Weak hand revo reloads?

[DDGator]

A guy at my IPSC club has started reloading his 625 with his weak hand -- which I had never seen before.

In essence (for a RH shooter), the left hand comes up and hits the cylinder release, the trigger finger pushes the cylinder out into the left hand. Then the left hand strokes the ejector (while gun titled slightly up) and continues down to grab the reload from the holders on the weakside. The reload comes up with the left hand and is inserted with the gun titled slightly down and the left hand closes the cylinder as the gun is realigned with the target and then moves down to a support position.

There seems to be more economy of motion that the typical method I was taught and most people seem to use, where the gun is transferred to the weak hand. This way, you never lose the firing grip on the gun.

Is anyone using this method? What do you think of it?

Incidentally, the guy at my club has cut 15 seconds off his time in the last three weeks using this method.

[ChristopherG]

I've seen it and tried it. Some of the wheelgun shooters at the local IDPA club use it. I decided to stick with the 'conventional' (i.e., strong hand) reloads for a couple of reasons.

1) My left hand is not very coordinated--I'm not just not ambidextrous, I'm a certifiable sinistral clutz. It would take a LOT of practice to make this reload AS FAST, for me, as a normal strong hand reload.

2) Miculek. He uses the strong hand reload, and he's almost certainly the fastest in the world. His explanation in his 'advanced revolver' video is that the strong-hand reload has both hands doing things all the time, whereas the left/weak hand reload has the right hand just kind of sitting there while the left makes its trip up to the gun to eject, then back to the belt to get rounds, then back to the gun. Seems theoretically inefficient, even if it entails fewer overall movements, to have just one hand doing all of them. The real advantage, the retention of the strong hand grip, is an issue; Miculek explains that this is one reason for the slippery-banana-design of his custom wood grips, which allow him to kind of squirt the gun back into position. I use rubber grips, so I give up this advantage.

Now, I'm not a fireblazing top revolver shooter; but the fact that Miculek uses this method to outload the rest of the wheelgun world persuades me that it's not intrinsically flawed--and that I will go as far as I can go by just practicing. All that didn't stop me from TRYING the alternative once I'd seen it, mind you, but I've settled on the conventional for myself.

[Jim Watson]

One of our better shooters is getting ready to jump into SSR and plans to use the weak hand reload. I am not as fast as he, but I will still stick to the strong hand reload for two reasons.
1. The Ayoob theory that your coordination deteriorates under stress and it is well to have the big piece in the off hand and handle the little stuff like speedloaders with the good hand. The hand-finds-hand concept of reloading an auto does not apply with a sixgun.
2. I used to shoot PPC and have made a LOT of strong hand reloads. I don't know how many reps it would take to retrain myself, but I suspect it would be a lot and think the time better spent in improving my present style and other aspects of shooting.

[Ankeny]

I have seen some ICORE and IPSC shooters do blazing fast reloads with the weak hand. I have also seen some pretty fast reloads strong hand. The weak hand reload is gaining a lot of ground. Obviously, the proponents of the weak hand reload point to eliminating the need to switch hands and reacquire the grip.

I shot a revolver for 20 years before coming into IPSC and I used the strong hand reload. I tried weak hand, but after 20 years, I can't see it happening. IPSC revolver division is all (well almost all) about the reload. No matter what you choose, practice it forever. The need for a fast reload can not be over stated.

[Correia]

This is really interesting to me as I am not a revolver shooter at all. I put maybe a couple hundred rounds through a revolver a year. (I'm a 1911 guy) I have never been trained on the revolver in any way.

However when I shoot revolver I reload with my left hand. It just seemed like the natural way to do it, as my regular auto reloads require me to use my left hand to reach down to my belt to retrieve a magazine, so it seems natural to reach down with my left hand to grab a moon clip.

As I've never used a wheel gun in competition I've never given it much thought.

Interesting stuff. Maybe I'll grab my 1917 and see how I do in SSR at my next match? :)

[DDGator]

Thanks for the info, guys. You raise some very valid points. If Mickulek can do what he does with a strong hand reload...

I may try it just for kicks, but I am not certain I have the weak hand dexterity for this either.

[Navy joe]

Well I've owned a 625 for two weeks now so that makes me an internet expert right? Anyways, I'm left handed too. My reload goes like this.

1. Left thumb crosses over back strap to release cylinder.

2. Push cylinder through frame with right thumb and engage ejector with right index while rolling gun up.

3. While doing this left hand retrieves reload.

4. Roll gun down and load.

5. Clear right thumb from inside frame and close cylinder by cupping all fingers under trigger guard. Gun is held in this position as left hand re-aquires grip.

Even if I was right handed I couldn't imagine a weak hand load, getting the stupid moonclip to the gun and in is definetly the hard part, I'd goon it up with my dumb hand.

[Johnny Guest]

Way back in the late '70s, when I was first becoming interested in IPSC shooting, I read an article in GUNS magazine by Jeff Cooper on the El Presidente event.

In those days of yore, even decent shooters were doing quite well to shoot par: Twelve, five-point hits in ten seconds, with the mandatory reload. 60/10 = Comstock score of 6.0.

This article included a series of photos of a Swiss shooter using a model 19 and stout .38 loads. He fired 55 points in about eight seconds, using the weak hand reload. A score of 6.87 with a revo was BLAZING fast back then.

As a matter of perspective - - The PPC shooters were allowed 20 seconds to fire 12 shots at seven yards in that era, using light wadcutter loads. The K-frame S&W does NOT soak up recoil nearly so well as the N-frames do. Pretty impressive work, long ago and far away . . . .:p

Best,
Johnny