A short while back I took a class from Louis Awerbuck (Tactical Reality and More Tactical Reality), and he offered a somewhat different perspective. He was not a fan of the tactical reload.
In his view, if you are in a fight, you keep shooting until the fight is over. If you run dry, you do a speed reload as quickly as you can. But if there's threat, you don't stop shooting as long as you have ammunition. If that takes you to slide lock, so be it. You do a speed reload and get back to work.
In Awerbuck's view, a tactical reload makes sense only when you are with friends who can provide covering fire while you do it, or when there's a lull in the festivities.
A corollary to that is that one should avoid always engaging targets with any set number of rounds. Vary things so that you don't program yourself to assume that a threat is necessarily neutralized after any specific number of hits.
Agree completely here. If the fight is a long one I do not do a reload while "being shot at" until I am dry. Nutralize all BGs & do not know how many are still in the gun but not many. Do a reload here while scanning for other threats. Thou I have never read his work I agree that this is Awerbuck's "lull in the fight".
My reasoning behind one shot on the near guy then go to 2nd or 3rd & return if needed is, If I use 2,3,2 on 3 assailaints I am being shot at while getting back on target #1 for the double. #1 wounded is going to be slowed up, I hope.
I have trained to use #1 as my first cover. If I shoot & look away for cover to run to then I am not fighting. One shot into #1 & move so he is between me & #2. After engaging #2 & he is down go back to #1 if necessary. Now look around for cover while reloading.
If set up in a triangle engagement should be. #1 closest- one hit & sure needs to be the 1st shot. Move to put #1 between you & one of the BGs while engaging the 3rd then go back to 1 or 2.
Reality is that when shooting starts most but not all second & 3rd BGs will run. I have a wagon that I put a target in. A 100 ft nylon rope run through a pully makes a running BG. Whoever is pulling the runner decides if he is running away or fighting. Running away you cant shoot him. Puller hollers "gun" that makes him a fighter. Practicing is never able to cover all things that may happen. You can practice weak hand shooting becuase strong is wounded but you can never practice around pain.
We do the best we can w/ what we have to work with.