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Thread: Downloading AR magazines
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22-04-2020, 12:06 #11
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23-04-2020, 09:01 #12
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Re: Downloading AR magazines
Not a AR mag but a couple of years ago during my first rifle match, I wanted to help a fellow competitor by filling his FN Slr rifle mags. When it was his turn to shoot the stage, after his mag change, the gun kept on failing to feed and he struggled to get the mag to seat. He calmly removed the mag and asked the RO to please remove 2 rounds from the mag, all the time the clock was ticking, seated the mag and finished the stage. That is where I learned not to load a R1 mag to the top. It appears that the old guys used to take all the rounds out of a used mag, counted 20 rounds in their hat and only load 20 in a R1 mag even if it can take 23 I think. The guy took it like a real gentleman. Oops sorry, my bad.
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23-04-2020, 09:09 #13
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Re: Downloading AR magazines
Just test it in your guns with your mags. I carry my spare pistol mag downloaded by 1 because it makes a noticeable difference in ease of seating it on a closed slide.
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23-04-2020, 09:29 #14
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Re: Downloading AR magazines
Has the age old practice of slapping in the magazine fallen by the wayside?
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23-04-2020, 09:37 #15
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Re: Downloading AR magazines
It seems to have been, as I have always been taught and noticed (especially U.S.) instructors advocate inserting firmly, and then tugging lightly to ensure the magazine is seated.
TBH, I've not once ever had an issue inserting a magazine on a closed bolt when it was fully loaded to either 30 rounds, or 20 rounds in an AR.
If I have accidentally loaded 31 rounds into it (as is possible for most magazines), then it took a real hard fudge to get it in... guess that's why they call them 30rd and not 31rd magazines.
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23-04-2020, 10:20 #16
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Re: Downloading AR magazines
This an old problem - BREN 30 rd mags were recommended for only 28 rounds and we only loaded 18/19 in our R1 mags. Downloading a round or two in any hi-cap mag will also help with spring set-back (?).
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23-04-2020, 12:15 #17
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Re: Downloading AR magazines
Push-and-pull has been the SOP within the firearms professionals (SWAT etc) since the 1980s, but bluntly said many instructors are "self made men" which means "they make up shit as they speak" and have learned this slap-the-mag either from Vietnam movies and documentaries and/or from each other. With push-and-pull you won't accidentally drop your magazine or damage your hand or the magazine itself, AND it's way faster than making any useless ballet moves.
If you have GI mags, your gun is probably on the extreme end of the build tolerances. Won't go into details here, but two ARs which are in-spec may be very different from each other. And this difference may be due to fractions of a millimeter.
Why is there problems with some rifles and with some magazines and why is the magazine called 30 rounder even if it is actually more like a 29 rounder?
Because the original manual of arms said about inserting a magazine something like this: "pull the charging handle to the rear and lock the bolt carrier to the rear position. Insert a full magazine and release the bolt carrier by pushing the bolt release lever. When the magazine is shot empty, the bolt carrier will lock itself into the rear position, remove the empty magazine and store in you gear, insert a fresh magazine, press the bolt release and continue the fight."
There was no such thing as a tactical reload, so the magazine could be designed to accommodate precisely 30 rounds with little or no up-down play. As such if inserted to the rifle with the bolt carrier forward the top cartridge touches the bottom of the bolt carrier and if the weapon is on the tight end of the build tolerances, inserting the magazine may be impossible.
This is why I download my GI magazines with one round.
Magpul however designed their products with more play thus they may be accidentally loaded with 31 rounds which causes similar problems plus usually a failure to feed the first round. But they work just fine with 30 rounds in any in-spec weapon.
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23-04-2020, 13:40 #18
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