Use low-recoil, "tactical" slugs on paper. If you have shots on steel at ranges longer than fifteen yards, be prepared for cylinder choke to not do the job if you are shooting 7s-8s.
Any time you are not shooting, you should be reloading. Have your reloading plan done in advance, if possible.
What really sucks, is getting to the end of the stage, and missing a plate or popper with your last shot, loading one, then missing again; try to never have just the minimum number of rounds in the gun that are required for an array or stage; keep loading as long as you are moving.
I've not invested much in long-gun competition gear, and I reload from a belt, with the shells base-up. I turn the gun upside down, at waist level, so the shells have to only travel six inches from the belt to the gun. A lot of folks put the gun up on their shoulder to reload, with the port right at their face, but that works only if you can load three or four rounds with each trip to the belt.
Have fun.