[freemanloh]

Hi guys,

Need your help on this challenge. My pistol friend told me the importance of a press check everytime we made ready our weapon after loading. I'm a revolver shooter and only knows to look at the side of the cylinder to see if there's bullets in it or simply break open the cylinder and check the ammo, close it back and trun anti-clockwise till the cylinder stops.

Is there really a way to check and ensure the condition of our revolver is ready for action?

Tks.

[RON in PA]

What you are doing is all you need to do. One of the advantages of the revolver.

[Kind of Blued]

Just look for rims. I'm willing to bet you'll remember if you fired your revolver and hadn't reloaded it since.

Or pop it open, pop it closed. Anything wrong with that?

I guess if you're really worried you could eject the rounds to make sure you hadn't loaded a bunch of empty primed brass in your gun... ;)

[The Lone Haranguer]

Open the cylinder and look. Just because you can see the cartridge rims through the side does not mean readiness - the cartridges may have been already fired.

[goodtime]

A press check is done with autoloaders only, both rifles and pistols. That's where the term "press" comes from, pressing the bolt back to observe a round in the chamber. The reason for doing a press check is that the round in the chamber is not affirmitively loaded by the shooter, but it should be loaded when the action is cycled, if the firearm and ammunition function properly. A tactically-minded person (especially one whose life might depend on it) would want to be absolutely sure that the mechanical function occurred properly, rather than leave it to chance, or assume that the rifle or pistol probably did load as it should have. He therefore makes sure a round is chambered, after cycling the action, since he can't see the round in the chamber without the "press," and because he didn't affirmitively load the round in the chamber, himself. In a revolver, the rounds are positively loaded in the chambers by the shooter. Therefore, with a revolver, the certainty in the mind of the shooter comes at the time of loading.
Above, I'm referring to the initial loading of a firearm only, and not tactical checks which might be conducted during an ongoing exchange of fire or daily checks that might occur since a shooter might not want to rely on the memory of loading a firearm days or weeks prior.

[Trebor]

The best way is to open the cylinder and look. That way yo know the primers haven't been popped and the rounds are live.

Yeah, you can see the rims from the side, and I have to admit I've done that, but that's the lazy way and not what I try to do myself or recommend. If you want to know, for sure, look at the primers.

[ironvic]

Press checking a revolver would be like opening the cylinder on a semi-automatic.

Open the cyl. and check for rounds, making sure none of the primers are dimpled as already fired. Or just look at the rims around the circumference. Press check just tells the autoloader user that the piece is loaded in the absence of a loaded chamber indicator anyway.

I love to handle my S&Ws a lot, dry firing etc., and have this weird quirk where I always open the cylinder, pop the ejector rod to make sure no rounds are in it, spin the cylinder as I see the open cylinder charge holes show daylight all 'round, pop the rod one more time and close. I'll often do this several times during my "playtime". Never shot anything I didn't want to. Don't ever intend to.

[goodtime]

ironvic - Your precautions are neither "wierd" nor a "quirk." I commend your responsible, dilligent and safe gun handling practices. You can never practice too much precaution when handling guns.

[Mat, not doormat]

