[D-Man]

Is it normal for people to count the rounds they are firing as they are firing?

For example, if you load a gun with 15 rounds, do you count along when firing them? Obviously the standard will be to fire until the slide locks back and the magazine is empty, but I don't know if making this count could be a bad idea and should try to stop myself from doing it.

[foghornl]

I have tried, but I cannot stop counting rounds as I shoot.

[JesseL]

I find that if I'm really 'in the zone' focusing on the fundamentals of my shooting, I quickly lose count of how many rounds I've fired. It just becomes a steady repetition of font sight, squeeze, SURPRISE!, recover, repeat.

Also, I've heard of quite a few accidents happening when people thought they had kept an accurate count a fired all the rounds in the gun. Of course obeying the four rules correctly would mitigate this.

[NG VI]

I can't do it. I don't usually try to keep track much, but even shooting my revolvers I lose my count.

[Snapping Twig]

I count. As a tecnician I count things by habit, such as turns of a screw on adjustments etc, so it's ingrained in my nature to count as I do things - shooting is no different.

I suppose that bank scene in Dirty Harry had a great impact on me as a kid too. :)

[Mad Magyar]

Is it normal for people to count the rounds they are firing as they are firing?

It is for me...Just a habit when loading mags & shooting alternate targets...It disciplines my mind to think about the next reload.:)

[Oktavius]

I try to keep track and make it part of my routine. That way if I am ever in a defensive situation, I have an idea of how many rounds are in the gun without thinking too much.

As JesseL said though, I never rely on or consider my counting as truth. Mistakes always happen. I always treat the gun as if it is loaded even though my counting says otherwise.

[fletcher]

I usually do.

[The Bushmaster]

Last time I checked...My slide locks back letting me know it's time to remove the empty tank and put a full tank in...5 autos in the house and they all lock back on the last round...Why count. That only applies to revolvers...

[Floppy_D]

Autoloaders, I shoot until I don't feel the slide ride forward... and seldom keep count.
With my revolver, I intentionally don't. So, come round #7 (which is #1 again) I see if I'm doing anything funny with my grip (jerking, heeling, the like.)

[CountGlockula]

Actually, it is a good tactical training device.

After shooting the 14th round, begin to reload with a new mag and keep on firing without having to the slide to lock back.

[Ltlabner]

As a training tool, when at the range I usually load up my mags with random numbers of rounds. My rationale is that it keeps me from getting in the pattern squeeze 13 times, drop mag, reload.

When faced with a real defensive situations you'll never know what sort of problem will occur forcing a reload.

So the long-winded answer to the question is no, I don't count.

However, I always count went loading. I try not to, but I always end up 1....2...3...4...5...

[GRIZ22]

I keep a logbook for most of my centerfire rifles but what I have put through pistols is an estimate.

ps If you're talking abot counting rounds while shooting I was taught to do this as an leo when qualifying and in PPC revolver competition to know when to reload.

Speaking from personal experience anyone who thinks they will count their rounds in a gunfight is fooling themselves.

[blackcash88]

The only pistol I count rounds with is my P3AT because it is harmful to dry fire it and it does not have a slide lock of any kind.

[owen]

if you're counting, you aren't paying attention to the things you need to be paying attention too

[theotherwaldo]

My Ruger Mk I has taught me to count.

[DPris]

In an actual defensive shooting situation, you will not be counting rounds. You may think now that you will, but you won't, and it's one area where "training" will not carry through.
This has been borne out in countless debriefings over several decades.
Denis

[REB]

I haven't really thought about it but I do count rounds. I don't really make a point to do it, it just happens.

[Barr]

I tend to count rounds fired as a matter of course. Whether revolvers or automatics.

[possum]

i don't count while i shoot, but i do account for every round that i fire in every gun and what weight and make and type of ammo it is. i know that some people thik i amwierd for doing this, but i know exactly what and how many rds and when have been through my guns. this lets me tally them up at the end of th year, and see trends and such. also if i have any issues with any type of ammo it is logged in there.

[1911 guy]

I've been "trained" to (read: they tried to make me but couldn't), but have a much faster method. If you've got time for a "tactical" reload, simply drop the mag and look at it. If you're running low, swap out. If not, lock it back in place. I ran a 1/8" endmill through my AR mags for this reason. Find out where the "halfway" point is, make your own witness hole. If I see daylight, swap it out. No daylight? I've got at least half a mag left.

[dagger dog]

I hate loosing count on my rimfire
.22's the ones that don't lock the slide back 'cause they dimple the edge of the chamber and it causes problems!

The centerfires it really make that much difference, but it does tell you when you snatch that trigger, on an empty chamber, and FLIIINCH!

[Eightball]

I can't help but count, really.

[MechAg94]

I don't. I may count rounds in a group I am shooting, but not beyond that. I never saw the point. I was trying to concentrate on accuracy and control more. If I need to know what I shot that day, I will count empty casings or based on how many boxes I emptied.

[MaterDei]

If you don't count and your slide does not lock back on the final round, what do you do, treat everything like a hang fire?

Everybody counts. If not consciously then unconsciously, at least to some extent.

