Tactical reload -yea or nay

[Coyote3855]

I participated in IPSC/USPSA competition for many years with a Springfield Armory .45 ACP and a Caspian .40 S&W. Dropped magazines hundreds if not thousands of times in gravel shooting bays. Of course magazines were cleaned and double checked for damage, but I never had to retire one because there was never a problem with any of them. YMMV.

I carry a spare magazine anytime I'm carrying a semiauto. Not so much for added capacity, more for efficiently clearing a jam.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I participated in IPSC/USPSA competition for many years with a Springfield Armory .45 ACP and a Caspian .40 S&W. Dropped magazines hundreds if not thousands of times in gravel shooting bays. Of course magazines were cleaned and double checked for damage, but I never had to retire one because there was never a problem with any of them. YMMV.

I carry a spare magazine anytime I'm carrying a semiauto. Not so much for added capacity, more for efficiently clearing a jam.

I drop kicked my STI mags a few times! flew across the range like a morder shell

 

[DR505]

As mentioned above, the "tactical reload" is one where you withdraw a partially depleted magazine and replace it with a full one, retaining the partial mag. I am retired LE and this was only to be used when there is a lull in the gunfight and you are safely behind cover. Before moving forward on a downed suspect it was recommended to ensure our service weapons were full of ammo.

The emergency reload is practiced at every range session. Now that I am retired my mind set has changed a bit regarding what I am expected to do if a SD situation arises, but I still carry a back-up magazine in case of an equipment failure or an actual need for an emergency reload.

 

[Dan-O]

tactical reload… I prefer the NEw York Reload!

X4

Me too

 

[film495]

I'm just an average hobbyist and I'm more concerned with clearing a possible jam.

 

[MauriceSam]

I have understood "Tactical Reload" to mean removing and replacing a partially fully magazine, with a full one, whilst retaining the partially full magazine. But that aside....

Training to reload is good for a few reasons:

1. Your gun may not hold enough ammunition to get the job done. Being able to quickly add more because you've trained to do so, is good.
2. If your gun jams or somehow fails to feed correctly, removing the magazine is the easiest way to resolve the issue. But retaining that magazine whilst unjamming the gun is easier said than done, so a spare that you've trained to use is good.
3. If you find yourself behind cover and your attacker is still firing at you, more ammo in your gun is good, even if it's not yet empty.

Magazine releases don't easily get pushed when they are covered by a well designed holster. So that's not much of a factor for many people. And if a certain magazine release seems to protrude too much and is creating trouble, it can either be replaced by one of a lower profile, or modified to the same effect.

Magazines getting dropped on the floor at the range is why people who practice reloading usually have dedicated range magazines specifically to take such abuse. I do. And they are marked in an identifiable way specifically so they do not make their way into carry.

I understand you think a civilian won't get into a protracted firefight. But a fight won't be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it will be. It'll be it's own thing. Expecting that a confrontation will be short because you don't have a uniform and a badge, won't make it short. But not having enough ammunition and not being able to reload quickly might make it a short confrontation.

Carry what you like, but realize the limitations of your equipment and of your abilities with it. Whatever those limitations may be.

Agree with you 100%. I always train like my life will depend on it. One day, it might. I train under as many different scenarios I reasonably believe could actually happen. In real life you will never know what you will really have to face, but training in "real world" scenarios that could happen to you, versus randomly shooting at paper a few times and calling it good. I don't like dropping mags in the dirt, etc. But you can always lay tarps out, or padded squares in the area you're training in if that is a real concern to you.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

You're over thinking this.

First of all, a tactical reload is the swapping out of a partial magazine for a full magazine. Not a reload from an empty gun.

Second, people will go on and on about capacity and reloads from one extreme to the other. But the purpose of having a reload available to you is the OPTION of having more ammunition readily available SHOULD YOU NEED IT.

Obviously, the adage "more is better" makes sense, but there comes a point where "more is too much". When that point occurs is up to you and nobody else. Lots of things go into this.

For example, your dress code may not allow for much, if anything, in the way of an extra magazine. Your chosen firearm may make a "minimum number of rounds" into a ridiculously large number of magazines. Whatever.

There are people who carry higher capacity firearm (15 things or more) who insist on carrying two spare magazines.

Well, I prefer to carry my 1991A1, which has a 7 round magazine, and one spare. That gives me 15 rounds total. To appease the person who thinks his 46 round loadout is "the minimum", I'd have to carry upwards of 6 extra magazines.

Not gonna do it.

Make your choice, then train for it.

 

[Mark_Mark]

You're over thinking this.

First of all, a tactical reload is the swapping out of a partial magazine for a full magazine. Not a reload from an empty gun.

Second, people will go on and on about capacity and reloads from one extreme to the other. But the purpose of having a reload available to you is the OPTION of having more ammunition readily available SHOULD YOU NEED IT.

Obviously, the adage "more is better" makes sense, but there comes a point where "more is too much". When that point occurs is up to you and nobody else. Lots of things go into this.