One further thing to check, is to make sure the cylinder rotates freely. High primers can cause a bind. This is easy to do by spinning the cylinder on an SA, but trickier on a DA.

~~~Mat

[David E]

Open the cylinder and check the primers. Close cylinder.

Then, keeping your finger OFF the trigger, pull back on the hammer about 1/2 way to fully disengage the cylinder stop and slowly spin, feeling for any tightness caused by high primers.

That's how Bill Jordan checked his carry loads before heading out.

.

[ArmedBear]

Another quick check: open the cylinder latch with the gun pointing down. Push the ejector a half-inch and let go. If the rounds drop back freely, they're unfired. If they stick up, they're fired.

This is most useful to me if I know that one or two rounds have been fired, and I want to replace them with fresh ones.

[Master Blaster]

Hopefully the press check you have learned frorm your friend doesn't involve pressing the front of the pistol near the guide rod like those all too cool competition shooters I have seen.

Its a good way to shoot your hand, so stop, pull the slide back to check dont press the muzzle.

The revolver needs to have the cylinder opened to check as mentioned by others.

[Jim K]

I guess I have a funny attitude toward press checks and the like. When I was a LEO, I KNEW my gun was loaded because I was carrying it and if I was carrying it, it was loaded. I never had to check anything and never did.

IMHO, the press check business is a just a nervous habit. Some present day LEOs tell me they have seen officers check their guns four or five times in a couple of minutes.

Jim

[ArmedBear]

IMHO, the press check business is a just a nervous habit.

I agree. At best.

Tacticool and stupid, at worst.

It's also a nice time-waster when time is of the essence, and if Murphy is around anywhere, it's a fine way to take your gun out of battery.

[goodtime]

Once the firearm is confirmed to be loaded, yeah, there's no need to check it again. I agree with that. But how about at the moment of loading? The facts that the magazine is loaded and the action has been cycled does not guarantee that a round successfullyhas been chambered. At the moment of loading, what prudent professional would assume that a round is in the pipe, and not check? Why "never check anything" and fail to ensure that there was no malfunction of the mag, bolt, or ammo, and potentially enter a firefight with an empty chamber?
The press check is not "tacticool," it is an industry standard for any professional who uses an AR-15 or a semiauto pistol - not as an unnecessary re-check, but as an initial measure upon first loading to ensure that the firearm is hot.

[Jim K]

I guess I don't know the right professionals. The ones I know either watch the round chambering or know by the sound and feel of the gun that a round has chambered. I would say that someone who chambers a round and then has to check has little confidence in his gun or himself.

Jim

[ArmedBear]

If a round DOESN'T chamber, then I sure would NOT use that gun that day.

There's no way you could trust that gun to feed!

[goodtime]

Now, I'm not trying to be sarcastic or antagonistic when I say this, but your post clearly conveyed that you're an LEO from another era (my respect to you, brother.) You must understand that industry standards do change. These days, patrolmen carry AR-15's in the squad car.
You can't watch a round chambering in the dark, but sometimes you must load in the dark. (You can feel it during a press check, though.) You can't always hear a round being chambered because sometimes you must load amidst loud noise. Also, in field conditions, (such as If you're moving,) you usually can't feel one being chambered in an AR-15 or a pistol.
The Best (I'm not one of the best, not by a longshot) instructors are instructing a press check upon charging the rifle -- when conditions permit, of course. Look into it, you'll see.

[Claude Clay]

do you de-clutch or check for neutral when you start a car that has a auto transmission?
some ways of doing things are item specific. though you may try to drag that way of doing 'it' over to other, similar,applications--it either doesn't work of makes for nonsense.
i don't press check my autos. i load/put it on and if i have not touched it why would it be any way different later than it was than. slides lock back when empty; furthermore taking your vision off of a threat to verify what you can feel is redundent and dangerous.

someone has been wathching too many cop shows -poorly directed. seems they cant remember if their guns are loaded......sigh

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Sticking your eyeball to the muzzle.

So, don't do either one. "Pull" check on an auto maybe, but not a press check.

[goodtime]

To answer selected quotes:

"Press" is just a term in this case. It actually means to "pull."

"Taking your vision off a threat" -- see the last line of Post #18

"do you de-clutch or check for neutral when you start a car that has a auto transmission?" -- cars with automatic transmition do not have clutches.

"if i have not touched it why would it be any way different later than it was than" -- see the last 2 lines of post #15 (it wouldn't.)

"someone has been wathching too many cop shows -poorly directed. seems they cant remember if their guns are loaded......sigh" -- if you actually read my posts before posting yourself, so that you actually familiarized yourself with my assertions, you'd see this statement holds no water.

