1bigshooter Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I have been reading the post below with the reload times, and watching the videos of folks doing a four shell reload in under 3 seconds. While I like the weak hand reload (am fairly new convert), my times are between 5 and 6 seconds. Can anyone explain the finer points of managing the 4 shells in your hand as you feed them into the magazine? It happens fast on the videos so is hard to see. Are you feeding them with your fingers up to your thumb to feed? Do you keep them all flat as you feed, or do they roll into a bunch? Anyway, just some tips to practice this PROPERLY to get faster! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Payne Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 When I load 4 rds, my hands are large enough for the rounds to lie flat in my hand. The first shell loaded is the one that sits near the finger tips, shoved in with my thumb. I then work my way back from there. My son's girlfriend Steph Turnquist is very small statured with hands much smaller than mine, she loads four shells weakhand as fast as anyone that I have seen, male or female. There is a brief video of her on youtube but it happens so fast you really can't tell how she holds the shells and I have never asked her. Basically my point is that I use what works for me and she uses a different way, but it works well for her. You are off to a good start with the times you have posted. Now you just have to practice a little. I would start would with 2 hours per day for the first week, then work up from there. (I am not really kidding that much, it does take a lot of practice). I practice loading while walking around the house. If you can't do that, just stand in one spot but walk in place with high knees, you will be amazed at how much more difficult it becomes. Then start loading without looking at the loading port. Don't worry about the time, just keep loading smoothly, your time will drop on its own. Lots more information I am sure if you do a search for "weak hand reload". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bigshooter Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks Brian - it seems like most of the posts are on the times, or the benefit of weak hand vs. other types of loading. Your comments here are just what I am looking for, shells flat, first shell from fingertips, etc. I can definitely tell it will take practice, I would just like to be practicing the right stuff, not engraining bad habits, which have to be 'unlearned' later. Thanks! Hopefully there will be more ideas also...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 (edited) When you pull the shells out of your carrier try to get the first shell to come out sitting on the side of your middle finger with your first finger pointing directly at the center of that first round. Your thumb should be sitting at the back of the shell as well ready to push. If you can get that shell to come out in that position everytime it is very quick to get the first one in. Then keep your thumb in contact with the lift gate as it is the piston that is moving the shell into the tube. I stole that tip straight from the course I just took with Mr. Weakhand this past weekend. Mr. Weakhand also told us to bunch the shells up. I think bunching them up works better as it gets the last shell closer to the gun sooner. If you lay them flat you need to move that last shell over eventually so why not do it right away by bunching them up. I try to index the shells so that they sit on top of my ring finger every time. I find that if you let them sit on your pinky finger that its harder to get them high enough for your thumb to get on them when its their turn to go into the gun. With all that said, I am not to fast myself so take this advice for what its worth. I can load 8 shells before an 8 second par timer goes off. I start with gun mounted and hands in shooting position, load 8 and get back in shooting position. My goal is to do that drill in a 5 second par time. I just need to get rid of the fumbling and practice 2 hours a day like Brian said above. Edited September 22, 2009 by jtischauser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bigshooter Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks Jesse - I did notice in some of the videos that guys were really keeping that weakhand in contact with the gun, I know that I DON'T do that - so that is definitely something to work on. Thanks for the pointers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCFooter Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Mr. Weakhand also told us to bunch the shells up. I think bunching them up works better as it gets the last shell closer to the gun sooner. If you lay them flat you need to move that last shell over eventually so why not do it right away by bunching them up. With the bunching technique are you able to put the shells in the gun in the order needed in the case of Slugs ans Birdshot being mixed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Mr. Weakhand also told us to bunch the shells up. I think bunching them up works better as it gets the last shell closer to the gun sooner. If you lay them flat you need to move that last shell over eventually so why not do it right away by bunching them up. With the bunching technique are you able to put the shells in the gun in the order needed in the case of Slugs ans Birdshot being mixed? That I do not know because I have not tried to selectively load a slug while loading four at a time. I will give it a shot tonight. Now I am actually curious to find out if I can do it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaymondMillbrae Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Click on THIS LINK to check out an Army instructional video of speed reloading. (Weak-hand reloading is also covered). In Christ: Raymond Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Schmitt Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I transitioned to weak hand loading just this past year. I found, that for me, if I tried too much practice in a session I GOT SLOPPY. I kept my sessions to loading 4 to 5 sets of 6 (4) shell caddies. That is 100 rounds loaded. Factor that number out to 700 per week and 2800 per month and keep going from there. My sessions were only about 15 minutes and I focused being fumble free. The part that helped me was when I grab from the caddy, I make sure I PINCH that first round nice and tight between my thumb and middle finger. That is what works for me to learn fumble free. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bigshooter Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 J. First round on the bottom of the caddy, or first round on the top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 J.First round on the bottom of the caddy, or first round on the top? last in tube = first out of tube so for me, first round out of tube is on top and goes in last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 J.First round on the bottom of the caddy, or first round on the top? The round in the bottom of the caddie goes in the gun first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Schmitt Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 J.First round on the bottom of the caddy, or first round on the top? The round in the bottom of the caddie goes in the gun first. Yep, thats right. So the last round out of the caddy is pinched between my middle finger and thumb. I like to concentrate during practice on holding it real tight so I don't knock it out of my hand when i hit the loading port. