Virginia – Â If you have a semi-automatic rifle that has a free-floating firing pin, such as an AR-15 or an AKM-47, do NOT drop a round in the breach and let the bolt slam forward!
The only safe way to load the round is to load it from a magazine.
The reason is the rifle’s design counts on the bolt slowing down as it strips the round out of the magazine.
Without a magazine, the bolt won’t slow down and hits full force, possibly allowing the free-floating firing pin to strike the round’s primer hard enough to set it off unexpectedly.
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Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
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ARs are a pain to load one round at a time. M1 Garand and M1-A are easy; just “cram” the round into the clip/magazine area and release the bolt. Slam firing is a very real deal, the round may detonate due to the floating firing pin hitting the primer (especially softer commercial primers) before the bolt can rotate and lock the round into place and the round will detonate like a small grenade which can hurt the rifle and may well harm or even blind the shooter.
We loaded a single round at a time when on the range shooting a slow fire string for USMC qualification in the 1980’s. I have never heard of a round going off unexpectedly.
I didn’t no that…:) thx’s
After inserting a round into the chamber, pull the charging handle to the rear and, while continuing to hold it, release the magazine catch and ease the bolt forward. Then tap the forward assist to ensure that the bolt is fully seated. This will reduce the risk of an AD. In the Army, we were required to insert a magazine, whether firing 1 round or 30. Good article!
One round bob sled mag.
So how do you single shot load for High Power Rifle competition?