Reloading from closed front concealment

[dookie1481]

I am terribly inconsistent with this...I hook my hand under my shirt, pull up until it clears the mag, and draw, but about 1/3 of the time I end up getting a handful of shirt. Is there a better practice? Pics or video would be appreciated.

S/F

Jay

[ToddG]

FWIW, I found the reload to be the most difficult thing to relearn when switching to aiwb and closed front carry.

If you're grabbing shirt, you're not getting your whole hand inside the shirt. I lift the shirt with the fingers of my WH, trying to get the shirt well clear instead of just the minimal possible distance. Then at the apex of the movement I twist my hand so that my index finger drives straight down along my body and to the magazine, with the rest of my fingers closing around the mag on contact.

If you're getting the magazine stuck in the shirt, more likely than not you're grabbing just the floorplate of the magazine and not getting a good full-hand grip on the mag before drawing it from the pouch.

My typical reload from an untucked polo is between 0.25 and 0.50 seconds slower than from the typical IDPA vest. I find it an acceptable tradeoff but off course YMMV.

[Dropkick]

Then at the apex of the movement I twist my hand so that my index finger drives straight down along my body and to the magazine, with the rest of my fingers closing around the mag on contact.

It sounds almost like you're pinning the shirt up with your forearm in the process. Is that the case, or am I just making stuff up?

[ToddG]

Not that I am aware of, at least. Just like clearing the shirt on the draw, my goal is to move the garment enough that it doesn't even risk getting in the way. (this is the exact opposite of what I do when drawing from an open front garment)

[joshs]

I tuck my thumb underneath the shirt as it is clearing the mag. Once my thumb is under the shirt, I bring my hand straight down on top of the mag and get a full grip on the magazine. As I bring my hand down on the magazine, I keep my wrist pressed against my body. This hold my shirt in place away from the magazine. I also find that a little lean away from the magainze helps to get a full grip. While it seems like excessive waste movement, a tiny bit of lean actually makes my reloads faster.

[LGChris]

I've been wrestling with this one myself. I've found that grabbing the mag from a closed-front garment has varying degrees of difficulty depending on the shirt. If I'm wearing a t-shirt or untucked polo, it's much easier than with an untucked button-down with longer tails. I think I've been doing more or less what Todd described, but it's difficult to find one exact motion that works for every kind of shirt.
Chris