"I would say that someone who chambers a round and then has to check has little confidence in his gun or himself." -- You either have incredible intuition to know that about me, or maybe, you're just talking.

It's not my invention or my opinion, gentlemen, its an accepted industry standard, currently held and taught by THE BEST in the business (which I do not claim to be.) Are any of you guys (who I quoted) currently in the profession, or are you just talking?

[1911Tuner]

Some present day LEOs tell me they have seen officers check their guns four or five times in a couple of minutes.

I'm pretty sure that's called OC Disorder. :D

[ArmedBear]

goodtime-

Would you EVER trust an AR when going into a life-or-death situation if it didn't feed when you dropped the bolt?

I sure would not.

Maybe it just needs some lube, but THAT DAY, that gun is not trustworthy.

[goodtime]

(this must be answered in the context of all my posts.)
Armedbear -- Aahhaaaah . . . How would you know whether to trust it or not? By finding out at the moment of truth? Or by exercising prudence and checking prior to the moment of truth (again, when conditions permit?)

Others -- We're not only talking about the firearm, here, but also about the ammo (as I said in line 5 of post #15.) If just one round out of a million is out of spec, and you, yourself, wind up getting issued that round, would'nt you want to know? Are we all too cool or too great to perform a 2-second procedure (again, once, at the time of loading and not after) to ensure that we won't get caught with our pants down? Should we all have superhuman spider senses and rely on our ability to "hear" or "feel" the round being chambered? Who would seriously assert that? A shooter should "hear" or "feel" a round being chambered in the field, when stuff is going down? What a joke! What real cop, who has ever been around when stuff is going down would say that? Don't try to knock me for having been trained properly, with current techniques, or for having been around the block.

Fellas -- This is a gun chat website. I'm all for the exchange of ideas, spirited discussion, debate, arguments/counterarguments based on logic, point/counterpoint, disagreement etc. It is entirely possible to do that without resorting to insult, especially out of thin air - when unprovoked. If you must insult, it does not bother me. But, I must point out, some of you have embarassed yourselves by your statements.

I've said it before, I'll say it again --

There are 2 types of people in this world:

1. People who talk about other people
2. People who are talked about.

Ask yourself,
"Which group do I belong to?"
"Why?"
"What does that say about me as a person?"

[ArmedBear]

Should we all have superhuman spider senses and rely on our ability to "hear" or "feel" the round being chambered?

Uh, with an AR, it hardly requires superhuman senses. You can tell easily.

Or by exercising prudence and checking prior to the moment of truth (again, when conditions permit)?


WAY prior. I'm not against checking to see if a gun is loaded properly -- except that, as I said, you're probably more likely to end up with an out-of-battery gun from the check than to have gotten that one bad round that doesn't feed (but isn't obvious).

The idea of opening the action part of the way when you immediately need that gun means two things:

1. You didn't check when you should have.

2. You're more likely to screw things up, since you're under stress.

[goodtime]

Quote:

"The idea of opening the action part of the way when you immediately need that gun means two things:

1. You didn't check when you should have.

2. You're more likely to screw things up, since you're under stress"

Once again you demonstrated that you have not read my posts. I don't know who's arguments you're addressing, but you are not addressing mine.

[goodtime]

You must be one serious, bad dude, Armedbear. To be able to actually feel and hear a round being chambered in an AR-15 when releasing the bolt. Even in field conditions, with noise, movement, among other distractions. Man, I wish I had your prowess.
Readers who have any familiarity with an AR-15 (or combat readiness): you hearing this? It's amazing.

[ArmedBear]

Yes you can feel the difference. Very, very easily if you are familiar with your rifle. You do have to be holding the gun.

Have you ever tried it?

Would I rely on that as my only means of checking? No. Would I follow up if I shut the bolt and something didn't feel right. Hell yes. Is that an important factor -- just knowing when something doesn't feel right? Very much so. Your eyes aren't the only sensory organs you have.

Could I hear it? Well, that does depend on ambient noise -- obviously.

Do what you want. Like I said, I have nothing against checking. However, I don't think that checking when it's really too late is a good idea.

My pistols have simple and reliable LCIs that I can feel. I believe that feeling them is a far better choice than opening the action. Feeling for a protruding LCI doesn't result in an out-of-battery gun.

All of that assumes familiarity with the gun. Without that, all bets are off.

[C-grunt]

I agree 100 percent with mr goodtime. If you read what he said, your arguments dont make sense.

Once the firearm is confirmed to be loaded, yeah, there's no need to check it again. I agree with that. But how about at the moment of loading? The facts that the magazine is loaded and the action has been cycled does not guarantee that a round successfullyhas been chambered.

He is saying do the press check right after you load the weapon. If that time is "Already to late" the real question is why are you carrying one un-chambered?

