Shotgun Question

[Spinning Guns]

I think I am finally comfortable enough with my guns now to start concentrating on things to help me improve my speed and accuracy. I would like your opinion on the best way to load a 97 shotgun. Do you pick up two shells at a time or is it quicker to take one at a time from your belt. I can get two in my hand but I seem to fumble more getting that second one in my gun. Anyway........any help on this would be appreciated.

Spinning Guns

[Carolina Chipmunk]

I'm weird. If there are three targets to cycle through, I grab three. I do everything weird, though. I don't even hold most of my guns correctly. It all depends on what you are most comfortable with I guess.

[Black Hills Barb]

I've been loading one at a time over the top. I always managed to drop shells when I had a double and I guess I never felt secure in pulling two at a time when I went to the pump.

I'd like to master pulling 2 or even 3 at a time but still single loading over the top. I seem to fumble when I try to shove that 2nd one in the tube, so for now I'll master the ways to single load faster.

[Spinning Guns]

I can't seem to load over the top. When I turn lost of my gun with my left hand to load it drops. I guess I just don't have enough strength to hold it level with my right arm. If I have more than one shell I just hold the second one in my right hand and load it after I eject the first one.

[Black Hills Barb]

I don't know how it happened but it just seemed to come natural for me to use that technique. I actually just lift my elbow and the gun is on it's side. My grip on the gun and the gun on my shoulder doesn't seem to change.

[Carolina Chipmunk]

I grab the shells with my right hand and hold them in which fingers are not pulling the trigger or holding the gun. I know that is acceptable because I have seen others do that, too.

[Lizzie Marie]

I hold mine with my left hand, pull one at a time out with my right hand and load....course I'm not the fastest on the line.....

[Jessie Lyn]

I load the same as Lizzie. I have tried all sorts of methods and always come back to this one. You need to try everyone that you run acrossed and find what works best for you. I am in the process of going back to a sxs, I think. Of course things change. :rofl :rofl Most of the top shooters have their "technique" but what is boils down to is what works for you.

[Quickdraw Pinkerton]

I'm a little different...I pull two from my belt, put one in the port, close the gun, then put one in the tube while shouldering the shotgun (the Evil Roy method). I only do this for the first two shots; it seems to be a good use of the time it takes to shoulder the gun. After that, I pull two from the belt and load one at a time while keeping the gun on target and my face on the stock; that's the important part. The gun should be pointed at the next target by the time the shell is put in the chamber. There are a couple of things that help with that: a rubber recoil pad on the '97 will help keep it from moving around, also the length of the stock may need to be shortened a little more than normal to make sure you can easily reach the ejection port with your right hand without stretching (I assume you're right handed). This is faster than pulling one from the belt at a time since you reach down to your belt half as many times. The value in that depends on the course design where you shoot. A lot of our matches have stages requiring six shells, sometimes more; reaching for your belt three times instead of six is a big benefit.

Initially, I felt that pulling two shells was awkward, especially pulling the trigger with a shell in my right hand. I finally figured it out...pull both shells with your index finger, middle finger and thumb. The shells should be perpendicular to your index finger. Then load the bottom shell, the one closest to the end of your fingers. Hold the second shell with your index finger and thumb; it should be pointing up. This will free up your middle finger to pull the trigger, with the remaining two fingers on the pistol grip of the shotgun. It sounds more complicated than it is. Check out Doc Shapiro's demonstration http://www.jspublications.net/vids/index.html under '97 loading techniques. I had trouble because my hands are much smaller than his. He recommends that you pin the second shell against the stock; for me it was a little wobbley; when I changed how I pulled the shells from my belt (described above) so that I could hold the second shell with my index finger and thumb; it felt much smoother and faster.

The over-the-top method works well for a lot of people; however, if you let the barrel drop because you are trying to hold the gun up with one hand back at the trigger, it's not for you. Also, experiment with how if feels to have one or two shells in your left hand when you operate the pump. I wasn't able to do it and operate the pump quickly, and I let the barrel take a nose dive.

Also keep in mind that you may run into falling steel targets that activate a clay bird. This is fairly common at the clubs in PA and NJ. There are very few shooters that can single load and still have time to hit the bird. Lady LaSalle's husband Hangin' Dawg can do it; so can a couple of others, but not many. So practice the Evil Roy method of putting one in the chamber, closing the action and putting the second shell in the tube for those occasions. Hope this helps; good luck :) .

[Nellie Blue]

Since there's not one correct answer for everyone....you have to try all the methods and use whichever method feels best to you and that you can do without fumbling. If you are fumbling with two, it will definitely be slower than loading one smoothly.

