reloadin' your sixshooter

[pinto bean]

pards,supposin' your out roundin' up strays n' a passel of pesky rustlers r' trying to make off with your herd. further supposin that in the midst of the dustup,you find out that you've run your shootin' iron dry. pards, that's the time to ask yourself, what's the quickest way to empty,reload,and recommence the fracas. well,pards,what is the quickest way to empty,reload,and get back into the fracas?

[Camille Eonich]

Use a Schofield! 

[pinto bean]

darlin, i was supposin that the war was being fought with a colt,but it is a point well taken.
actually, a 1911 would be quicker still,or one of them new-fangled irons that shoot 15 or so times afore you run her dry.

[Arcey]

Howdy, Pinto. Long time no hear from.

Hate to do it 'n really hate to admit it – practice. Knew a reload stage was comin' for Roundup a few years ago. Made myownself spend a few minutes ever'day with the belt on, kickin' empties out the '73 Colt clone 'n reloadin' dummies. Werked on what went 'n felt right ta me. Always tried ta keep it smooth 'n error free.

Time come ta shoot the stage, it was over 'fore I knew it. Over a hundred shooters there 'n I ended up fourth on it. Never will shoot another that well.

Heh, heh, heh..... Jacket weather time, my CCW pistol has eighteen in it. The summer one only has twelve.

[Forty Rod]

You'd have to watch Thell Reed, Jr. do it.  Fastest I ever saw, but it was also too fast for me to see exactly how he did it.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   Will Pards I think the best way would be to have somebody taking a movie or action vedio, cause when your in the movies you never run out of ammo, and the six shooter is no longer a six shooter, it's an endless repeating revolver don't ya know. but really, I'm left handed and have no problem reloading or unloading , that's because when Sam Colt made the six shooter he by accident put the loading gate on the right , which is perfect for the left hander, the gun never has to leave my left hand, and chucking shell caseings is quick and easy. And Forty Rod your right about Thell Reed, I shot with him in the 60's and at that time he was the fastest with a gun I've ever seen.


                                                            tEN wOLVES 


                                             

[pinto bean]

pards,is there a preferred technique?

[Haggis MacGurk]

Open the feed cover, sweep the feed tray, insert another 200rd belt of ammo, close the cover, and carry on shootin!


Sorry, couldn't help myself. I keep the gun in my right hand, with my left I shuck all the empties, and then reload. I find it much quicker than replacing them one for one.

[Black Powder]

Agree with Haggis.  Unload everything first, then reload.  In the heat of the fracas, it keeps ya organized and avoids mistakenly emptying a chamber you've already reloaded.

Wonder if you can use moon clips in conversion cylinders... 

BP

[Buffalow Red]

well as you bounce along on the huricane deck of your horse you shake powder into all 6 clys then forget the lubed wads
& ram those RB's home atop the saddle horn . now the fun part to put & set the caps with out dropping them all
course by now the varmets are probly long gone as they can ride faster when not reloading

[Arcey]

What worked for me:

Fifth round down range. Open the gate with the right thumb 'n half cock with the left. Kick two, skip a chamber, kick three.

Right hand does the kickin'. Left thumb turns the cylinder.

Pull cartridges with round nosed bullets from the belt loops two at a time to reload. When the hammers brought back to full cock she's ready to fire the fresh rounds.

With round nosed bullets ya just kindah lay 'em in the channel 'n they'll find the chambers by themselves. Pullin' two at a time gives ya a chance to drop one and still hold belt to revolver hand motion to three. If ya have four loaded after two, just drop the round you don't need.

[Camille Eonich]

Arcey hit the nail on the head.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

The only thing I can add to what Arcey said is when you start reloading, load one, skip one chamber, then load the other four. Bring the hammer to full cock, lower it, and you have the empty chamber under your hammer. Cock once more to commence firing.

We had a stage last Sunday where we had a bonus shot with our pistols after we had shot them dry. A lot of shooters put one more in the empty chamber, but then had no idea where the live one was. There was a lot of time spent cocking and dropping the hammer on spent rounds until the live one was found. When it came to my turn, I opened the gate and rotated to find the empty chamber. Then I kicked out the next spent shell and replaced it with a live one. I rotated the cylinder until I could see from the side I had the empty under the hammer. Cocked and fired. Took less time than guessing at where the live round was.

[Arcey]

Thankee, Cammy. Hey ta Stump for me.

True, DJ. In a stage callin' for five, a reload then five more, it shaves a split second from the time to have one ready to fire as soon as you take it to full cock.  It's already pointed down range 'n it's not goin' to be holstered until the live rounds are gone. Five straight works for my style.

That particular stage was sweep five with the first pistol, sweep five with the second, reload and another sweep.

Feel like I cheat with the 'fire five then load one' thing. I load unplated brass for pistol ammo, plated stuff for reloads. When I face a stage like that I can see where the fresh one is. If anyone decides to try that make sure to pay attention to muzzle direction. The 170 is easily popped if ya don't think about what yer doin'

I think usin' a Colt or Colt clone makes this 'trick' easier, the clicks are more distinct. Fire five, half cock with the left, gate open with the right. Two clicks of cylinder rotation brings the empty chamber to ya. Load 'n shut the gate. Four clicks, full cock, pull the trigger 'n BOOM.

These are things we don't do that often here. Again, if a shooter knows or suspects some sort of reload is comin' I believe it's best to spend some time practicing whatever style she/he decides to use. It doesn't have to go all day, just a few minutes over a few days to work in the feel for it. Too many folks that don't get all excited 'n over rotate the cylinder, lose count or fumble a cartridge tryin' to go too fast.

Damn. Sometimes I miss my gamer days.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

                Driftwood, Your right on the money with this method, I also do it this way, and wether it's one round or more, this method is quick easy and safe.


                                                              tEN wOLVES