  We present a comprehensive study of laser pulse amplification with respect to
operation regimes, gain dynamics, and highly stable operation points of Ho:YLF
regenerative amplifiers (RAs). The findings are expected to be more generic
than for this specific case. Operation regimes are distinguished with respect
to pulse energy and the appearance of pulse instability, and are studied as a
function of the repetition rate, seed energy, and pump intensity. The
corresponding gain dynamics are presented, identifying highly stable operation
points related to high gain build -up during pumping and high gain depletion
during pulse amplification. These operation points are studied numerically and
experimentally as a function of several parameters, thereby achieving, for our
Ho:YLF RA, highly stable output pulses with measured fluctuations of only 0.19%
(standard deviation).
