Which hand do you use to place the rounds in the barrel when reloading?

I watched the videos on Heym's site and different shooters use opposite hands.

I will pretend I am right handed for discussion sake, after I fire both barrels, I break open the rifle, turn it far enough to dump the fired rounds (extractors only), keep my right hand on the stock, use my left hand to reload, grab the foreend end with my left hand, close the rifle.

Is this right or wrong.

I have been dry firing with 4 snap caps practicing reloading. Today at the the range my last two 4 shot groups at 25 yards were right at 2" and with one in 11 seconds and the other in 12 seconds. My goal is 4 shots consistently under 2" in under 10 seconds.

Is this a reasonable goal or is it too big of a group or too slow?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike it is a reasonable goal.

As far as what is right or wrong, the method that works for you is the one to use. I hold on with my right (right handed) break action tilt or eject rounds out grab new rounds with my left hand from cartridge slide on my belt (front left side). Drop in new rounds and grab forearm with left hand close action and mount.
I don't carry extra rounds between my fingers!

A friend of mine carrys his rounds on his butt stock. He grabs the rounds with his right hand after placing empties in his pocket!

What you practice and works for you is the right thing to do! Speed is admirable, consistancy and accuracy are paramount!

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Mike it is a reasonable goal.

As far as what is right or wrong, the method that works for you is the one to use. I hold on with my right (right handed) break action tilt or eject rounds out grab new rounds with my left hand from cartridge slide on my belt (front left side). Drop in new rounds and grab forearm with left hand close action and mount.
I don't carry extra rounds between my fingers!

I use the same method and take them from the same place.

sitting around bored, playing with the 9.3 chapuis ive got, i've tried several methods... what works best for me is to 1) fire.. 2) as i lower the gun, i move the barrel release lever with my right hand, pulling down on the forearm with my left hand (my chapuis is tight and needs help.).... 3) turn the gun upside down and shake to remove the spent shells (its an extractor gun)... 4) reload from 5 cartridge shell holder on my belt.. 5) close gun, back to shoulder if necessary for more shooting... disclaimer::::.... ive not been to africa, hunted any DG (other than dangerous water jugs)... ive used this same technique with several double shotguns, pass shooting whitewings, and mourning doves... and works well for me....

I recomend you also learn to be able to perform a fast single barrel reload. On my extractor doubles I can't dump the spent brass as I do when shooting both tubes. I have to pick out the single spent shell. When shooting buffalo in a group I have found the second shot may not be immediately available and a single reload is often needed. I have also found that I can load one round much faster than loading two.

Taylor was a big advocate of saving your second shot for an emergency and recomended loading immediately after shooting the first barrel. I think his theory makes more sense for the PH than a hunter however IMO it is still a good skill to learn.

I also believe it is important to keep the gun up close to your chest when reloading. This method allows you to have your head up and see more of what may be heading your direction.

Good information.

With a double you have several options.

You can shoot two, and reload two.

You can shoot one, and reload one.

You can shoot two, and if you are under "duress", do not have enough time to reload two, you can reload one, close the gun and maybe that one shot will save your bacon.

I carry extra rounds on my belt, a 15 round shell carrier from Murray Leather, and I carry extra rounds in a butt stock shell carrier also my Murrray Leather.

If I am under duress, or even in a little hurry i load from the buttstock.

If I have plenty of time I reload from my belt.

My 450 No2 is an extractor gun so I pluck the empties out, and if I am not under pressure have the bad habbit of putting the empties in my back pocket.

If I am under duress I just drop the empties on the ground.

It does not matter which hand does the reloading, as long as you practice.

Also I carry my solids at the "back" of the belt, with the softs in the "front" of the belt.

Same on the buttstock shell carrier.

With my 9,3x74R I always have the last 2 rounds on the buttstock solids, incase while hunting laions game I have elephant trouble.

When I am hunting elephants I have ONLY solids in the buttstock shell carrier.

I started using a butt stock shell carrier when hunting with single shot rifles, so it was natural for me to use them with doubles.

I use them on bolt rifles, drillings, etc. as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:
Which hand do you use to place the rounds in the barrel when reloading?

I watched the videos on Heym's site and different shooters use opposite hands.

I will pretend I am right handed for discussion sake, after I fire both barrels, I break open the rifle, turn it far enough to dump the fired rounds (extractors only), keep my right hand on the stock, use my left hand to reload, grab the foreend end with my left hand, close the rifle.

Is this right or wrong.

I have been dry firing with 4 snap caps practicing reloading. Today at the the range my last two 4 shot groups at 25 yards were right at 2" and with one in 11 seconds and the other in 12 seconds. My goal is 4 shots consistently under 2" in under 10 seconds.

Is this a reasonable goal or is it too big of a group or too slow?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, I use basiclly the same method you use. I am right handed and I carry my ammo in a slide on my left side belt. What I have is an AFRICASE slide that holds six rounds in pairs so that you can pull two at a time.

Of course there is a difference if the rifle is an extractor, or ejector rifle, that goes without saying. But in either case it is all a matter of practice. I use the same method you use with your Ruger No1 as well, and like you I can reload it almost as fast as a bolt action.

