You will always need to be able to reload your pistol quickly and smoothly. Therefore, anytime is a good time to work on your reloads. It doesn’t matter if it’s with a concealed carry gun, a competition gun, or a gun you bought for fun. It’s a good idea to be familiar with all your firearms and how to reload them. Without ammunition in them, they’re just expensive sticks. So, I will detail a good pistol reload drill that will help you perform reloads quickly and consistently.
Pistol Reload Drill: Mastering the Reload
This drill is a dry fire drill, meaning you can do this drill at home, in the garage, in your backyard, or on the range. If you spend a set amount of time dry firing daily, you’ll see drastic improvements in your skills during your next trip to the range. When you move on to live fire and practice reloads, you’re just confirming what you’ve been practicing in dry fire.
Equipment Needed
- Belt (Safariland ELS, KORE Essentials, Nexbelt, etc.)
- Holster
- Pistol (Walther PDP Pro ACRO)
- Magazine Pouches (one minimum required)
- Two Magazines
- Target (optional)
- Timer (optional)
The Drill
The drill only involves reloading your pistol. During live-fire practice, I like to use a timer to track my time and get an idea of my baseline time and any improvements I make. However, during dry fire, it’s good to work on the fundamentals of the reload without the pressure of a timer.
Since this is a dry fire drill, I do not recommend loading your magazines with live ammunition. However, you could load the magazine on your belt with dummy rounds to simulate a “fully loaded” magazine. This will allow you to get used to reloading a heavy magazine.
If you shoot competitively or plan to start shooting competitions, I recommend installing brass base pads on your magazines. These could be +0 base pads or extensions to add more capacity. Brass base pads ensure that your empty magazine consistently and quickly falls out of your gun when you hit the magazine release.
Two brands that manufacture brass base pads for the Walther that I used in this drill are ZR Tactical and LOK Grips. I always start with the empty magazine outfitted with the brass base pad in the gun. As mentioned, it allows the magazine to drop easily because of the weight.
Setup and Execution of the Reload Drill
How you set up your magazine and pouch on your belt will either help or hinder the reload. For concealed carry, your spare magazine pouch, whether IWB or OWB, should be set up with the bullet tips facing your belt buckle or the center of your body.
The setup for competition will be similar. However, you can cant your magazine pouch to angle the magazine for a smoother reload rather than having it completely vertical.
Once you are set up, it’s time to learn the mechanics of the reload.
When you go to reload your pistol, two things should happen at once. Your non-dominant hand should immediately come off the gun and go to grab the next magazine, and your dominant hand should hit the magazine release button.
When grabbing the new magazine, your index finger should always lay straight on top of it. Likewise, the rest of your hand should wrap around the magazine, and your palm should support the base pad.
During this time, your dominant hand should rotate the pistol enough to see the inside of your mag well. Your eyes should lock onto a spot in the mag well where you want the magazine to go. Your index finger helps guide the fresh magazine into the mag well until it is inserted.
Then, finally, seat the magazine with a generous amount of force using the palm of your hand. Your eyes should be back on your target as you re-grip the pistol, take aim, and get back to shooting.
Practicing this drill daily will help you quickly get back in the game for concealed carry or competition. Just remember to practice it safely and start slowly, picking up the speed as you get more consistent and smooth.
