One of the more effective ways to train is to break down every movement into micro movements. That’s one of the theories behind the Burkett Reload, named after world champion shooter Matt Burkett.
Matt Burkett has more championship titles than we’ve had birthdays. He’s been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. Along the way, the man clearly learned a thing or two and has been gracious enough to share his tips and tricks for becoming a better shooter.
While Mr. Burkett was a competition shooter, the Burkett reload is applicable to all forms of firearms training. If you’re in a space where you need to reload a handgun more efficiently, then the Burkett reload is for you.
The Burkett Reload Drill: Supplies
The Burkett Reload is a dry fire drill intended to help you become more efficient, and if you’re efficient, you’re fast. What’s great is that you don’t need much to complete the drill. You’ll need an unloaded and cleared pistol, and at least one empty magazine and magazine pouch.
You can use two empty magazines to better simulate a real reload, but it’s not needed. Using a single magazine does help speed things up. A shot timer can be used, but so can any of the free phone apps that have a par time feature.
I did this drill primarily with my Glock 17 Gen 6, my Bianchi belt, and dual magazine pouch. I also used my Pact Timer 3.
Breaking Down the Breakdown
The Burkett Reload, in its purest form, doesn’t even have you reload the gun fully.
If you’re using one magazine for the drill, the gun will be empty, and the magazine pouch on your belt. If using two, one will be in the gun, and the other will be in your magazine pouch.
You’ll start aiming downrange, finger on the trigger. At the signal, you’ll remove your finger from the trigger, retract the gun into a reload position, and hit the magazine release. Even if you do not have a magazine in the gun, you need to build that practice of hitting the button.
At the same time, your dominant hand is manipulating the gun, your support hand is retrieving your spare magazine, and bringing it to the gun. You want to stop the drill at the point where the magazine meets the magwell. The magazine does not go in the gun with a basic Burkett Drill.
It stops at the magwell.
But Why?
The purpose of this drill is to micro-drill the reload, covering about 90% of it. This serves two purposes. The first is efficiency; you can do a ton of Burkett reloads in a relatively short time, especially if you only use one magazine and do not have to retrieve dropped spares.
The second, and arguably more important, purpose is self-evaluation. Jamming the mag into the gun and getting back on target is the easy part. Where most people will flub their reload is the space between the mag pouch and the magazine well.
When you do the Burkett reload, you stop at a point that allows for self-evaluation. Is the gun oriented properly with the grip and the magazine well oriented in the direction the spare magazine is coming from?
Is your index finger along the front spine of the magazine, and is your grip suitable? How many times have you flubbed a grip trying to get the mag in the gun?
Did the magazine make it to the magwell in a position where it can be inserted easily? I’m betting most of us have missed the magwell slightly now and then and hit the magazine on the magwell rather than press it inside.
The Burkett reload stops you at the perfect place to self-evaluate your reload, then apply corrections for the next rep.
Up to Par
The best par time for any drill is X – .10. We are all at different points in our training and at different skill levels. With that in mind, you don’t need to meet a specific par time, but should aim for continual improvement. I’ve been using the ladder method to work on my drills.
It looks something like this.
- 10 Reps – No Time
- 10 Reps – 1.8 Second Par Time
- 10 Reps – 1.7 Second Par Time
- 10 Reps – 1.6 Second Par Time
- 10 Reps – 1.5 Second Par Time
This gives me 50 Burkett reloads, and while that sounds like a lot of reloads, it takes no time at all to breeze through.
Always Faster
The Burkett Reload doesn’t replace traditional reload drills, but augments them. It’s a great way to improve your movement efficiency and self-evaluate as you practice reloads. It doesn’t matter if you’re so fast you’ve hit a plateau, or are just starting; the Burkett reload can make you a little better.
