[Airic]

A huge magwell is not the answer to inconsistent reloads....

they account for a margin of error on a well practiced, good technique.

(Actually noticed this a long time ago, just remembered it today)

[zhunter]

I have expounded on this in great detail in THIS THREAD.

Many of these thoughts transfer nicely to Limited and Open, relative to the magwell and the indexing of the grip on the draw.

Good stuff.

[splashdown]

I've recently switced from a Dawson Ice to a stainless SV magwell for both guns. Haven't missed a reload yet and I like the way the SV magwell doesn't mess with my grip.

[Chris Keen]

I did the same on my Open gun, and my LTD gun has the stock STI magwell on it. Works fine.

[ChrisStock]

Magwell? What's a magwell? I decided to not go that route on my LTD or SS pistols. I figure more practice would compensate for it and sure as hell wouldn't hurt. Besides... practice is FREE.

[Airic]

Well, now I tend to do my dryfire practice with the magwell off. Aim small, miss small right?

[G-ManBart]

A large magwell doesn't replace practice and proper technique....no argument there. It does provide you a little margin of error in case you're 95% on instead of 100% on...it'll save that reload so you're not hosed. A perfect reload with no magwell is just as fast as a perfect reload with a huge magwell. None of those things are really all the surprising.

Here's what I think some/many people with the viewpoint that "they aren't the answer" seem to miss. Just because you can do a reload just as fast without a magwell doesn't mean you're actually going to try that in a match. Most likely, you're going to slow down a tic so that you don't fumble it and screw yourself on the stage. Put that in the context of someone shooting SS and they're reloading three or four times on a field course (at least) and now, they've lost a second or more to the guy with the big magwell who's just slamming them in and moving out because he's not afraid he's going to miss one....he only has to get pretty close to perfect where you have to be absolutely perfect.

Look at it this way, if two shooters of exactly equal ability go heads up on two plate racks and one guy gets plates that are 8" and the other guy gets plates that are 10" who's going to win most of the time?...the guy with the larger margin of error which is exactly what a large magwell gives you. I've got the large Techwell on my SS gun and an ICE on all my other guns....I'll take all the margin of error I can find so long as it's legal

[HSMITH]

I've got an Ice on my Limited and Open guns, I like the way it forces my hand high. I have short, wide hands and it gives me a very consistent grip. That said the best reloading magwell I have ever had when I missed a tad was an EGW, the aluminum is ultra soft and it will take a missed reload like no other magwell I have tried. I have been gathering EGW magwells to switch all my 2011's back to them from the Ice/

I will take all the margin for error I can get. I don't need to take the magwell off to know I missed a reload in practice, I just have to practice better. That is what works for me, not trying to take away from what works for anyone else.

[PINMAN44]

Damn there's no magwell on my revolver. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Still love my reloads!

[grandbagger]

im using brazos big mouth magwell, it places my hand higher on the grip. but nothing beats practice as i fumble reloads once in a while, as Bart pointed out i will take all the margin of error i could...
hey Pinman at least youll get a loooot more practice reloading on your wheelgun

[P.Pres]

I have really become attached to my magwell!! Nothing fancy just a stock STI.
I like the feel of it under my hand and it looks really cool!!!

[Chris]

I really like my Smoking Hole magwell on my limited gun. Nice and BIG

[ipscbob]

Airic, on Mar 22 2008, 08:34 AM, said:

A huge magwell is not the answer to inconsistent reloads....

No, but they do add some margin for error and all other things being equal I cant imagine anyone wanting to give that up. I also do not see the reason in practicing with a setup that is different than the one I use in matches. My .02 for what it's worth.

[No.343]

I've been out of town a lot more than I've been home the last ten months and I can't bring my firearms to Masachussetts, so I bought a cheap soft air 1911 clone with a little bitty magazine. It doesn't have a magwell and I've been practicing a lot because of pure boredom in the evenings. I find that when I get home to my magwell on my STI I jam my fingers between the magwell and the base pad a lot since I'm not used to the magwell anymore.

[mr1911]

I've never used a magwell, all my 1911s have beveled mag epenings, thats enough for me. I've seen a LOT of add on mag wells that cuase more jams than prevent due to not being blended in properly to match the gun.

[Airic]

G-ManBart, on Mar 25 2008, 11:02 PM, said:

A large magwell doesn't replace practice and proper technique....no argument there. It does provide you a little margin of error in case you're 95% on instead of 100% on...it'll save that reload so you're not hosed. A perfect reload with no magwell is just as fast as a perfect reload with a huge magwell. None of those things are really all the surprising.

