

There’s no reason you should be using a timer  until you can perform the drill correctly. Turn the par time off until you can do it 100% correct in 8 seconds. Then turn it on and try for 7, then 6, etc.

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by MemphisMechanic

[Wiseguy724]

 

Shot a match saturday, pretty happy with all my reloads. This must be some mindset thing that's happening while I'm at home.

[Eric802]

39 minutes ago, Wiseguy724 said:

 

Shot a match saturday, pretty happy with all my reloads. This must be some mindset thing that's happening while I'm at home.

Yeah, I'd be pretty happy with those as well.  You must just be overthinking it when you're practicing at home. 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Eric802

[IVC]

On 12/25/2019 at 3:52 PM, Wiseguy724 said:

I tried pointing the well at my pouches, I tried pointing the well higher so I can look more clearly into the magwell, I tried bringing my pistol close to my body with my elbow touching my chest to keep it stable. I index the mags with my pointer finger as far down the front as possible, almost touching the first bullet. I tried painting a bright pink dot inside the magwell to give me a focal point. I'm trying all the tips and videos I can find on this forum and on the internet and I just can't seem to get the hang of it. I am also trying the 2 stage burkett method and it's not helping

Here was my "aha" moment...

 

Think of the reload the same as racing a car - if you get to the turn with too much speed, you did get there faster, but you won't make the turn. If you get to the turn at the correct speed for the turn, you spent too much time getting there. You *have to* go very fast getting to the turn, then you have to slow down to the correct speed to make the turn. Try to make up time by braking too late and you'll fumble the turn; try to go slow but at *constant speed* to figure it out (and then increase your speed), you'll be able to do it as long as your *constant* speed is what you can carry through the turn, but if you increase it beyond that, you'll be too slow on the approach and too fast in the turn. 

 

Back to reloading. You have to save time on your movement to the pouch and bringing the magazine to the magwell. Then you have to slow down to the correct speed for insertion, followed by another burst of speed into presentation. If you're fumbling the reload and just want to go slower, you still won't be doing "fast-slower-fast" which you need for a fast reload. Instead, you'll be doing "slower-slower-slower" which is a reloading pattern that won't bring you down to where you want to be. So, look to save 0.1 seconds on the movement of the weak hand, not on the insertion of the magazine. If you can get to the point where you go faster on the movement and slower on the insertion, you're way ahead even if your total time is the same - you can speed up this pattern. When you figure it out, you can see how far you can push the insertion speed, but you will know that this speed is *different* from the speed of support hand to get the magazine to the insertion point. I believe that this is why Burkett reloads are universally considered the best way to learn fast reloads  - they subconsciously create this break in speed. 

 

This is no different than the draw itself, particularly on a very hard target. You do movement at full speed and just have to know when to slow down to settle the sights. Try to cheat and make up for slow movement by shooting too soon and you're point shooting, hoping you hit the target off of your index alone. It's also very similar to how you set into new position to shoot, where you have to slow down before you can shoot, not just get to the new position at full speed.