Nek

The training I received was to grab a new magazine with the weak hand before releasing the empty mag. Wedge the new mag between the fingers of the weak hand and then extract the empty mag and KEEP it in your fingers or place in back in the holder or a pocket. The last thing you want to do is let it hit the ground and let your opponent know you were empty since. Yes it takes a tad more time but with practice it is still very quick.

OPFOR

I can't agree with this one, at all. This is a much more complex manual of arms, absolutely requires two hands, and offers no benefit at all.

The "clink" of a dropped mag is much less likely to be an indicator that you are out of ammo then then fact that you have stopped shooting. In the two "firefights" I have been in, a lot of mags were dropped, and I didn't here a single one of them.

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"It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way."

rmccoll

On Walther and SW 99 models the mag release is a lever at the bottom of the trigger guard. This makes it difficult to release with the non shooting hand. I use my trigger finger while the other is reaching for the spare mag.

retsupt99

There is a definite pattern to release and follow through when changing mags. I've taken several courses and the instructors were pretty much the same.
When we practice a lot, the pattern becomes part of your muscle memory, much like typing and not having to think about where the "T" key is when typing the work 'the'...it just seems to appear when needed.

That said, changing mags is the same thing. We do automatically, what we practice. I don't really think about my strong side thumb releasing the mag, it just happens. A reloaded magazine (placed in a definite direction on my belt) is grabbed a certain way and it 'somehow' appears for placement into the mag well.

My firearm stays out in front and pointed at the target, my strong side thumb hits the mag release, and my weak-side hand inserts the new mag (the empty mag drops to the floor).

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it...

If you can hit the mag button and insert a new mag with your left foot...and you can do it without strain, pain, or even thinking about it because you have done it so many time it has become muscle memory...then I say that you're good to go.

__________________
"That I cannot do."

"Give this to, uh, Clemenza. I want reliable people, people who aren't going to be carried away. After all we're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker thinks."


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NRA Life Member

Bulldog39

I practice two different reloading methods and they seem to work pretty well (at least for me). The first is slide lock, drop the spent magazine with the shooting hand thumb or trigger finger, while reaching for the spare magazine with the weak hand, insert spare magazine, hit slide release and resume shooting if needed.
The second is non-slide lock, weapon pointed at target, with weak hand get spare magazine, once it is close to the magazine well, drop magazine from weapon into weak hand, insert spare magazine into weapon, pocket magazine from weapon.

This works for both pistols and AR type firearms. Just remember what you practice is what you will do under stress, so practice.

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Semper Fi

ranburr

I have been taught both ways. I don't worry about empty magazines. Mags that have ammo left and if I am behind cover, then yes I agree with you. One other item: do you really believe that someone is going to hear a mag hit the ground after you have just been shooting at each other without wearing hearing protection?

Bark'n

The only time I've heard this method recommended was for a "tactical reload," which is to be used only during a lull in the fight. You do this from behind cover, so you can "top off" your gun with a fresh full mag, but you still have a few rounds remaining in the magazine you just removed.

In that case, you retain your "partially spent" magazine in your pocket or your belt, because you certainly don't want to leave a magazine with several rounds remaining just laying around on the ground. You may need them later!

Likewise, the rational for performing a "tactical reload" in the first place, during a lull in the fight and from behind cover is because if the fight resumes, and you were waiting until the magazine was empty before performing a reload, it would really suck to only have two rounds left before you run dry when the fight resumed. Especially if you had the opportunity to load a full magazine prior to the fight starting again.

Auditory Exclusion works both ways... More than likely, your opponent is going to be running in full blown body alarm mode if you are trading shots and the phenomenon of "auditory exclusion" is likely being experienced by him as well. That is, if you both aren't simply deafened from the fact you are both shooting without ear protection, which is different that what "auditory exclusion" is. (In other words, no one is going to hear your empty magazine clanking around on the ground)

And then again, there is the distinct possibility that none of this will register and you just blast away until slide lock and perform a reload as best you can, any way you can, so you can keep shooting paying no attention to any particular method. Just simply an all out balls to the wall gunfight! Which will likely be over with in about 4 or 5 seconds.

Just my opinion!

__________________
-Bark'n
Semper Fi

"The gun is the great equalizer... For it is the gun, that allows the meek to repel the monsters; Whom are bigger, stronger and without conscience, will prey on those of us who without one, would surely perish."

bruce272

The last (first & only) time I let the slide lock, I threw a grenade at "Charlie".

Letting the slide lock is hopefully something you only do once and can still talk abou it .

Bruce

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"Western civilization didn't make all men equal,
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BikerRN

Just to clarify:

When performing a reload the gun stays up high but I do retract my arms inward a little bit. They are not fully extended, but they are also not brought all the way in to my chest wall either. I also rotate the gun to about a 45 degree angle to faciliatate getting the new mag in the gun quicker.

I don't drop the magazine in the gun until I have my hand on another magazine. Being that I have a magazine disconnect in my Hi Power I find that if I have a bullet in the chamber it's better to make sure that you have a magazine ready to go in the gun before releasing the magazine that is currently in the gun.

I don't make things real complicated. I train consistently doing things a certain way for a reason, and mostly those ways work for me. As far as a "tactical reload" I can pick the magazine up from the ground after ejecting it since my gun is inoperable with a magazine out of the gun and the most important thing to me is to get the gun up and running again.

I guess it's a situation of semantics.

Biker

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If I knew I was going to get in to a gunfight I most ceratinly wouln't bring a handgun or two, and I don't know any smart person that does.

Lt Big C

I always hit the mag release with my strong hand while retrieving my fresh mag with my off hand. After inserting a fresh mag I also hit the slide release with my strong hand. All of this is done while staying on target.