Here's what I think some/many people with the viewpoint that "they aren't the answer" seem to miss. Just because you can do a reload just as fast without a magwell doesn't mean you're actually going to try that in a match. Most likely, you're going to slow down a tic so that you don't fumble it and screw yourself on the stage. Put that in the context of someone shooting SS and they're reloading three or four times on a field course (at least) and now, they've lost a second or more to the guy with the big magwell who's just slamming them in and moving out because he's not afraid he's going to miss one....he only has to get pretty close to perfect where you have to be absolutely perfect.

Look at it this way, if two shooters of exactly equal ability go heads up on two plate racks and one guy gets plates that are 8" and the other guy gets plates that are 10" who's going to win most of the time?...the guy with the larger margin of error which is exactly what a large magwell gives you. I've got the large Techwell on my SS gun and an ICE on all my other guns....I'll take all the margin of error I can find so long as it's legal

Good points. I shoot a Glock 22, and depending on what sport or type of match in shooting (USPSA, IDPA, LEO events) I could either be shooting this same gun with full race outfit or stock. The one thing I do disagree with is "slowing down" for a match. I don't work on that train of thought. From dry fire, I know at what speed I can do consistent reloads. That is the speed I use in a match. Through training, I have gotten to a point where I can do consistent reloads from last shot, reload, to next shot in an avg of 1.30 sec. Not outstanding, but I am looking for consistency. I have checked this against the clock in my last couple of matches, that is where I get my data from...not from my practice sessions.

I guess the point of my very first post/statement in this thread is that equipment does not make up for a lack of dedication, determination and focus on the current task at hand. The one thing I was struggling with in my reloads was focusing on the magwell and completing the reload before I moved my eyes to the next task (shot). I have finally come to the point where I have broken down the firing away from the other tasks completed during a stage, and realized that improving the consistency and speed of those other tasks will improve my stage time.

[scirocco38s]

HSMITH, on Mar 26 2008, 12:08 AM, said:

I've got an Ice on my Limited and Open guns, I like the way it forces my hand high. I have short, wide hands and it gives me a very consistent grip. That said the best reloading magwell I have ever had when I missed a tad was an EGW, the aluminum is ultra soft and it will take a missed reload like no other magwell I have tried. I have been gathering EGW magwells to switch all my 2011's back to them from the Ice/

I will take all the margin for error I can get. I don't need to take the magwell off to know I missed a reload in practice, I just have to practice better. That is what works for me, not trying to take away from what works for anyone else.

H, I agree with you about the Ice magwell. But after playing with to many different ones and wasting too much money looking for the holy grail of magwells, I came to the conclusion that the Sti magwell in stainless is the best overall magwell out there as I am concerened. I pushes my hand up almost the right amount and it has a large opening and is reasonably priced. I even put them on my SV guns and I hardly use anything of sti's anymore. I do like their magwell though.

[G-ManBart]

Airic, on Mar 29 2008, 10:54 AM, said:

The one thing I do disagree with is "slowing down" for a match. I don't work on that train of thought. From dry fire, I know at what speed I can do consistent reloads. That is the speed I use in a match. Through training, I have gotten to a point where I can do consistent reloads from last shot, reload, to next shot in an avg of 1.30 sec. Not outstanding, but I am looking for consistency. I have checked this against the clock in my last couple of matches, that is where I get my data from...not from my practice sessions.

I guess the point of my very first post/statement in this thread is that equipment does not make up for a lack of dedication, determination and focus on the current task at hand. The one thing I was struggling with in my reloads was focusing on the magwell and completing the reload before I moved my eyes to the next task (shot). I have finally come to the point where I have broken down the firing away from the other tasks completed during a stage, and realized that improving the consistency and speed of those other tasks will improve my stage time.

Based upon your comments I certainly agree and I probably should have been more specific. There are a lot of folks that say "I can do a reload in 1.0" or something like that. The problem is that they're using the speed that they do them in practice, when warmed up, and everything goes right. If they were being realistic, as you are, they should be thinking of the number that they can repeat, on demand, under pressure with 99% certainty.

No doubt about your second point there. When I was getting ready for the WSSSC I spent a large portion of my practice on reloads since that's such a critical skill in SS. I'd load up my mags with dummies and them spend probably half an hour each night doing nothing but reloading through all the mags on my belt....draw, reload, transition to the next target, reload, repeat until empty.

The one thing that I'd be curious to know is if you've ever tried reloads with a big/bigger magwell to see if you could lower that 1.3 time and still be 100% reliable even if every once in a while it's not the prettiest reload you can do. There has to be a breaking point somewhere that you can go a little faster with the magwell and it will "save" you on the few times when you're not quite perfect. It might be that's only .1 faster and it's not worth the trouble, but if it could let you get to around 1.0 and you reload say three or four times on a stage now we're talking saving a second or more on a stage...that could mean a lot. R,

[Airic]

I have an SJC magwell. Never tryed anything else.

I was thinking about a Dawson ICE just for testing