Tag: US Army

  • Army Pro Tips: Shotgun Reloads

    Army Pro Tips: Shotgun Reloads

     

    Army Pro Tips: Shotgun Reloads
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    Robbie and Daniel with the United States Army Marksmanship Team show you how to be faster with shotgun reloads.

    Like the Army Speed Reload video, the key to this is first understanding the motions and the practicing them perfectly.

    There are two types of reloads taught in this video.  The side saddle reload and the weak hand reload.

    The weak hand reload the Staff Sergeant shows in the video is functionally very similar to the combat load that I learned from the Department of Correction.

    I like it better because it allows for more situational awareness and you keep your dominant hand on the gun.

    However, the side saddle reload may be a little faster.

    To me, I think a few thousandths of a second difference is not as important as keeping your head up and the shooting hand on the gun.

    I also don’t think the differences in either method of shotgun reloading are as important as a good combat mindset and the willingness to practice a shotgun reload method diligently enough to get it down to an unconscious effort.

    Practice makes perfect, perfect practice makes a shot-guner fast.

    If you want to see what practice can do, look up Clint Smith’s video on his shotgun technique.  He runs an old double barrel like these soldiers run their semi-autos.

  • Army Pro Shooting Tips: How to Speed Reload a Pistol

    Army Pro Shooting Tips: How to Speed Reload a Pistol

     

    Army Pro Shooting Tips: How to Speed Reload a Pistol
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    This YouTube video is of Corporal Travis Tomasie of the United States Army Marksmanship Unit teaching the speed reload.

    I have shared other videos of Tomasie performing a speed reload.  His speed seems amazing, and it is pretty impressive, but it is doable if you have the same drive and devotion to practice that he has.

    There is nothing fancy or impossible about his speed.  It is simple the result of perfect practice repeated repeatedly.

    Learn From the Best – Practice What You Learn

    If you want to know how to speed reload a pistol watch the video and learn from a great shooter.

    If you want to speed reload quickly apply that knowledge with hours of practice.

    One thing I would add to this video concerns practice.  I like to stand over my bed so that my magazines land on the bed.  I don’t do this because I am afraid of hurting them when they hit the floor.  I do that because it saves me time picking them back up so I get more practice in a single session.

    I load up my belt with all my magazine holders and go through each magazine and then pick up all the magazines and restart.

    It is also helpful to ensure at least one dummy is in the magazine.

    Practice Constantly: It is the Cost of Competency

    Practice over and over until you get your speed to where you want it and then practice more because you won’t function perfectly under stress.

    If this sounds like overkill in discussing the need for practice then practice until you get it.  I cannot stress enough how speed like this is achieved only though dedicated practice that is done perfectly.

    Don’t slap dash through it and try to get speed by sloppy action.  It won’t happen.  Go slow and be precise in your movements. A thousand half speed repetitions will build speed faster than anything else you can do.  Whereas sloppy repetitions done under what you think is extreme speed will make you perform worse.