As everyone has said, it is simply a matter of practice of what ever works for YOU!

One thing I do with an ejector rifle to save my brass is when I open the rifle I position it so the empties hit me in the chest, that lest them drop right to the ground at my feet, instead of out in the puff adder weeds. With a extractor rifle I simplyt flip the rifle back with the barrels pointing slightly upward so the empties slide out and drop to the ground. The plucking of the brass out with you fingers unless you are only loading one barrel is, IMO, a bad habbit to get into. IMO, the practice should be what you would do if a buffalo is about to hit you in the middle, because when the chips are down, you don't want muscle memory to get you gored!

The other reason for putting the ammo holder on the left,
particularly if it doesn't have a flap over the ammo, is that
the gun doesn't get scratched on the but when carrying it.

Thanks for the advice and more will be appreciated.

Mac,
All my practice is based on worst case scenario. I start with the rifle at my waist. This enables me to shoulder the rifle properly and cock the rifle as I am raising it to my shoulder. Remember the perfect double has a cocking device I never pickup empties until I am finished. One thing I will start doing is loading rounds 5 and 6 immediately after shooting 3 and 4.

It looks like old Elmer Keith loaded with his left hand.

I have spent a ton of time on this very subject:

1) When my second barrel is discharged and as I'm lowerig the gun, my right thumb is sliding the top lever to open the rifle - it is opened and the spent cases are in the air before the gun is at my hip. A slight downward jolt as gun is in motion facilitates this - I take advantage of the weight of the barrels to serve as an assisted opener of sorts.

2) At the same time the gun is coming down, my left hand has already grabbed 2 new rounds pinched between my thumb and the inside lower portion of my left forefinger - without looking they are slapped into the breeches and the gun is jerked upwards slamming the action closed - boom!, boom! and repeat.

If there is a magazine rifle faster than this, I'd like to see it!

This takes a lot of practice - I've trashed a bunch of snap-caps and worn in some actions over the years trying to perfect this method.

It has paid big dividends when the time came to shoot fast and reload faster!

A lot of guys don't want to run their DRs this hard, but this is what it takes to be fast!

Jeff,
That is what I am working my towards. Dry firing and reloading with snap caps have been a big help. Can you recommend a good shellholder?

A problem I am having is my double partially closes after I break it open. If I am not careful I have to open it a little further for the rims to clear. It seems as though the fore end may need to be trimmed slightly.
Has anybody else ever had this problem?

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Wemmer:
I have spent a ton of time on this very subject:

1) When my second barrel is discharged and as I'm lowerig the gun, my right thumb is sliding the top lever to open the rifle - it is opened and the spent cases are in the air before the gun is at my hip. A slight downward jolt as gun is in motion facilitates this - I take advantage of the weight of the barrels to serve as an assisted opener of sorts.

2) At the same time the gun is coming down, my left hand has already grabbed 2 new rounds pinched between my thumb and the inside lower portion of my left forefinger - without looking they are slapped into the breeches and the gun is jerked upwards slamming the action closed - boom!, boom! and repeat.

If there is a magazine rifle faster than this, I'd like to see it!

This takes a lot of practice - I've trashed a bunch of snap-caps and worn in some actions over the years trying to perfect this method.

It has paid big dividends when the time came to shoot fast and reload faster!

A lot of guys don't want to run their DRs this hard, but this is what it takes to be fast!

,,,,,,,,,,,,ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:
Jeff,
That is what I am working my towards. Dry firing and reloading with snap caps have been a big help. Can you recommend a good shellholder?

A problem I am having is my double partially closes after I break it open. If I am not careful I have to open it a little further for the rims to clear. It seems as though the fore end may need to be trimmed slightly.
Has anybody else ever had this problem?

Yeah, Krieghoff tries to cut it too close. I sent mine back to Krieghoff and made them increase the opening so that isn't a problem now. No one can convince any of these double makers actually hunt with them!!

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:
Jeff,
That is what I am working my towards. Dry firing and reloading with snap caps have been a big help. Can you recommend a good shellholder?


A problem I am having is my double partially closes after I break it open. If I am not careful I have to open it a little further for the rims to clear. It seems as though the fore end may need to be trimmed slightly.
Has anybody else ever had this problem?

Yeah, Krieghoff tries to cut it too close. I sent mine back to Krieghoff and made them increase the opening so that isn't a problem now. No one can convince any of these double makers actually hunt with them!!

On the cartridge holder the AFRICASEsold by Aleco is just the ticket. It holds the cartridges in pairs with a seperation between the pairs, so you can pull two at a time. I'm sure Nitro 450 No2 or someone has his website, but I can't find it. I have several of his leather products, and they are top notch for double rifle shooters. Here is a picture of some of them. The ones I use are the six cartridge in pairs in the picture, and the single pair for a couple of solids, when hunting with softs, or vice-versa.
http://www.heritagearms.net

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On the opening of your K-gun, I'd give JJ a call at Champlin's and ask how long he would need to adjust the opening. If you have a safari booked in short order he may be able to get you fixed up quickly. If he can get to it, it will take him no more than a couple hours.