[seeds76]

What are the types of magazine changes required for each IDPA/USPSA competition? What should I practice for each competition I might try?

Speed reload?
Tactical reload?
Reload with retention?

Thanks.

[Mt Shooter]

Fast ones and on the move.

[Sam1911]

In IDPA reloads are a pretty important skill set -- not just for speed, and NOT on the move.

1) Emergency or Slide Lock Reload: You shot the gun dry. Drop the EMPTY mag, grab a fresh one, rack or drop the slide and proceed. (NOTE: Slide MUST be locked back and the mag empty. Dropping an empty mag with a round still in the chamber gets you a Procedural Error = 3 sec.) If shooting a revolver, smack the ejector rod, dump the cases, reload as fast as possible.

2) Reload With Retention (RWR): Drop the nearly spent magazine into your weak hand. Stow that magazine in a pocket or mag carrier. Retrieve a fresh mag from the carrier and insert it. Proceed with the course of fire. If shooting a revolver, dump the cases and remaining live rounds in your hand and then into a pocket. You may drop empties. You may NOT drop live rounds. Reload.

3) Tactical Reload: Mag is nearly empty. Grab fresh mag in weak hand, probably between two fingers so the business end sticks up. Bring that hand up under the gun and drop your depleted mag into your weak hand next to the fresh one you're already holding. Push the fresh one up and in. Stow the spent one in a pocket or carrier. A TACTICAL RELOAD CAN NO LONGER BE REQUIRED IN AN IDPA-LEGAL COURSE OF FIRE. If it says "Tactical Reload," in the course description, a RWR is fine. There is no such thing as a Tac. reload for a revolver.

4) Speed Reload: Drop your half-full mag on the ground, slam in a new one, keep on shooting. This is the preferred method in USPSA / IPSC. This gets you penalties (Procedural Error = 3 sec.) in IDPA because you're wasting/abandoning valuable ammunition in the middle of a gunfight.

There are some other points to consider, but these are the basics.

Good luck!

-Sam

[Sam1911]

Some other points to ponder in IDPA:

IDPA focuses on the use of cover and minimizing your exposure to threat targets that have not been engaged (shot). You've probably been told that you must shoot the targets in "tactical priority" (i.e. - the order they appear as you "slice the pie" from your position of cover, etc.), rather than ambling out in front of a sea of targets and shooting them at random. Well, you also may not reload simply whenever and wherever you choose. You must begin AND COMPLETE all reloads while in a position of cover.

If you're leaning around a barricade to take out three threat targets before you move down a hallway, and your gun's getting low, you must perform your reload -- including getting the slide forward or cylinder closed -- before you step out from cover. If you're behind a lateral wall you can usually reload while moving behind it (i.e. - not advancing and generally not moving more than a few steps), but if you're not sure, ask the SO how he/she's going to score it.

Also be aware of something referred to as "managing your equipment." That usually is invoked to indicate a situation where you will have to engage multiple targets on the move, and it means that you cannot run your gun dry while out in the open. Say you've got four rounds in the gun and you're instructed to engage the next three targets while advancing. If you break cover and start advancing, and you engage your first two targets, your gun is empty. You HAVE to reload from cover. That means you're going to be backing up all the way out of the hallway. Or you get the 3 sec. PE for running the gun dry. In fact, even if you only have two threats in front of you, technically, you will be penalized if you run the gun dry. Going to slidelock and then sprinting to the next point of cover is not good enough. If you're paying attention to your "karma", you'll realize that you need to top off before you advance.

Sorry it that seems a little technical. Good stage design usually avoids such traps -- unless the MD is especially evil. :evil:

Believe it or not it all becomes second nature after a couple of months of practice or a season of matches.
The fun really starts, however, when you go nuts and switch from shooting in ESP or SSP to CDP, and even more so if you switch over to a revolver. Then, when you've got the "feel" of breezing along with 11 in the gun, all of a sudden rounds 7-11 just don't go bang and your SO is waving his "Procedural" finger at you.

Man, is this stuff FUN or what? :D

-Sam

[Jim Watson]

There is no such thing as a Tac. reload for a revolver.

Well, actually there is, just that it is a fairly complex process. Maybe they don't want to ask too much of somebody shooting such an antique as a revolver. An earlier edition of the rule book says to eject empty cases and loaded rounds into the hand and "just dump the whole mess in a pocket." Nowadays IDPA Tac Loads are nearly always scheduled after six shots. Pity, I worked hard on it early on before I realized it was not going to be needed.

