I drill my reloads pretty consistently; for whatever reason I’ve always enjoyed working on getting the gun back into action when it’s out of bullets. This promo video we shot for Lone Wolf actually has a good example of a smoking reload in it from a couple of angles.
I actually got the second mag up to the gun quick enough that I hit the falling mag and bounce it off in a weird direction. To be honest, I probably practice reloads more than I need to, but at the Indoor Nationals I was very glad that I did. I had to reload in the dark. Not in low light or limited light, but just the dark. I couldn’t see the gun or the magazine or anything, but both of the reloads I had to do in no light I nailed just fine.
The point is that practice really does pay off. I’ve done hundreds of reloads in practice over the past couple of months. If there’s a particular match skill that you’re struggling with, drill it. Don’t overtrain, but drill it hard until you reach a level of automatic proficiency with it. I’ve actually over-trained my reloads at this point, and need to reduce the number of reps I do with those in favor of working on my draw for a little bit. Because reloads were my major weakness, and now they’re not…so it’s time to drill something else.
I used to practice them like mad, and then focused on other things the last few months. But watching video from the Blackwater Practical Shooters match last weekend made it very obvious that I need to practice those before the Florida IDPA match. I’m pretty sure several of my reloads were slower on Sunday than I was managing with a freaking cast on my weak hand last year.
This would be a good example of why the headcam videos are fun, but I usually learn a lot more about what I need to work on from the third-person videos.
That video had a way of making me feel really inadequate. Time to go practice some more.
Is that a camera attached the gun’s rail at the end?
I would highly advise you to reconsider your stance on slacking off on practicing reloads. Practice them more than you have before. Try to hit one in .7, should be easy with a forward mag pouch and a magwell. Doesn’t mean you can’t also practice draws more :)
Especially with Area 1 coming up and the goal of getting your GM card. You’ll thank me later ;)
When I say “slack off” what I mean is do 15-25 reps per practice session instead of 50 reps.