Well life in the Havoc-Five world has been busy and a fair number of things to catch up on in the near future. In the interim, I wanted to get this quick little post out there for you. We recently attended the Babes with Bullets (and friends) 3 Gun event, and one of the things that the Miculek’s introduced us to was this nifty little “matchsaver” device that debuted at Superstition Mountain the week before.
This is a very simple device, and one that you can easily make on your own. If you prefer to purchase it, matchsaverz.com is the place to go. I would expect to see something from Bushnell as well, in the immediate future.
This gizmo is just perfect for that one time that you mis-counted your reloads, and need just one more shell in a hurry. But let Keith Garcia give you the rundown. But since my embeds are not working, you will have to click here to see the video
Last year I started to see a move by competitive shooters to use a 2 shell strong hand reload technique. At the time, I was still trying to learn the basics of the shotgun and noted it in passing. Over the last several months there has been a moderately widespread adoption of the technique, and I think it is one that I will want to adopt as well. Having more tools in the tool box is always a good thing.
What is this technique? Details of the quad load technique are in the video below.
The twins /quad load technique can be run from the pinwheel and backbone equipment too.
Why would you want to use this technique? For that there are many answers.
If you are restricted on your loading capacity for a stage, and starting with a higher load makes sense up front, use this technique.
If you are moving and loading, this technique is all gross motor movement and is very easy to execute quickly while moving with fewer shells to fumble through your fingers.
If the stage requires your shotgun to come off your shoulder for any reason, it makes sense to top it off using this technique.
When not to use this technique?
If I don’t need to move from my position but need to reload in a hurry a weak or strong hand reload without removing the gun from the shoulder makes sense. There was a stage at the AR15.com match last year that the clay birds were on a 1 or 2 sec. interval. To get through the string I needed to reload, pulling the gun from my shoulder and reloading 2 would have been disruptive to my position and ambushing technique.
How does it work in practice?
Here is a quick video of my friend Jay struggling through the cold weather with a mix of the techniques.
As Pat says, if the weak hand load method works for you don’t change. But there are other techniques out there, and the twin / quad load is certainly one way to go about it.