7rds in the mag, best technique?

[Tucker McNeely]

For those that have a match under the belt, shoot until slide lock or combat load after you shoot 6 from the first magazine?  What little testing that I have done, I save time without have to release the slide into battery.  But it looks a little easier to brain dump the scenario and lose time there also with a P or having to stop and recount your steps.  What say you?

[Garrison Joe]

I shot all seven to slide lock, as I was used to with just 5'ers.  I've been shooting seven in mag for everything but Bordertown for almost a year now.  Saw several folks have problems trying to do the 6 and recharge.  With the sweeps at WR set for seven or multiples, usually, they could forget to finish their current sweep after charging mag.  As a traditional shooter very used to hitting the slide release with shooting thumb, I could not gain much time at all, I would think.  Perhaps the modern shooters can, but I doubt it.

 

A tactical reload didn't seem to help anyone I saw shooting them.

 

A year's worth of practice by those shooters may make a difference.  A 6 shot sweep might make it attractive, too.

 

IMHO, a tactical reload is most valuable when you never can have your gun empty (as in a real gunfight).  Since our targets don't try to shoot back as you are slapping a mag in, well, it is just a game.  ;)

 

Guess we will see another demo of it at EOT. 

 

Good luck, GJ

[Tully Mars]

We had one shooter that did well with the tactical reload, however I'm not convinced it saved time. Your still dropping the magazine, bringing the gun closer to your body for the reload, hitting the slide release at that point isn't costing you any time. Of course if the slide release is awkward for you or you release the slide by pulling it then it might be a good option. 

 

Personally I would be concerned that if a shooter gets into the shoot six and reload habit that they will eventually move on that sixth round sooner or later. I heard till of other posse's having issues with movement on the sixth round, but can't verify it.

 

It's kinda like double cocking as a Gunfighter, that's caught me on a split pistol stages.

 

Tully

[J. Frank Norfleet]

Those I saw trying the tactical reload cost them time. Why fire the 6th shot at a target, reload and fire the 7th shot at the same target. The time lost in re-aquiring the target killed any perceived time gained.

 

Shooters trying it had to think way too much about the reloads to shoot the stage effectively.

 

BUT, there was one big advantage to the tac-reload rule change. On one stage I shot 6 rounds, dropped the mag and realized the slide was down as I inserted the new mag. A spotter behind me shouted "one more" (thanks BD) so I shot the 7th round and started the next sequence. The net result of that hiccup was a no call. In the previous year at WR, I did the same thing and had a minor safety in an otherwise clean match.

 

The benefit of the rule change is to do away with an unnecessary penalty.

JFN