In the past I was a hardcore always port load over the top of the gun kind of guy. It seemed to work the best for me at the time. Then my technique was challenged. This video of Tim Chandler shooting a shotgun El Pres is what really challenged me to take another more critical look at my approach to the gun.
Mounted vs. Dismounted Reloads
The first thing I noted about Tim’s reload is that the gun stays mounted in the shoulder through the reload process. Watching old videos of my own port loads, I always dismounted the gun for the reload. I recall, when I was first being taught how to run a shotgun, the idea of keeping the gun mounted and loading the gun from underneath was brought up. Unfortunately it was so poorly taught and demonstrated that I discounted it almost instantly as being cumbersome and having no real value.
Breaking the gun off the shoulder and tucking it underneath my arm allowed for better control of the gun. At the time, I was almost exclusively shooting 870’s with SF forends and adjustable pistol gripped stocks that I always adjusted way too far out. My generally poor shooting technique, coupled with poorly setting up the gun, made it difficult to keep the gun mounted in the shoulder. I know better now, and my shotguns are better equipped for the mission and easier to manage. Or I got stronger, but probably not that.
I suppose it should be obvious, keeping the gun in the shoulder and minimizing movement is the more efficient way to reload. Improving efficiency is a good way to get things done quicker. It was easy to see this needed to be a change in how I approach the gun.
There might be a discussion to be had on whether or not keeping the gun mounted in the shoulder is always the correct answer. Making a circumstance appropriate adjustment on this specific aspect of technique is certainly a thing. Understand the shooting assignment, and adapt this part of technique as appropriate. I don’t think that adds too much complication here.
Over the Gun vs Under the Gun
Over the gun, or over the receiver reloads, are a staple in the defensive shotgunning community. Many, maybe even most, defensive shotgun instructors teach to emergency load the shotgun over the top of the receiver. The usual technique taught is to break the gun off the shoulder slightly, rotate the gun inboard (for a right handed shooter), pointing the ejection port up. The spare shell is retrieved (usually from a side saddle) and the shooter is able to drop it into the ejection port with full view of what is going on. The argument usually made is that this type of reload is easier to accomplish with a minimum amount of training and practice. I actually don’t think that is untrue. If maximum efficiency in training input was my primary consideration, this might be how I would go. It isn’t though, and I do plenty of training/practice to pursue something better.
It is possible to reload the gun quickly over the top of the receiver, but I have never quite broken the code on how to efficiently and consistently retrieve the shell from the side saddle without cheating a bit and specifically staging the shell for the reload. With an underneath reload, as long as the shell is there it doesn’t really matter how deep it is sitting in the side saddle.
Loading over the top of the receiver also usually means varying how shells are loaded into the side saddle. It doesn’t have to be that way, but it seems to go that way. A couple shells are oriented with the base up to facilitate emergency loads, and the rest are oriented with the base down to facilitate feeding into the magazine tube and topping the gun off. This creates two different retrieval methods depending on which task is needed, and artificially limits the ammunition’s allotment for each purpose. I don’t think that is a deal breaker, but was something I gave consideration. Being able to orient all the spare ammo the same way, and use all the spare ammo for either task without any adjustment seemed like a nice bonus.
Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that port loading from the underneath the gun was the more efficient process. With pump guns in particular, it allowed me to get back on the gun quicker. I just had to make sure that I didn’t give up reliability of the reload for the sake of being faster. It took a little work to iron out, but I think reloads underneath the gun can be just as reliable as reloads over the top of the gun.
Retrieving & Controlling the Shell
This became an important factor in deciding which way to port load a shotgun. Being able to use the same shell retrieval method all the time, every time has paid dividends. I use my support hand thumb to push the shell down, out of the side saddle, and then use my fingers closing around the base of the shell to complete the retrieval, and secure it for the trip under the gun.
Once under the gun, I open my hand and using my index and pinky finger to keep control of the shell press it into the ejection port with my middle and ring finger. Once it is in the ejection port, my hand immediately moves to the forend of the gun and closes the action to start shooting again. There really isn’t anything special going on here, it is just a really efficient process that requires minimal hand movement to pull off.
Angle of the Gun
After a crushing loss in the man v man shoot off at a recent Symtac Consulting class I started looking to fine tune my reload some more. My most recent evolution in technique is the angle of the gun while putting the shell into the ejection port. Previously, my approach was just to keep the gun level and perfectly vertical. This seemed to work well enough. All the way up until I was slightly off on the reload and then my tendency would be to tilt the gun inward. Not exactly sure why, but I assume to get some sort of visual reference or maybe because of some belief that it would make it easier to get the shell into the port.
The reality is tilting the gun inwards while trying to reload underneath the gun hurts the process more than it helps. I didn’t really pickup on this until attending a Symtac Consulting class and watching other people shoot. I noted two inefficiencies that many people seemed to struggle with, myself included. Tilting the gun in was one, and the other was letting the muzzle drop during the reload. This video clip of my buddy Wes highlights both issues. He is the shooter on the left.
I began to experiment with tilting the gun outboard during the ending phase of the reload as the shell is placed into the ejection port. This has had two benefits that I have noticed. One, it makes getting the shell to the port much more efficient and consequently quicker. Turning the gun shortens seemingly the distance. The second benefit is control of the shell. It is easier to retain and control the shell if the hand remains underneath the shell as opposed to holding the shell with the hand oriented more vertically. I have noted significant improvements in both reload speed, and reliability of the reload despite giving up visual referencing.
Continued Evolution
As we get better at shooting the smaller things start to matter more. This small change has improved my reload time by about 30%, which is not a small improvement. All because I attended a class, and lost a man v man shoot off. We are never beyond learning.
I am sure that as I grow as a shooter, technique and my approach to the gun will continue to evolve. This is just where I happen to be along the path at the moment. Hopefully there is something here that you can find helpful.
Do the work, find your way, see you on the range.