My method is in constant flux...

I started out loading one at a time with my right hand...which I can do pretty fast.

Then I started pulling two with my left hand for my first two rounds, loading them over the top and the rest of them one at a time with my right hand....then I stopped doing that because I kept fumbling...I only stopped doing it for big matches and kept doing it at monthlys...before long I quit fumbling and was able to use that method for the big matches also.

Then I wanted to add pulling two with my right hand and use the method that Holy Terror demonstrated at Convention last year. Quickdraw explained it pretty well: pull both shells with your index finger, middle finger and thumb. The shells should be perpendicular to your index finger. Then load the bottom shell, the one closest to the end of your fingers. Hold the second shell with your index finger and thumb; it should be pointing up. This will free up your middle finger to pull the trigger, with the remaining two fingers on the pistol grip of the shotgun. I haven't quite mastered this one but I still practice it a lot.

Sooner or later, I want to pull 4...2 in each hand! :rofl Don't know how I'm going to hold my gun.

[Carolina Chipmunk]

Sooner or later, I want to pull 4...2 in each hand! :rofl Don't know how I'm going to hold my gun.

:rofl :rofl :rofl I laughed so hard at that I about feel out of my chair onto the floor. Probably would have if I didn't have my Nalgene hooked up to my belt. Don't want to land on it...

I guess if you go fast enough that gravity is slower than you it may be possible to pull with both hands...but that is gonna take a LOT of practice! :) :)

[Spinning Guns]

Thanks for the video site Quickdraw. It is a lot easier to understand when you can actually see it. I am going to have to try some different methods and see what works for me. Since we are on the subject which pistol do you draw first? I don't use the cross draw method. It seems quicker to me to draw the left first because when I draw it I have to "trade hands" with it and when I draw the right I can just move my left hand to it. The vidoe shows how Doc trades gun and of course he does it much smoother than I do. How you those of you out there do it?

[Quickdraw Pinkerton]

The thanks for the videos should go to Hangin' Dawg; he is the one that showed them to me. Doc Shapiro really does a good job of demonstrating all of the techniques. Regardless of which method you decide on, get some dummy rounds and practice alot. Make sure that the dummies are light. If you reload just take an empty shell and crimp it with no shot or wad so that it will be the proper length. I originally used dummies with no powder or primer, but with a wad and shot. They looked nice, but the '97 wasn't designed to eject loaded rounds. The weight resulted in a smashed ejector. Of course it happened on my last practice run so I thought everything was fine. Then on match day, the gun wouldn't eject anything.

Regarding your pistol question, I don't use a crossdraw either. I use the exchange method that Doc Shapiro uses in the videos. As far as which one to draw first. I normally draw my right gun first. That way if the stage ends on pistol, I don't have to reholster on my weak side gun with the clock running. The local clubs seem to run a stage once in a while that requires you to start with your pistol in hand. If that is the case, I will start with the left. That way the weak side draw and transistion is not on the clock. There is always a lot of discussion regarding which pistol to draw first when there is movement, but I tend to draw my right first except in the instance I mentioned above. If I mix it up, I seem to get confused. Also, it frees my right hand sooner and often I can get a little ahead by pulling shells from my belt or grabbing the rifle depending on the stage requirement. The big issue is to watch the muzzle on the reholster if you have to move laterally. Again whatever you decide, do a lot of practice first before trying it in a match. Good luck!
:cgun

[Fannie Kikinshoot]

I keep my shotgun snuggled into my shoulder like a hot cowboy on a cold winter's night. I single load, I'm not too darn shabby at it. (Notice the shell coming out of the extraction site while my hand is almost to the belt for a reload.) :ban

[Spinning Guns]

So you are actually ejecting the bullet with your left hand while you are reaching for the next bullet with your right. I suppose you are also moving the site to the next target. Wow, how would it be it be so corridinated, and pretty at the same time!!!

[Hugh Damwright]

Quickdraw I am glad you posted those directions. I wasn't sure of how best to explain it. I haven't mastered it yet, but I do like pulling 2 at a time from the right (after my first 2 shots). First 2 are still over the top for me, one meeting the chamber as the gun meets both hands. The 2 from the right seems to work quite well when the gun is already shouldered. Of course, for 4 target scenarios, I have been known to pull 4 at once from the left and load over the top. Not recommended for shooters with short fingers. Also, take this with a grain of salt, I am not a top shooter, just telling my opinion of what works fer me! :cgun