When I was in the German Army, the instructors told us to let ourselves be surprised by the empty "click" sound when we had spent all our ammunition. They said that counting your bullets would distract you from properly aiming your weapon and using the correct techniques.

This is certainly true for beginners, but what about experienced soldiers in a combat situation? First of all, you don’t want to end up with an empty magazine in your rifle, that’s a big no-no. When the enemy is close, you need to be ready to fire at any moment. You don’t want to be caught off guard while switching magazines.

However, at the same time, counting each shot is practically impossible. It will only take your focus away from more critical tasks. You’re no longer the beginner who has to concentrate on breathing techniques or aiming, but other things need your attention. The battlefield is very dynamic, and while you’re emptying your magazine, you need to remain aware of your surroundings.

Therefore, in combat, I adopted a mixed approach. You don’t count every single bullet, but you always know the approximate number of rounds left in your magazine.

You don’t wait until the magazine is empty to reload but you do it whenever the situation allows for it. Even if you’ve fired only half of your bullets, if there’s a break in the battle, you reload (either by switching magazines or using loose rounds from your pockets or a bandolier to top off the spent rounds). After a while, this (often called “tactical”) reloading becomes an automatic move; you don’t even think about it anymore.

This way, you avoid being caught off guard with an empty magazine and, at the same time, don’t lose your battlefield awareness.