[yhtomit]

WHen firing my revolver esp, I try to count, and then squeeze once more on (what would be) "round seven," am gratified when it's the expected click. More than once, though, Dirty Harry has fooled me, and it turns out I've only fired five, rather than six. Keeps me cautious ...

timothy

[yhtomit]

Floppy_D wrote:
With my revolver, I intentionally don't. So, come round #7 (which is #1 again) I see if I'm doing anything funny with my grip (jerking, heeling, the like.)

I do something similar when shooting at the range; I load my (6-rd) clips with 5 rather than 6 rounds, and turn the cylinder (not the movie-style spin-and-slap, so no complaints ;)) so when I close it I am not sure where the empty spot is.

In that situation, though, I do listen for 5 bangs total, because I wouldn't want to assume unsafely that a cartridge had fired which was in fact hanging fire!

timothy

[Silvanus]

This sounds stupid, but I count all kinds of things subconsciously ever since I started lifting weights :D So yes, I do count the rounds I shoot.

[1911 guy]

If you don't count and your slide does not lock back on the final round, what do you do, treat everything like a hang fire?

A hangfire is only dangerous if it's in the firearm or if it's artillery. Get the bad one out and a good one in. Or a reload, whichever happens to be the case. And get rid of that mag, if it's not locking open and should be.

[papajohn]

"A hangfire is only dangerous when it's in the gun"......Huh?
So if it goes off as you eject it a foot from your face, that's okay?

And yes, I count. I practice using speedloaders and doing mag changes, and I like knowing when the gun is about to run dry. Especially with revolvers, there's nothing louder than a click when you expected a bang. With autos, I like to swap mags before slidelock.

PJ

[Kurt S.]

Depends on what range I am using. Here in Houston I go to ASC or Carter's and I almost always count. When I'm at Big Bend Sportsman's range out west shooting plates or something with my old cronies, no.

[Fat Boy]

I have always counted the number of rounds fired; trying to build that into the process so that I do it almost automatically-

[Moonclip]

I generally do. It's a good habit but it's hard to do under stress. I like to do it with guns that don't lock back on the last round like the Ruger MK1 so I don't have to dry fire it so much by accident.

[RickH]

I am in the habit of counting due to a .22 pistol that doesn't always like to lock the slide back after the tenth round. It warns in the manual several places not to dry fire the gun so I have to count. I still assume that after firing ten rounds the gun is still loaded of course.

[guntotinguy]

This sounds stupid, but I count all kinds of things subconsciously ever since I started lifting weights


Not stupid at all,when lifting weights or shooting,every motion is considered a number by repition...its only natural to count.I count each round,unless rapid firing and I let the mag or clip tell me 'how many'.

[Fly320s]

I count shots only when working on groups or shooting over a chrongraph so that I know if all of my shots hit the paper or were "seen" by the chronograph.

[Huddog]

I started LEO with a revolver, it was taught at the time to count. Automatics were rare in LE at the time. So yes I do bc I always have.

[351 WINCHESTER]

I always count my rounds. I've done it for years.

[p2000sk]

I count em only when picking up the shell casings.
They hit the rafters and go everywhere.
Rarely do I find em all.

[5Wire]

1911 guy: yes, I play the bagpipes. No, I don't wear a skirt. It's called a kilt.

A have it on authority of a piper friend that it's only a skirt if you have something on underneath it.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/5Wire/Piper.jpg

[Sato Ord]

A have it on authority of a piper friend that it's only a skirt if you have something on underneath it.

Tourist at the Highland Games; What do you wear under your Kilt?

Scotsman's reply: My shoes and socks!

[nothinspecial]

GRIZ22 said:
Speaking from personal experience anyone who thinks they will count their rounds in a gunfight is fooling themselves.

Amen! and I can second that.

I count 'em during quals, thats it. Remember two words "Tact. Reload" top off your half empty mag with a fresh one when there is a lull in the action. If there is no lull, perform as trained.

[XDKingslayer]

I try not to count rounds.

I do, however, enjoy sitting back and watching other people who don't count rounds flinch as they pull the trigger on a locked back slide.

It makes me giggle...

[1911 guy]

What do you wear under your Kilt?

The correct answr is "Same as you, just bigger".


Clearing a malfunction should be done in the "power range" of your arms. Lower them to mid torso and yank the slide. For the record, I've never had a "hangfire", although they do happen, usually with older ammo. Every round that failed to go off when hit by the firing pin was a dud, and also a reload. Very likely due to the damp storage I had for primers at one time. Had a couple (less than a dozen) out of a 1,000 stored in my basement. Powder was stored at my bench, so I strongly suspect the primers.

[M1911]

So if it goes off as you eject it a foot from your face, that's okay?

Hangfires are very, very rare. I've never seen one. And if the round does discharge outside of the gun, it will not have anywhere near the velocity as it would when normally fired. In fact, the cartridge case will be moving faster than the bullet.

There are things that I worry about, but hangfires is not one of them. I am an NRA certified firearms instructor and yes I am well aware of the NRA training dogma concerning hangfires.