Educate this revolver guy

[Guy B. Meredith]

I have a neighbor, John, who asked about purchase of a handgun, mentioning the Beretta 92. I am strictly an auto shooter so took him down to Target Masters in Milpitas, CA to look at and rent out some semis of interest and let him shoot my S&W 686+ revolver.

The clerk showed John the Beretta, a Ruger MKIII MK512, S&W M&P, Glock, Sig 229 and a Springfield 1911. John decided to rent the Ruger .22 cal and the Berreta 92.

All went well with the Ruger as I've had one in the past, but when it came to the Berreta we had so much trouble trying to load the magazine that we pretty much didn't get a chance to really pay attention to the firearm.

Is there a trick to loading the magazines? The round being loaded would slip off the previously loaded round and the spring was difficult to overcome the magazine spring while after about 5 rounds while doing the balancing act.

 

[Don Lu]

nope, no trick to it. If your a revolver guy, you just have to get used to the spring in the mag and get your coordination down. It can take a while to get used to but there is no trick to it.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Actually the experience was a disappointment to John and confirmed my preference for revolvers.

I would like to find a speed loading mechanism or some such to encourage John to try again and enjoy. (And spread the word to his British family.)

 

[RP86]

If you try renting out other guns you'll find the spring tension will differ. When I rented 9mm's a few months back the Glock17 had a very stiff magazine spring, as did the Beretta, but the Sig226 had a very easy spring. The more rounds you load into the mag the more difficult it will become. I have never used a easy/speed loader, because I've never really needed one. If you aren't really sure how to load a magazine properly ask someone at the gun range to show you how(employee/clerk preferably). Trying to type out how to do it confuses more than it helps.

-Ryan

 

[kptaylor]

Agree with RP86. Try out the 1911, too. The single stack magazines are easier to load than the double stack ones since all of the bullets go in "straight".

Does he not like your 686? Let him shoot that with some .38+p wad cutters.

 

[zachsm]

some of the springs are really heavy, and the only thing you can do is use your thumb strength.

the first one should go in pretty easy. the rest of them, do not try to push it down with your fingers, it will get too hard for that to work. Youll have to put the round between your thumb and your index finger, and put a downward force with the round until theres enough room to slide it in.

when the whole mag is full, lightly tap the mag with your palm so that they get seated properly to the backend of magazine.

it still won't be that easy to load them in there. sometimes i get someone else at the range to load it because my hands will start to shake after awhile. (im a small guy)

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

I did try to get John to try other firearms as I thought the fixation on the Berreta was probably based on someone else's opinions. He just hasn't had enough experience with firearms to have developed opinions of his own.

The end result of our outing was that John thought he might like the Ruger or maybe a revolver.

The Ruger has the button on the side of the mag that makes loading easy. I have or did have a plastic doodad that held the spring compressed for the Ruger so that loading is simple. I thought I'd seen something similar for other semis.

The revolver is a no-brainer and good for us simple folk. He was also impressed with what I could do with the revolver though I did point out that my shooting represented about 35,000 rounds down range versus his hundred or so.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

For what it's worth, here's how I load pistol magazines...

(For the right handed)
1. Hold the round in your right hand, with your right index finger wrapped around the round and the nose of the round pointing out towards your pinky.

2. Hold the magazine in your left hand, with your left thumb right over the top of the magazine.

3. Place the base of the round on the topmost round in the magazine. Use your left thumb to push down on the new round until you can use your right hand to slid it into the magazine.


You may have to tilt the round to slid it into the magazine right. Experiment to see what works.

Disclaimer: I've only been loading M-16 mags lately, so it's been a while. I think I got all the details though.

 

[gudel]

Some guys seem to have problem loading magazines, just need to see how someone actually do it so you can learn.

Interestingly, my G22 10rd mag is a bit stiff to load while the 15rd mag is easier to load.
My USP45 mags are very easy to load, same with all other USP/P2000 I own.

 

[Jkwas]

A $3 mag loading tool makes loading a breeze. Promag makes a knockoff of the ruger tool that works perfectly on most 9mm's. I use it on my P89 and on my wifes Pt111. Why struggle?
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=693019

 

[Navy joe]

Blame California, not Beretta. I am sure the mags were commied up 10 rounders which usually have a much stiffer spring just to make sure you cannot cram an extra round in. Glock 10 rd are the worst, when new you pretty much need to be Houdini or Hercules to get the last one in. The full capacity mags load a lot easier.

 

[ZeSpectre]

I'm one of those guys who has a hard time loading magazines (for whatever reason). Getting the last 1-2 rounds into the mag really frustrates me on most guns and as a result I had started to gather a small collection of magazine "speed" loaders for various makes and models.

(now comes the part that sounds like a paid advertisement )

Then I found the "MAGLOADER". Okay so it's a moulded "ring" of polymer with a stud...pretty damned simple, but it works! Best of all I only have to throw the one magloader "ring" in my range bag to fill any of the magazines I own (I used to carry at least 3 magazine loaders at a time, kind of a pain in the butt).

Here's the thread where I did a mini-review... http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=243836

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

The use of the left thumb was probably something we overlooked. The tools would be better since John has arthritis in his thumbs and they tend to be weak. On the other hand, for the Berreta I had major problems as well.

How does the Promag tool work? There is an illustrated demo for the nylon MAGLOADER, but I couldn't run down anything for the Promag.

 

[ProguninTN]

Jkwas

Thanks for posting that. My father owns one of those, but I was not sure where to get one.

 

[Jkwas]

How does the Promag tool work?

You use it in place of your thumb. You stand the mag up on a flat surface and slide it over the mag with the hook side toward the rear.
The hook fits between the lips and pushes the receiver down, allowing you to slide the round underneath them about half way.
Lift the loader above the lips, and slide the round back the rest of the way.
Push it back down on top of the round just loaded and repeat the procedure.
Once you get the hang of it, it goes real fast. It's such a simple tool. No moving parts. It's just like having a steel thumb. It's supposed to work with all double stack 9mm and 40mm's, but I only have experience with the 9's
Hope this helps.

 

[peacemaker45]

Umm, try this. It worked when my dad had a beretta. If only the beretta had worked as well... Sigh

Hks tool

~~~Mat

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Excellent. I think I'll pick up one of these mag loading devices and give John another trip to the range.