The Reload

[Jake Di Vita]

There has been a bit of question as to the position and orientation of the gun during the reload so I took a few stills of a video of mine that I hope will help a bit.

Picture 1 - Just before the load, gun still at full extension.

Picture 2 - Gun comes halfway back from extension, still in front of face. Getting on the mag release as soon as my weak hand is out of the way. It is critical to get the weak hand moving at maximum speed as quickly as possible. My eyes also snap to the bottom edge of the magwell to see the mag starting to come out. Gun is as close to vertical as possible to ensure expended mag sticks as little as possible.

Picture 3 - Magazine is coming out, hand is about to grab the spare mag. Weak hand is still moving at top speed.

Picture 4 - I turn the gun to approximately 45 degrees to make inserting the mag easier. Note instead of looking at the inner edge of the magwell it works better for me to just keep my eyes focused on where the mag initially came out of the gun. During the seating of the mag I am applying about 70% force with my weak hand inserting and 30% force with my strong hand keeping the gun where it is. After this step find the target and drive the gun to the A-zone.

Also notice I keep the same level of tension in my neck and shoulders throughout the entire movement.

[Steve Moneypenny]

Michigan sure is green in the winter! Or did i miss the spring memo?

Jake actually lifts the gun up a little in the turn. I go a little more strait in and strait out. I don't think it matters much as long as you keep the mag well where you can still see it while still looking AT the target. as in not having to really shift your eye position so much as the focus length.

The exact spot and location is also a bit different person to person as our arm lengths and hand speeds all vary a tiny bit.

Edited to add something constructive

Edited March 12, 2008 by Steve Moneypenny

[Merlin Orr]

Wow...

[Rocket35]

Must have low flying airplanes in Michigan!

[Jake Di Vita]

Must have low flying airplanes in Michigan! ph34r.gif

I'm so confused.

[HSMITH]

That illustrates something I have been feeling in my own reloads, getting the gun IN closer to the body. I was trying to leave the gun out too far away from my body complicating the insertion of the new mag and also getting my weak hand grip back on the gun in a strong position. Much faster, more secure, and I get a better grip.

Thanks for the pictures Jake, it is nice to be working on something and have confirmation that it is sound.

[CAB33]

That is some great stuff!

Do you have any thoughts on the regrip?

[Jake Di Vita]

The re-grip for me came pretty naturally. All I do after I insert the mag is roll my hand back into position while driving to the next target.

[Ron Ankeny]

Holy crap, an entire reload in just four frames. That's really fast.

[-JQ-]

Holy crap, an entire reload in just four frames. That's really fast.

...and at 29.97 frames per second

Nice job.

[Chris iliff]

I just ran across this post and really appreciate the info. I don't know if I asked one of the questions you where talking about, but I did have this question awhile back and I think you helped me out. Thanks again, the pictures answer a thousand questions.

THANKS!!!!!!

[TMC]

Cool. Open the frames from last to first, stack them one on top of the other and then close them one right after the other. Just like video