As to the autos, the RwR is less likely to cause you to drop a magazine or to have you fumble and put the partly loaded one back in the gun instead of the full one, but if you really work at it, a Tac Load can save time. The difference between "completing the reload" and "stowing the partial magazine" can matter. Important at the Expert and Master level, I figure.

[Sam1911]

Maybe they don't want to ask too much of somebody shooting such an antique as a revolver.
As if I don't get enough grief about that from the guys in my club! Sheesh. :D

The difference between "completing the reload" and "stowing the partial magazine" can matter.

Well, that might confuse the issue. As the Rule Book says, "Failure to properly stow a partial magazine or live ammunition after a Tactical Reload or Reload with Retention prior to firing the first shot after the reload, will incur a procedural penalty."

So, basically, you need to stow that mag or ammo ASAP. When I was really new at this I did complete one COF with a 1/2-empty mag still in my weak hand. When the SO (and others) finally quit laughing, they explained that it just wasn't cricket to resume shooting without stowing the mag. :o

-Sam

[Jim Watson]

Let's say you have arrived at P2 behind cover with six rounds expended and must fire at least six more on the move to P3, a fairly common scenario hereabouts. So you Tac Load or RwR to avoid running empty in the open.

If you RwR, you may not move out until the partial magazine is stowed, which is the last step in a RwR. But if you Tac Load, you may step out of cover as soon as you have seated the fresh magazine. You may not shoot until the partial magazine is stowed, but you can do that as you cross some distance and line up on the targets. It works really well on Stage 3, String 2 of the Classifier. If you are good enough.

[Sam1911]

If you RwR, you may not move out until the partial magazine is stowed, which is the last step in a RwR. But if you Tac Load, you may step out of cover as soon as you have seated the fresh magazine.

This caught me by surprise, so i called up the book. This is what I see:

Approved IDPA reloads:
Tactical Reload
Tactical Reload (Tac-Load) is recharging the gun during a lull in the action by:
A. Drawing a spare magazine prior to the ejection of the partial magazine from the gun.
B. Dropping the partial magazine from the gun.
C. Inserting the spare magazine into the gun.
D. Stowing the partial magazine properly (See “proper magazine retention” in the glossary).

Reload with Retention (RWR)
Reload with Retention (RWR) is recharging the gun during a lull in the action by:
A. Dropping the partial magazine from the gun.
B. Stowing the partial magazine properly (See “proper
magazine retention” in the glossary).
C. Drawing a spare magazine.
D. Inserting the spare magazine into the gun.

This seems to be the reverse of what you're saying as the Tac. reload DOES require stowing the mag as part of the reload -- AND -- the reload must be complete before leaving cover.

Thoughts?

-Sam

[Mt Shooter]

USPSA competition

As I said fast ones and on the move. Dropping a mag. that still has rounds in it are okay.

Tac reload with a revolver? where do you keep the powder horn?

[Jim Watson]

The reload is complete when the gun is loaded. You can move but you can't shoot until the old mag is stowed.

Pg 42: "NOTE: Reloads may only begin when the shooter is fully behind
cover and will be deemed completed when the fresh magazine is
seated and the slide is fully forward or the cylinder is closed. (See
Appendix THREE – Cover)"

App 3, Pg 43: " All reloads must be executed from cover (if cover is available) and
must be completed before leaving cover. A shooter is deemed
loaded and may move from a position of cover ONLY when the
fresh magazine is FULLY SEATED and the slide is fully forward
or revolver cylinder is closed."

No mention of stowing the magazine before moving. You must stow it before you shoot, though.

Pg 78: "Proper Magazine Retention: A place for a partially loaded
magazine to be stowed before firing the first shot after a reload.
These places include: pants pocket; vest pocket; jacket pocket;
waistband; magazine pouch. The use of specially designed
pockets, shirt pockets, upper vest pockets, hands or teeth is NOT
permitted."

[Sam1911]

Aaah, o.k. I see your point, then.

The difference with the RWR is that the old mag is stowed before the new mag is retreived and inserted. Or, in other words, the mag is stowed long before you've completed the reload and can break cover.

Gotcha -- thanks for the further explanation!

-Sam

[seeds76]

thanks guys.

[shotgunred]

watch some of these.

http://www.myoutdoortv.com/pdk/web/shooting.html?feedPID=roI_0LRpH7qQmkKcVa8X0Vt80ahwO0rX