I think there should not be a dedicated reload button at all. Instead you should be able to reload by putting a magazine or pile of bullets in your hotbar and pressing this particular button.

That may be tough as the hotbar is to put an object in hands. Not to use it.

So you would put the bullet in your hands, and then scroll wheel to load it into X weapon. A little slow.

A dedicated reload function does make sense for single shot weapons that don't take magazines. Perhaps not tied to a certain button, but even that makes sense.

It's different for weapons that do not have default reloads. You would not use R to reload a pile of rounds into a Mossin. That requires a little more work. But a single shot weapon with a quick load makes more sense.

I could carry a pocket of bullets and reload a single shot with relatively quick motion. But to reload 5 rounds into a weapon would take a little more effort and should involve dragging them into the weapon. You can't take a handful of rounds and slam them into a chamber.

Well take the Izh-18 for instance; its only a single shot break action rifle. It doesn't make very much sense to have to go into your inventory every time you need to take another shot.

Ofcourse it takes sense to go to your inventory each time you want to reload weapon. It make difference betwenn this civilian rifle and automatic military weapons. Or between player who got magazine for his curent weapon and who doesnt. Or between players who did put ammo in exact slot in his inventiry and its take a second for him to perform a reload ( also due he is skilled in this operation) and player who doesnt know where ammo lays in his mess. This must stay as it is. Cause it is one of and so little things thats make differense between greenhorn and war dog.

There is a difference between weapons that do have mags/clips and weapons that don't. It is ridiculous to have to go into the inventory every time I want to reload a weapon that does have the benefit of a magazine/clip. Having to reload a weapons such as the Izh-43 for instance makes sense since there is a snaploader for it in-game, but for weapons like the MP-133 and Izh-18 there is not any kind of aid to reloading. I'm sure many people would agree with this especially with the Izh-18 considering that there is basically no point in anyone using the weapon if they have to constantly run around with their inventory blocking their view. You tell me which is more realistic, pulling some rounds out of your pocket and reloading or running around with your inventory open having to deal with the lag/desync trying to get your gun loaded.

The internal magazine and single shot civilian weapons are still better than no weapon. They're meant to be inferior in most ways to the external magazine and military weapons.

Some do offer quick ways to reload, like snaploaders and sks megs.

This obviously gives incentive to acquire the more powerful weapons if you plan to find yourself in a firefight.