So You’re a New Gun Owner? Loading your gun

So far in our series, we’ve talked about firearms safety, clearing a firearm, and buying ammunition for your firearm. Next, we’ll talk about loading your firearm, specifically your semiautomatic handgun.

Loading the magazine

I discuss this in the video, but I wanted to add a picture here, just in case it isn’t clear. As you can see, the flat part of the cartridge goes toward the flat part of the magazine.

Loading the firearm

I’ll let the video do most of the explaining for this, but my steps to load a handgun are:

1. Point the firearm in a safe direction and lock the slide to the rear
2. Bring the firearm into my workspace
3. Insert the magazine and listen for a positive click
4. Give the magazine a tug to ensure it is seated
5. Put the slide forward chambering a round
6. Presscheck the round

One note: You can insert the magazine with the slide forward, then rack it to chamber a round. However, I don’t prefer this method because when you insert a fully loaded magazine (especially with a newer magazine) two issues can arise:

1. The magazine may be very hard to insert fully, meaning you need to be extra careful about listening for the click and giving the magazine a tug afterwards
2. The pressure exerted by the top round in the magazine on the slide may make it hard for individuals with hand strength issues to rack the slide and chamber a round

Conclusion

My video editing skills are in their infancy, so please forgive me, but I hope this has been useful for you. If you enjoyed, give us a follow and a share. Social media really limits our ability to advertise, and organic shares always have the biggest impact. If you think I missed something or have a question, drop a comment below. Alternatively, you can contact me via my Facebook page, Google Hangout, or email at guntoter.official (at) gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!