I press check my duty weapon any time it gets reloaded for duty. All mechanical devices can fail and Im just making sure it didnt right there. Once its loaded and checked, I see no need to do it again. The only "checks" I do throughout my work day are the magazine and my holsters hood. I press on the bottom of the mag to ensure the mag release hasnt been bumped. I then check my holsters hood to make sure my weapon is secure.

[Master Blaster]

I've said it before, I'll say it again --

There are 2 types of people in this world:

1. People who talk about other people
2. People who are talked about.

Ask yourself,
"Which group do I belong to?"
"Why?"
"What does that say about me as a person?"


You are worried about what the other kids in high school are saying???

[1911Tuner]

You must be one serious, bad dude, Armedbear. To be able to actually feel and hear a round being chambered in an AR-15 when releasing the bolt.

I can't speak for anybody else, but I can hear and feel the difference between a bolt going home on an empty chamber and feeding a round. Bolt-action rifle or self-loader.

Rather like being able to feel the difference while firing and a slide or bolt locks on empty. It's just...different.

It comes with experience and familiarity with the weapon.

[nalioth]

The "press check" is something some have been taught by the television and movies.

As has been mentioned, when you load your weapon, you can watch the round go into the chamber.

"A gun is always loaded." When I pull my carry piece out of the gun safe, it gets loaded and stays loaded until I unload it and put it back in the safe.

You folks who carry semiauto pistols who have kids or SOs or co-workers who think it's funny to unload your pistol when you're not looking need to rethink your situation.

[Clipper]

Press check? Pfffft. I chamber the first round and drop the mag to top it off...If the top round didn't feed, the last round won't load into the mag...Simple.

[goodtime]

I can't speak of movies or TV, I'll let some of you other guys talk about that, since you seem to be fond of it. But I received my carbine and pistol training (as an instructor and as a tactical officer) from guys like these, among others:
http://www.teamspartan.com/teamspartan_firearms_training_instructors.htm
EACH and EVERY one of these guys, among other instructors in the area, teaches the press check with the AR. Again, I pose the questions, How do you see a round in the dark? how do you feel a round chambering when you're running or otherwise moving or getting jostled? How do you hear a round chambering in noisy conditions? Combat readiness is inclusive of ALL conditions one might meet in responding to a hot situation. A prudent, trained shooter does not rely on sight, feel, or hearing when in the field to ensure his weapon is hot.
Just because a guy can do these things in the comfort and serenity of his own choosing, does not mean that these skills are applicaple in the field. I'm not talking about night watchmen, here.
Again, I ask, who is too cool or too great to ensure that a round is chambered? (again, when conditions permit, of course)

[nalioth]

I can't speak of movies or TV, I'll let some of you other guys talk about that, since you seem to be fond of it. But I received my carbine and pistol training (as an instructor and as a tactical officer) from guys like these, among others:
http://www.teamspartan.com/teamspart...nstructors.htm
EACH and EVERY one of these guys, among other instructors in the area, teaches the press check with the AR. Again, I pose the questions, How do you see a round in the dark? how do you feel a round chambering when you're running or otherwise moving or getting jostled? How do you hear a round chambering in noisy conditions? Combat readiness is inclusive of ALL conditions one might meet in responding to a hot situation. A prudent, trained shooter does not rely on sight, feel, or hearing when in the field to ensure his weapon is hot.
Just because a guy can do these things in the comfort and serenity of his own choosing, does not mean that these skills are applicaple in the field. I'm not talking about night watchmen, here.
Again, I ask, who is too cool or too great to ensure that a round is chambered? (again, when conditions permit, of course) This thread isn't about press-checking your supersonic black rifle when you're down in the wilds o'South America running speshul ops.

It's about Joe Citizen or John LEO carrying his or her sidearm. The odds of any of us having to draw our sidearm is nil, and the odds of us getting into a running gun battle with it are ludicrous.

[1911Tuner]

Well, goodtime...I try to stay out of runnin' gunfights these days. Too old and crippled up for that sorta thing, and about the only hot situation I've been into lately has been a bowl of chili from Bubba's Fine Dining and Fish Bait emporium.

Like Jim Keenan...if I've got the gun on me, it's loaded. I don't press check to ensure that a gun is loaded. I press check to make sure that a gun handed to me is empty...unless it was handed off open and clear.

But...do carry on!

:)

[goodtime]

I'll retire my participation in this thread with this:
If a guy wants to counter my assertions, that's OK, of course. I'm not the ultimate authority on anything, and I am certainly fallible. But if your argument is flawed, I'll point it out. If you resort to insult, or sarcasm without provocation from me, I'll point that out, too. If you're just a talker, I'll point it out.
Please, fellas, counter what I actually said, not what you feel like saying I said.