For example, your dress code may not allow for much, if anything, in the way of an extra magazine. Your chosen firearm may make a a "minimum number of rounds" into a ridiculously large number of magazines. Whatever.

There are people who carry higher capacity firearm (15 things or more) who insist on carrying two spare magazines.

Well, I prefer to carry my 1991A1, which has a 7 round magazine, and one spare. That gives me 15 rounds total. To appease the person who thinks his 46 round loadout is "the minimum", I'd have to carry upwards of 6 extra magazines.

Not gonna do it.

Make your choice, then train for it.

I carry a Colt Defender with extra mag, never felt under gunned, and comfortable too

 

[Old Dog]

I am retired LE and this was only to be used when there is a lull in the gunfight and you are safely behind cover. Before moving forward on a downed suspect it was recommended to ensure our service weapons were full of ammo.

Ah, the mythical "lull in the gun fight." So, having been involved in law enforcement firearms training lo, these past many years, whenever I found myself saying "when there is a lull in the gun fight..." I actually would get the giggles (mainly because that whole "lull" thing didn't square with my military experience) and became somewhat relieved when our training doctrine started to move away from teaching the tactical reload and emphasizing mainly the emergency reload (shoot til the weapon is dry, bolt/slide locked open, then reload -- obviously, in military engagements, emergency or speed reloads, if one wants to ensure he/she is topped off, are the standard for most). Anyway, part of de-emphasizing tactical reloads (for non-tactical team members) was the dumbing down our curriculum, in large part due to the caliber (er, quality) of recruits coming into law enforcement (very few being gun folk or having prior firearms experience), because teaching three types of reloads (emergency, speed and tactical) to the new officers almost seemed to overwhelm some of them. Still does for too high a percentage of serving officers.

Of course, with experience, military, LE and competitors get the whole tactical reload process and master it. And absolutely, if you're involved in a situation where you've put down the suspect(s), you never approach without ensuring you're GTG in the onboard ammo department, but that's also why you've got back-up and a designated arrest team.

So in response to the OP, I'd say for the average shooter and concealed carrier (who doesn't compete or work as a door-kicker), if you can master the tactical reload (doesn't take a whole lot of practice), fine, but really, one should definitely worry the most about fully mastering the emergency reload. And invest in enough magazines that if the worst happens, one isn't concerned about dropping precious mags in the dirt or on the pavement.

 

[DR505]

Ah, the mythical "lull in the gun fight." So, having been involved in law enforcement firearms training lo, these past many years, whenever I found myself saying "when there is a lull in the gun fight..." I actually would get the giggles (mainly because that whole "lull" thing didn't square with my military experience) and became somewhat relieved when our training doctrine started to move away from teaching the tactical reload and emphasizing mainly the emergency reload (shoot til the weapon is dry, bolt/slide locked open, then reload -- obviously, in military engagements, emergency or speed reloads, if one wants to ensure he/she is topped off, are the standard for most). Anyway, part of de-emphasizing tactical reloads (for non-tactical team members) was the dumbing down our curriculum, in large part due to the caliber (er, quality) of recruits coming into law enforcement (very few being gun folk or having prior firearms experience), because teaching three types of reloads (emergency, speed and tactical) to the new officers almost seemed to overwhelm some of them. Still does for too high a percentage of serving officers.

Of course, with experience, military, LE and competitors get the whole tactical reload process and master it. And absolutely, if you're involved in a situation where you've put down the suspect(s), you never approach without ensuring you're GTG in the onboard ammo department, but that's also why you've got back-up and a designated arrest team.

So in response to the OP, I'd say for the average shooter and concealed carrier (who doesn't compete or work as a door-kicker), if you can master the tactical reload (doesn't take a whole lot of practice), fine, but really, one should definitely worry the most about fully mastering the emergency reload. And invest in enough magazines that if the worst happens, one isn't concerned about dropping precious mags in the dirt or on the pavement.

We stopped doing tactical reloads many years ago as well.

I remember the old drill with a revolver, load two quickly and come back to ready.

 

[JohnKSa]

Even IDPA does not require them any more.

Even IDPA has drop the requirement to use it.

I always thought that IDPA added that requirement as a way to distinguish themselves from the other "practical" pistol shooting disciplines, not because it made sense. Glad to find they've dropped it.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I always thought that IDPA added that requirement as a way to distinguish themselves from the other "practical" pistol shooting disciplines, not because it made sense. Glad to find they've dropped it.

That Tactical Reload is an artifact of 1911 usage when that platform was the perceived as the pinnacle of Modern Pistolcraft . Like many raiments from that era, this is another that has rightfully fallen by the wayside

 

[Mark_Mark]

That Tactical Reload is an artifact of 1911 usage when that platform was the perceived as the pinnacle of Modern Pistolcraft . Like many raiments from that era, this is another that has rightfully fallen by the wayside

Some say 1911 is still the pinnacle of all thing handgun. Ruger 4.25” GT25 10mm with extra mag! Now we talking l 1-2 extra mags, just drop the mag and load with fresh