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShooterSteve Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Before a match I take a big sharpie and put a big "S" on the back of my slugs. I know this doesn't help when they are in the caddy, but it works great if they are in a side saddle or two pack. If you are weak hand reloading, at least you can take a peak at the backs of the shells while they are in your hand and hopefully get them in the tube in the correct order. Things get crazy on a big stage with mixed slugs and shot. Last year at Area 6 three gun, they had a big mixed stage. I had a pretty bad jam, got it cleared and got to shooting. I couldn't figure it out, I couldn't hit a clay, and the great big paper targets didn't have slug holes in them, did some more reloading and finished up waaaayy behind where I should have been. I sas standing there scratching my head when the RO walked up and said, "Oh by the way, this round fell out of your chamber when you were clearing that jam and I don't think you saw it." No wonder I was all out of whack. What a way to start a match, that was stage one for us. Then Benny showed us how to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 The trick to shooting slugs mixed with shot is to load a slug right before your last birdshot shot. You then shoot the birdshot and the slug is ready to go. Just don't miss with the slug or your up sheet creek with out a paddle like I was today (twice). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1bigshooter Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 I've been putting the 'bottom' shell from the caddy in first. Seem to have a tough time keeping the hand/thumb in contact with the gun as I load each successive shell. These pointers are helping. The devil's in the details! Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 (edited) I just shot the Adams Arms match this past weekend and had some serious trouble with running my gun dry. Which I know is a cardinal sin but it happens so why not prepare for it. So I practiced for about 2 hours Sunday while the football games were on. My Benelli holds 12 total rounds. So I started with the bolt locked back, tube empty, gun in shooting position with sight picture. I grabbed 4 rounds, loaded 1 in the chamber, hit the bolt release, loaded 3 in the tube, loaded 4 in the tube, loaded 4 in the tube, returned to sight picture ready to fire. My best time was with in the 12 second par timer going off which I thought was realy good for me. I had trouble loading the round in the chamber if I canted the gun towards me to observe the chamber so I actually tilted it slightly away so that I wouldn't have to bend my left wrist so far up. I just made sure that I had my index and pinky fingers securely pinching the ends of the shell so that I wouldn't drop it. If I canted the gun towards me the the 3 extra shells in my hand always seemed to get loose and I couldn't get them in the tube very well after loading the chamber. Another discovery that I made during this round of practice was that I was much faster loading the gun with my elbows close to my sides. Furthermore, during the Adams Arms match I had to load 11 rounds to finish stage 10 and my arms were fatigued after holding the gun up to my shoulder for over a minute and 25+ rounds. I had been practicing all of my reloads with the gun at my shoulder. My thought process for the shouldered reloading was that it would be quicker to get back on target following a reload. Edited September 28, 2009 by jtischauser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Mr. Weakhand also told us to bunch the shells up. I think bunching them up works better as it gets the last shell closer to the gun sooner. If you lay them flat you need to move that last shell over eventually so why not do it right away by bunching them up. With the bunching technique are you able to put the shells in the gun in the order needed in the case of Slugs ans Birdshot being mixed? I am not talented enough yet to mix 3 shot/1 slug in my hand or 2 shot/2 slugs or 1 shot/3 slugs. If I need slugs I grab them and then go back to the cariers for shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xfactor Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I'd like to give weak hand loading a try with my Benelli M2... To you guys that are successful with it, how is your thumb positioned as you push the shell into the magazine? Is your thumb knuckle up, sliding along the loading gate... Or is it down, so that you're just pressing with the pad of your thumb? (The knuckle down method seems like it could result in some seriously crunched thumb nails if you get caught between the loaded shell and the tip of the loading gate while loading quickly under stress... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbrowndog Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 #1 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!! #2 tip: as you are looking forward with SG in your shoulder, thumb is aprox. 45 degrees to loading port, with knuckle sliding along bottom of receiver, thumb tip contacting back of shell. #3 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!!!! Trapr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xfactor Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 #1 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!!#2 tip: as you are looking forward with SG in your shoulder, thumb is aprox. 45 degrees to loading port, with knuckle sliding along bottom of receiver, thumb tip contacting back of shell. #3 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!!!! Trapr Good tips - thanks Trap! I was practicing last night, and my weak hand loads quickly got to be just as fast as strong hand. A little less consistent though... but I imagine that will improve with more practice. I admit that I was mostly practicing with gloves on though. Without gloves, I can definitely see that there are a few different ways to chop up your thumb. Does anyone actually use gloves during a match? Or maybe athletic tape strategically wrapped around the thumb?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 (edited) #1 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!!#2 tip: as you are looking forward with SG in your shoulder, thumb is aprox. 45 degrees to loading port, with knuckle sliding along bottom of receiver, thumb tip contacting back of shell. #3 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!!!! Trapr Good tips - thanks Trap! I was practicing last night, and my weak hand loads quickly got to be just as fast as strong hand. A little less consistent though... but I imagine that will improve with more practice. I admit that I was mostly practicing with gloves on though. Without gloves, I can definitely see that there are a few different ways to chop up your thumb. Does anyone actually use gloves during a match? Or maybe athletic tape strategically wrapped around the thumb?? Do you have the end of your lift gate welded up? The only abuse my thumb gets is a blister between the tip and the first joint where my thumb rides along the side of the receiver at the aforementioned 45° angle. Edited November 2, 2009 by jtischauser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 #1 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!!#2 tip: as you are looking forward with SG in your shoulder, thumb is aprox. 45 degrees to loading port, with knuckle sliding along bottom of receiver, thumb tip contacting back of shell. #3 tip: keep your thumb nails trimmed down neatly!!!!!! Trapr Always get a manicure before a big match! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbrowndog Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 (edited) Jesse, Jesse, Jesse,...... you should not have let that Cat out of the bag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cut finger nails,.......OK. Manicure???????????? ouch!!!!!! trapr Edited November 2, 2009 by bigbrowndog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 (edited) Had to delete. Too many PMs on good places to get nails done before high plains shotgun match. Edited November 2, 2009 by jtischauser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now