nalioth - it's about readiness. You said a lot of nonsense, which you introduced, not me. Please discuss what I actually said.

[1911Tuner]

Please, fellas, counter what I actually said, not what you feel like saying I said

I thought that's what they did...

If you resort to insult, or sarcasm without provocation from me, I'll point that out, too.

You mean along these lines?

You must be one serious, bad dude, Armedbear. To be able to actually feel and hear a round being chambered in an AR-15 when releasing the bolt. Even in field conditions, with noise, movement, among other distractions. Man, I wish I had your prowess.
Readers who have any familiarity with an AR-15 (or combat readiness): you hearing this? It's amazing.


The only thing that AB said was that anyone who is familiar with the weapon can feel and/or hear a round chamber as the bolt goes to battery...and you can. I can...on the range or at home when I ready a pistol for an excursion into the outside world. In the middle of a Mad Moment? Depends on whether or not I'm gettin' lit up at the time. Sometimes I've felt the rifle go dry, and sometimes not.

I'll go on record and say that if your weapon skips the top round during a Saddle Up/ Lock'n'Load/Line of Departure exercise...you've either got a bad magazine or you've got a gun problem...and if it skips the top round at low speed, it'll probably skip the next one, too when things are moving faster. If it skips the top round on the initial loading, and you don't know it by the way it feels and sounds...you need to spend more time with your gun.

Cheers!

[goodtime]

The key phrase, was, "WITHOUT PROVOCATION FROM ME." see post #25 from your friend before you spout off. Once sarcasm is introduced it's fairplay. You've got to give respect to get it.
If you thought "they" were responding to my actual assertions, you've demonstrated, clearly, that you did not read them, yourself. Some guys did read them, I'm not talking about their opposing views.

[sniper5]

Well, to check if a revolver is loaded you CAN look down the barrel while you press the trigger. . . ONCE:evil::evil:

OK, I'm kidding. REALLY.

I usually just pop open the cylinder and look at the back of the cartridges.

[C-grunt]

In my dept, if you are a patrol officer with a rifle, you are not supposed to carry it chambered. Its in the trunk unloaded.

So on a scene like I had today... where a few bad guys decide to have a shootout in the street and the guy with the rifle decides to barricade himself in the house... the rifles came out for overwatch positions until SAU (swat) arrived.

Now if you can hear a round chamber in the middle of a street when you got sirens going and news choppers overhead then thats great. If you can feel the difference when the adrenaline is pumping then good for you. I know I cant.

When I was in the Army, I always press checked my rifle before I left the FOB. HArd to hear and feel stuff in the back of a Bradley.

The SAU officers that I saw load up today all checked their weapons. These are very highly trained, skilled and insanely experienced guys we are talking about. They do it for a reason, probably because they do really really rely on their weapons to save their lives on a daily basis. So why not take that extra couple seconds to double check that the feeding mechanism is working today?

[BullfrogKen]

The only thing that AB said was that anyone who is familiar with the weapon can feel and/or hear a round chamber as the bolt goes to battery...and you can. I can...on the range or at home when I ready a pistol for an excursion into the outside world. In the middle of a Mad Moment? Depends on whether or not I'm gettin' lit up at the time. Sometimes I've felt the rifle go dry, and sometimes not.

What he said.

I can tell if a round chambered by the way it feels. Once you spend enough time with a firearm you just get to know the difference. I can also tell when a round doesn't extract properly, doesn't eject properly, doesn't feed properly, or the slide doesn't seat fully upon returning to battery. And each one of those malfunctions feels different.

But those skills take time and round count to develop. If you don't know what those things feel like, then you haven't sent enough rounds downrange to learn it yet. And conversely, once you've acquired the skill, you just know.

The press check is not "tacticool," it is an industry standard for any professional who uses an AR-15 or a semiauto pisto

No, its not. Maybe with the guys you hang around it is. But I can tell you its far from industry standard.

I've both seen and been taught to verify a round chambered (when I didn't know it did by the way it felt) to pull the magazine and check. In double-stack rifle mags, the top round will have "switched" from one side to the other. In pistol mags verify through witness holes, or more simply, just top off the mag. Basically exactly what Clipper said:

Press check? Pfffft. I chamber the first round and drop the mag to top it off...If the top round didn't feed, the last round won't load into the mag...Simple.


Press checks on pistols are not industry standard. And around here they're quite discouraged.


But to the original question about revolvers - as stated already, pop the cylinder and look at the brass. The cylinders are the chamber.

[goodtime]

BullfrogKen and Clipper -- You've placed yourselves in the same boat as me. You share my contention, because you clearly advocated and described methods (valid ones) for checking that a round is chambered.
Press check, magazine check - the common denominator is that we're checking.:)