Chamber check, magazine check
As promised, this series of articles will give you a glimpse of the handgun techniques we teach at front sight unfortunately these articles cannot impart any actual skills the life-saving skills of gun handling Marchman ship and tack these can only be gained from attending a course at front sight let’s talk about a first technique and that is chamber checking and magazine checking we call this one second of cheap insurance because it only takes one second to perform and add as conclusion you will know with complete certainty the condition of your weapon don’t get this confused with loading and unloading this is simply checking the condition of your weapon if you work off responding to an armed robbery call you would chamber check in magazine check to verify your weapon was loaded if you were getting ready for dry practice you would chamber check in magazine check to verify the weapon was unloaded you will start with your weapon out in front of you at the ready position the ready means both hands are on the weapon the trigger figure is straight the weapon is that arm’s length and is down at a 45 degree angle next bring the weapon and closer to your body where you have better leverage and greater dexterity keep your trigger finger straight and the muscle pointed downrange release your support hand and bring it under the slide grasp the slide using the pads of the fingers and thumb midway between the muscle and the injection port if you get too close to the muzzle you run the risk of covering your hand if you get too close to the ejection port you can’t see into the chamber during your chamber check next drift your trigger finger away from the frame giving your support hand room to move run the slide to the rear about a half-inch and look into the chamber if you see brass the chamber is loaded if you see no brass the chamber is unloaded next push the slide fully forward you must ensure that the slide is fully forward so your gun will function now you know the condition of the chamber next we need to check the condition of the magazine most people cannot maintain a firing grip on the weapon and get to the magazine release button with a firing sight thumb the frame of the weapon is just too big so you will have to loosen your firing grip on the frame just a little to get the tip of your thumb on the magazine release button this may involve a slight rotation of the weapon in your firing hand that’s fine just keep your trigger finger straight and the muzzle pointed downrange press the magazine release with the tip of your thumb your support hand will be underneath the magazine will ready to catch the magazine as it falls from the weapon take the magazine completely out of the weapon and keep it indexed in your support hand and look at it is it full of ammunition empty etc if you are satisfied with the condition of the magazine then reinsert it there is a right way in a wrong way for everything let’s talk about the correct way to insert a magazine bring the back of the magazine into contact with the inside back of the magazine well at a slight angle next roll the magazine into the well as you release your grip on the body of the magazine keep the magazine in contact with a palm of your hand and seat it firmly with one brisk motion there are two things to avoid first do not insert the magazine in part way and then back your hand off to get a running start at it second do not tap it several times to insert it the magazine should be inserted with one wisp during your course at front sight we will teach you the subtleties of chamber checking and magazine checking the following 1911 style weapons which have a thumb safety decocking liver double action weapons with a side mounted decocking lever and revolvers we will also teach you how to chamber check in magazine check if you are left-handed have a physical challenge such as weak or arthritic hands or our missing fingers we have lots of tools in our proverbial toolbox at the conclusion of a proper chamber check in magazine check you will know with certainty the condition of your weapon.