To reload or not to reload

Okay, generally, in a scout against scout fight, all six scattergun shots are fired off first.

Simple question: Is it more effective to switch over to the pistol, or to reload a few more shots in the hope of finishing him off?   

I'm gonna say
1. go for the pistol if you know both of you are low on health
2. go for the reload if you you aren't that low on health and think you can dodge/jump around for a few seconds.

I'm not much of a scout, but I can see it being situational.

Is he low?
Are you low?
Are there others about?
What are the levels you're at like? His advantage or yours?

Answer these before proceeding.

It tends to be a decision based on the situation and circumstances.

If you feel you wasted all yours from far away or missed too much to have him low on hp you probably want to reload the scattergun as Pistol won't finish him if he's still at high hp.

On the other hand, if you feel you got all 6 shots in and 1 or 2 in close range pistol is probably a better choice since he'll be very low, especially if he's running away at mid range.

Pretty much what Cold said, some people like to use the pistol more than others though. I think my pistol aim is a lot better than my scattergun aim, so I often pull that out. Generally if you're both low and in an open area you want to switch to pistol, if there is some nearby cover you can hide behind it and reload a shot or two for your scattergun. I'd suggest using bonk so you don't have a choice.

as a general rule i reload onece then switch, but in all honesty it all depends on so many facotrs. just continue experimenting with it until you can go through the options without thinking and just act.

You have to be able to gauge the enemy's health. You never "hope" to finish him off. You must know that he is low health, and you know that switching to pistol will finish him off. If you got some good shots in, switch to pistol and finish him off. If you didn't, you have to reload and try get some good shots in.

ECHELON THREEEEE!

Lol nullname, that was arguably the most random post I've seen today...

I'm asking this question here because of this question sent in to me regarding one of my guides, specifically rule 22 on reloading  

"Scrub Scout from Texas (represent!) with a question.

In a firefight with another Scoot, when both of you have twitch-aimed all 6 of your shells (or 2, depending on your gun) away, what would usually be a better option for trying the killing blow: primary-reload or pistol?"

I responded with:

"That’s a very good question, I’m not that good at scout, but I generally reload a single shell if I know he’ll go down in a single hit. In a long range fight, I’ll switch to the pistol. I’ll ask around with people such as Panfrie (TF2F scout) and Yuki (Intensity scout) and see what they think."