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The reload


Ron Ankeny

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DP~ just thought I would take an oppertunity to say thanks.... all this talk of reloads that you have done (this thread and numerous similiar ones) has inspired me to seek reloading enlightenment. Still have not gotten sub second, but have hit 1.00 flat. I am getting 1.0X with some regularity and the 1.30 that I used to think was smoking is damn near boring. Also, in light of your World Shoot Agenda, I took on this quest with my Production G34 from Production mag position. Thanks man,

Mike

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You're welcome, always happy to help.

It was tough, I had to really take it on the chin and accept that I had to start practicing again. I just got my first open gun and can't wait to see if things speed up once I go back to up front, huge magwell, big button & long mag.

All told though, I still think STANDARD is the He-man class.

BTW; I just returned from a class with TJ. After attempting to get a magazine into a Para, I have a newfound respect for ANYONE that can load a Para in under a minute, let alone as fast as TJ does.

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My first Open gun is due here in 3 or 4 weeks. I did all this practice with the Glock hoping that if I can get to or below 1.00 with a Glock consistently, then when I switch to an STI it will be like tossing a brick into a canyon. I may be really off on that, but if I am, dont spoil it, let me have my dream.

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I can tell you for a fact that, even with the biggest mag-well in the world, you can still miss, and blow reloads..... ;) Just keep focusing on the same things you've been doing, and you'll be at least as fast - possibly faster right away...

When I went to my first Nationals in '97, my gunsmith was embarassed by my magwell on my STI framed gun, and forced me to change it before I went. I never heard the end of that from him.... ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Point of hip or just in front of you, they take the same amount of time if you practice them.

Phil, do you think that the sandbagging Estuardo (of course I know he doesn't shoot classifiers) will ever make GM ;) He's a dang solid M class shooter. You think he would get tired of all those first Master prizes in the USA.

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You guys are way faster than TGO (per his quote,) that's cool. I thought his take on messuring your performance was pretty cool also.

A quote I found while browsing around

I just did a 3.8 second El Pres in a demo with an open gun and the load was 1.1 or so. You guys are a lot better than I am! What I really think should be determined is out of 10 of these hypothetical loads, what is the average or better yet, what is the WORST one! That's the one to be worried about. Rob

Edited to (hopefully) make the point I intended. No intention to insult anyone, just using TGO's words from his quote in the first post. I should have made that clear.

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rrrrrrrrrrrright. <_<

no, like I "copped" to just a few minutes ago, a real load @ 10y is repeatable at between 1.0 & 1.1. Yeah, I have hit faster, NO, I would not want to bet on hitting an "A" faster, for the cash.

I'm just trying to track my improvement. Like BENOS says, (paraphrasing badly here) with practice your average / cold runs come closer to you personal best, and that's what I'm after.

In fact I like hitting them (and the draw) @ 25y better than 10y. Then I KNOW I didn't just fling a round and get lucky (although that does happen sometimes, I'm sure) :D .

When I get solid hits with a 1.25 draw or reload @ 25y, it feels like a bigger accomplishment for me than up close. Just an observation from recent practice.

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I understand that, and that is why I posted it as being a personal best. Not an average. In point of fact it took me 6 or 7 tries before I really nailed one. I didn't really do it with a goal of performance but I did it to push the envelope. Once you smash down the mental barriers in one aspect of your shooting, it translates to everything else.

2 years ago I thought a sub second reload would barely ever be achievable for me. To go from that to hitting a .64 as a best, it opens up whole other areas of potential.

That was my goal out of the exercise.

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First, Id like to say thanks to everyone on the tips. I'm just starting shooting in IPSC after a 5 year break and theres a lot of ideas Ill be trying. My question is, does anyone know of any video clips on the internet showing some "classic" reloads ? Theres one going around the e-mail now that shows a revolver reload and fast shooting ( I think it was from the discovery channel). The last video I saw was the one spoke of here..Shooter Ready !

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When I started this thread in August of 2001 I stated:

With my wide body (the pistol that is) I have a par time right around 1.4 seconds (I can do it faster but I get real sloppy). With my single stack I come in right around 1.8 seconds.

I am much faster now. I have changed my thinking though. I really believe a relaxed, fumble free reload, accompanied by that Kodak moment sight picture, is more important than a blazing reload that culminates in a hurried fashion. What I mean is I would rather do a relaxed reload and be ready to shoot the array quickly and comfortably, than be wound up tighter than a cheap watch.

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To be sure, there is a very high coolness factor in doing sub-second reloads. B) I practiced with MX5 last weekend and we got pretty deep into the realization curve about doing static and moving re-loads.

I'd like to hear what you guys think is most usefull in a course of fire. If you're moving from port to port, or certainly box "A" to box "B", what are your standards for that type of re-load? Is 1.3 plenty good? My current focus is that "Kodak moment" and keeping the entire shot-to-shot process smooth. If I hit one "on the move" in under 1.5, it's by accident. There is a lot of complicated stuff going on as I accelerate out of a box and slow to enter another box.

Unnecessary speed frequently turns to haste.

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I'd like to hear what you guys think is most usefull in a course of fire.

What I see, all too often, is the time/distance it takes to perform to reload will expand to fill whatever space is available. If a shooter has 8 steps between postitions...they take 8 steps to do the reload.

That can't be good can it?

Seems to me that the expanding reload is a sign that the shooter is spliting their focus. Perhaps, more likely, the shooter isn't really focusing on the right thing...or, maybe they aren't focusing on anything?

I will use Todd Jarrett as an example again, because I think he does this better than anybody else in the world. TJ gets his reload done by about the first step. (And, I don't mean he is standing there doing his reload, then moving out...he is just getting it done.) By getting his reload out of the way, his conscious mind is free to focus on "what's next"...

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Good stuff! Thank you all. Jake, I don't see any difference in my box to box time... as long as there are about 4 steps between boxes. I need to get that down to three or less.

L2S, my mags have been hitting pretty close to where I leave the first box, but I'm gonna start to check that everytime now. I'm going to focus on getting it started as soon as I call the last shot. (spittin' and gettin')

Flexman, you really have a good point about the "expanding re-load". Bad Juju! And I was probably headed that way....

I've signed up to shoot L-10 at Wyo State and Area 1. Reloading is looking about twice as important as it did when i shot limited.

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The reload whilst leaving the box is inevitably slower although there is no real way to measure that.

Most do what Jake does, see if the movement time is the same with or without a load. If they are then the load is likely sufficient.

The trick in lim-10 is to master the 1 step load because inevitably that's what we run into on stages designed either for limited or open. Shoot 4 targets here, take two steps, shoot another couple and what do ya know? In lim-10 you gotta smoke a load! In that instance the smooth load comes into play.

The ironic thing though is that people understand the logic in reloading while moving. Everyone seems to get that. What they don't strive to achieve is the synergy in movement. That is to say that most look at loading while moving as trying to move while adding 2 or 3 tenths because you have to load. That way you've theoretically saved the delta between a static load and the slight increase in time while moving. The good shooters recognize that the load becomes transparent in the move, the delta in actuality is the time to reload altogether.

Flex said it best - get the load done in the first step or so (you're just getting going anyhow) otherwise you are not maximizing your efficiencies.

JB

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