Are there disadvantages to activating auto-reload in TF2?

In Team Fortress 2, there is an option to automatically reload your weapon as soon as you stop firing. Furthermore, reloading can be interrupted by firing, and (except for the Force-a-Nature) reloading does not waste ammo.

Are there any reasons to disable auto-reloading, or to use the manual reload key?

I can only think of two itsy-bitsy ones:

• Visual distraction (and if that's a problem, better off disabling viewmodels?)
• As a Spy, creating opportunities to fake-reload

Solution 1:

I have auto-reload disabled in my spy.cfg because when I'm using the Ambassador, the reload animation obscures the reticule, which slows me down when I'm trying to set up the second headshot needed to finish off some of the tougher classes.

In your spy.cfg file (Steam\steamapps\\team fortress 2\tf\cfg\spy.cfg):

cl_autoreload "0"

In all the other classes:

cl_autoreload "1"

(By the way, you're right, viewmodels off would also solve this problem, I just like them better on.)

Solution 2:

Auto reload can be a put-off in some situations. For example, if you're a scout with the Force-a-Nature, or the Soda Popper, guns that when reloading will discard all shells loaded, turning on auto reload wastes bullets.

Turning off auto-reload will prevent you from wasting the bullets, and help conserve ammo in otherwise tight situations.