Inserting glock magazines

[flyingkiwi87]

Hello everyone,

I just bought my first Glock, a Glock 30. I noticed when I put the magazines in they don't seat all the way in by just inserting them. I have to slide them in and then slam them in place with my hand. It's not that hard but it definitely does not lend itself to speed reloading. The last autoloader I owned was an FNP45 and I don't remember having this problem.

Is this normal?

Thanks!

 

[Bobson]

My Glock 19 is about the same when seating a full 15 round mag. It does take a nice firm push to seat it properly.

 

[flyingkiwi87]

Ah I see! I took one round out and it's much easier. Just like pmags :banghead:

Thanks!

 

[colorado_handgunner]

This is normal. Once you have shot it some it should go away. at least in my experience.

 

[Shifty]

Try it with the slide locked back. Should be easier

 

[LiveLife]

New Glock magazines have very stiff springs. If you have a full magazine (especially new mag/spring), it will be much harder to overcome the spring force to fully seat the magazine as the center slide rib pushes down on the round on top. As the spring tension decreases, it will be easier to seat them.

As Shifty posted, you won't encounter resistance when the slide is locked back or seating an empty magazine.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I have to slide them in and then slam them in place with my hand. It's not that hard but it definitely does not lend itself to speed reloading.

That is pretty normal.

Not sure how it would affect speed reloading. When loading at speed, wouldn't you be slamming them in pretty briskly anyway?

 

[LiveLife]

+1. I tell people to practice mag changes while watching TV until it becomes fast/smooth/automatic without looking. If you wear mag pouches with your holster, practice reloading from the pouch also.

If you slam Glock magazines too hard, your mags will over-travel and may dent the bottom of the mag catch notch on the magazine but that's OK as it's the top notch that holds the magazine (M&P/Taurus and other mags have wider than mag base that will hit the grip base to prevent over-travel and I slam them without concern).

Like 9mmepiphany posted, slam away!

 

[Bobson]

If you slam Glock magazines too hard, your mags will over-travel and may dent the bottom of the mag catch notch on the magazine

This may be a dumb question, but I just thought of it when I read this, and now I'm curious.

By slamming a magazine home on a forward slide, is it possible to dent a part of a brass case on a round, which would compress the powder and in turn, increase pressure to potentially dangerous levels?

 

[LiveLife]

Not really. With the Glock slide forward, the bottom of the angled part of the slide rib is just forward of the bullet nose (The angled slide rib is there to push on the top round as the slide is traveling back so the extracting case rim won't hit the bullet nose/case mouth in the magazine). If you slam on the magazine base hard enough, you may be able to mark/dent the case neck but that won't cause an increase in chamber pressure. Remember, loaded column of rounded are still under spring tension and will give a bit when the top round slams on the angled rib under the slide.


What may increase the chamber pressure to dangerous levels is repeatedly chambering a factory round loaded to max pressures/+P pressures. The bullet nose slamming/bumping the feed ramp of the barrel may decrease the OAL of some factory rounds and seat the bullet base deeper, which will increase the chamber pressure. If you repeatedly chamber the same round and incrementally decrease the OAL and seat the bullet base even deeper, you will increase the chamber pressure even more. We have discussed this issue on several threads and found measurable decrease in OAL of factory rounds using calipers:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=576717

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=642035


What I do to chamber a round in my SD/HD pistols is to ease/ride the slide forward so the round from the magazine gently glide on the feed ramp and almost chambers. Then I push on the back of the slide to return it to full battery and to allow the extractor to click around the case rim.

YMMV

 

[Bobson]

Gotcha. I'm familiar with the issue of rechambering the same round repeatedly. I subscribe to the "mark the round each time its chambered and don't let it go more than 2-3 times" technique. Thanks for the quick answer.

 

[mljdeckard]

This is why we always teach to always seat all magazines firmly.

 

[Ole Coot]

I've had the habit of firmly seating all magazines in all my pistols for over 50yrs. I never took seating for granted.

 

[psyopspec]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DXohG9HfR1M Paul Gomez demonstrating that you can't over insert a Glock magazine with your bare hands. +1 to seat it like you stole it.

 

[LiveLife]

psyopspec, that mobile link didn't work but this one did - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXohG9HfR1M

Well, as I posted, over-inserting Glock magazines will dent the bottom of the notch on the magazine (from the mag catch) but it's the top notch that is used to hold the magazine not the bottom so it will still work.

Try the Paul Gomez demo on your Glocks with fully loaded longer magazine and look at the notch on the magazine and the case neck of the round on top. You will see the dented notch on the bottom on the magazine and probably dent/mark on the case neck from hitting the slide rib.

 

[psyopspec]

Thanks for posting the functional link. I'm not intending to disagree with any of the above comments per se, just noting that in regular use and training one need not baby a Glock pistol or it's magazines. Like anything made by humans, there'll be a breaking point, but a typical shooter, or even one who is rough on his equipment, is unlikely to get into a situation where he or she will have to worry about it.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Much easier with the slide locked back.

 

[newglockguy]

You have to break in the magazine and once you do you'll be fine

 

[Shawn Dodson]

If you're using the Glock 30 as a defense gun I suggest, unless performing a Combat Reload, that you ALWAYS insert and seat the magazine with the slide in battery. This practice conditions you to exert the extra effort needed to seat it firmly after clearing a stoppage and the slide is not locked open.

When I Load my defense guns the slide is in battery. After seating the magazine I rack the slide to chamber a round and then perform a Tactical Reload using the magazine from the magazine carrier on my belt. This practice allows me to use Loading as a training opportunity because it exercises many of the same movements I'll use during a Combat Reload, a Combat Reload after clearing a stoppage, or Tactical Reload.

Good luck!

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I believe what you're experiencing is normal. The magazine needs a strong spring to hold all those big cartridges in a small space and push them up in time. It takes a bit of effort to seat a fully loaded mag against a closed slide. I noticed this with the one I had, and it was quite a bit stiffer than my 9mm 19, but I got used to it.

It's not that hard but it definitely does not lend itself to speed reloading.

Why? The slide is locked back when you speed reload.

I have to slide them in and then slam them in place with my hand.

If you mean insert the magazine, take your hand away from it and then slam it in, don't do that. Those are two separate motions, and the mag could slide back out when you take your hand away. Do it in one smooth motion.