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“In20 words or less, what do Ineed to know about action 3-

gunning?” My reply: “Learn to runyour rifle for accuracy, your pistol forspeed, and learn to reload your shot-gun!” I wish I had coined that descrip-tion, because it sure applies!Have you gotten your pistol reloadsdown to one second so you can smokesome classifier? That may be a worthygoal, but knowing how to make shortwork of reloading your shotgun is a farmore valuable skill in a 3-gun match.Here’s how some of the best keep theirshotguns topped off.

The recently adopted USPSA rulesfor Open and Limited division shot-guns hold the capacities at 10 plus 1and 8 plus 1 respectively. With this inmind when facing a 15 to 25 roundcourse of fire, your ability to keep yourshotgun loaded is at a premium.

I have taken the liberty of assigningcompetitor’s names to the styles ormethods of reload. I hope none ofthem will be offended, as they werechosen as the “best observed” exampleof the techniques described.

Number one: TheBeale Flip and Burn. Kelly Beale does a great jobwith this method, which isprobably the most commonand easiest to learn. Lowerthe gun to about waist leveland flip it over using thestrong hand, so the loadingport is straight up. The“burn” depends on whereyou place your weak handfor support. As it is usuallyon the barrel, a glove is rec-ommended. This leavesyour strong hand free tostuff shells into the loading

gate. While low on the “fumble factor”scale, this technique is a little more dif-ficult to perform while moving aroundcourse obstacles as the barrel is parallelto the ground and most of it is stickingout in front ofyou.

Number two:The Wall LowRoll.

Jim Wall’smethod was bornout of necessity.The BrowningAuto-5 (the shot-gun Jim was usingthat lead to thetechnique) has avery stronglysprung loadinggate. To over-come this springtension Jim devel-oped a very fastand reliable ap-proach. From theshoulder position,

lower the gun to your belt level, re-leasing your weak hand while main-taining your firing grip with the stronghand. Twist the top of the gun out-ward, bringing the loading port up. Akey to this method is to pinch the stockbetween the inside of your arm andyour waist — kind of a reverse Flip andBurn only without the burn. This is asure approach to loading, whetherdrawing shells off your Side Saddle oroff the belt. The distance is short be-tween the loading port and the shell lo-cation either way. Jim draws and loadsone at a time, which greatly reduces thefumble factor.

Number three: The Cooley Forearm Twist.

USPSA 3-Gun Limited championBennie Cooley is the only guy I haveseen use this method, but it certainly

Speed-ReloadingA Shotgun

BY PAT KELLEY, A-14401

Photo by Robin Taylor.

In a hurry. KellyBeale does the “flipand burn,” at theMGM 3-Gun.

Photo by Bennie Cooley, Jr.

Winning form. Bennie Cooley demonstrates the “Cooley Twist.”Note the 12 rounds on the gun, plus 8 on his forearm.

works for him! When it’s time torecharge your shotgun maintain yourfiring grip with your weak hand (itshould be on the forearm) and twist thegun in toward your chest. Think of it asa biceps curl and wrist curl at the sametime. At this point the loading gate isfacing you and you are ready draw andload shells one at a time. This methodworks best if the bulk of your ammosupply is attached to your gun andweak hand forearm, since you mustload with your strong hand. This keepsthe distance to load short and rates itlow on the fumble factor scale. In use,this technique positions the barrelmore vertically allowing for good ma-neuverability while reloading.

Number four: The Rhodes Highand Tight.

Eddie Rhodes is supremely fastwith this technique. From the shootingposition lower the butt of the gun andstick it under your arm, pinched inyour armpit. Keep the muzzle up andthe loading port within a hand span ofyour face. This method allows you tomove well in and around course obsta-cles. If you only have to move a step ortwo, Rhodes advises you to leave theshotgun on your shoulder if you can.

Using a straight-stock Benelli, Ed-die has the dexterity to draw and loadthree to four shells at a time from belt-mounted shell carriers. This makes thismethod very fast, but it carries a higherfumble factor. Done right, you onlyhave to go to your belt one or twotimes. Done wrong, you drop ammo inthe dirt.

“I used to use a pistol grip stock,and that helped with the loading, butthe straight stock allows you to mountit better and shoot it better. I think youget a better cheek weld with thestraight stock.”

Taran Butler uses the same tech-nique, but sticks with the pistol-gripBenelli.

What About Speed Loaders?Any of the methods described can

be used with speed loaders if that is

your preferred flavor. The Flip andBurn and a somewhat lower High andTight are the preferred styles for OpenDivision shotgunners.

What else might we need to knowabout shotgun reloading? Nothingbeats practice but more practice — weall know that. Even the worst topping-off technique repeated often enoughwill work, but what else might help ourquest for a speedy shotgun reload?

Reloading from “Bolt Lock”Let’s say you have run your self-

loading shotgun dry. I know that neverhappens, but there you are ready toload and the locked-back bolt is staringyou in the face. Now what? If you arerunning a Browning, just load theshells into the mag tube as you wouldnormally and the speed load featurewill load the chamber for you. Neat,eh? However, most of us do not use aBrowning and many a major match hasbeen won without the help of theBrowning speed load feature. So whatdo we do instead?

Remington 1100 shooters drawtwo shells, loading the open ejectionport and the mag tube in one move-ment. Perhaps I should re-phrase that.Remington 1100 shooters load theejection port and the mag tube in onemovement IF their 1100 is equippedwith an Easy Loader flipper and IF they

15March/April 2002 • FRONT SIGHT

Photo by Robin Taylor.

Quick access. See those two shellsstrapped on just ahead of the ejectionport? Mark Anglin strips one back into theejection port whenever the gun runs dry —it’s a lightning-quick fix for “bolt-lock.”

FRONT SIGHT • March/April 200216

use one of the reloading techniquesthat allows you to see the open ejectionport. The Easy Loader guides therounds into the mag tube and releasesthe locked open bolt without a sepa-

rate manipulation.

Being able to see the open ejectionport is a good indicator that you aresuffering from post ammo depression

and allows you to “look the round”into the open port. Those of us whoown Benellis or Winchester SX2’s haveto release the bolt via the carrier releasebutton, but with practice, that addedmotion becomes part of a smooth load.

Some shooters (Mark Anglin ofMGM Targets in particular) keep a pairof shells mounted just ahead of the re-ceiver, rigged in line with the ejectionport just for loading a locked-openbolt. In one swoop, Mark can snag ashell with his strong hand, drag it intothe ejection port, and slip his bolt re-lease as his hand slides back on the re-ceiver.

With new shotguns on the market,and a rising pool of 3-Gunners nation-wide, these techniques are likely toevolve. Little of Bennie’s technique,and almost none of his fancy Browningshotgun had been seen at a nationalmatch prior to 2001. Who knows whatwe’ll see this year? These are the mostcommon techniques in use today.Which one is best? It all depends onyou.

Photo by Bennie Cooley, Jr.

Get and Go. When choosing a reloading technique, see how long it takes to get yourgun back on target. Since Cooley’s left hand stays in firing position, his technique lets himrecover very quickly.

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