View Full Version : AK Emergency Reload Question
matthewdanger
07-31-11, 19:39
I have done AK emergency reloads by using the fresh mag to "sweep" out the spent mag for years. Until recently I just used the top of the mag (top = the end with the feed lips) to hit the magazine release and this is generally how I saw the technique being taught and executed.
Someone showed me recently that they do the entire sequence the exact same way except they use the portion of the magazine that is below their grip. They are still using the front of the magazine, but they are using the part closer to the base. Their reasoning was that they didn't want to take a chance of fouling up any part of the magazine that was responsible for locking it in place or accidentally impact the feed lips.
I have to admit that made good sense to me and it didn't seem to add any additional time to the reload. In fact, the motion seemed more natural.
How do you guys do it? Top of the mag or bottom?
From the center of the mag just above my hand. This puts the exposed rounds away from the mag release.....
Video:
http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/CoryCop25/Videos/th_VIDEO0022.jpg (http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/CoryCop25/Videos/?action=view¤t=VIDEO0022.mp4)
If you are using metal AK magazines you are going to need a TON of force to damage the locking lever or feed lips. I havent seen an AK magazine here or overseas that had a bad locking lever or feed lips, its all been dents in the side of the body that deadlined them.
Rick
Something simular to this design works well.
http://www.blackjackbuffers.com/images/large/tacrelease_LRG.jpg
They allow you to use the trigger finger to release the mag which in turn lets you be reaching for the replacement mag while dumping the old mag at the same time.
Unless the old one sticks and doesn't drop, it'll be clear of the well before the replacement even gets close to being ready to insert.
They can be had in a few variations for $, or, they can be made out of short bits of thick walled rubber hose slipped over the release with the side closest to the magazine cut flat to give clearance.
I had that and removed it in less than a year. The metal is thin and easily starts to bend downwards with normal use . The rivets also loosened up, causing it to wobble. For me, it wasn't worth keeping it on. I drilled out the rivets and removed the part. I didn't even save the part afterwards, I just threw it away. Good design; Poor execution.
http://i29.tinypic.com/fdu9hx.jpg
Jay Cunningham
08-01-11, 00:09
Hey bro,
Good question and I'll say I'm a big fan of keeping it simple. I say just use your support hand to flip the empty out onto the deck, draw and rock-and-lock the spare, then flip the carbine and rack over the top and re-engage.
Yes, the "youtube reload" can certainly be faster but it's a bit more fumble-prone.
Magic_Salad0892
08-01-11, 00:41
Won't a Galil magazine release fit?...
Sheepdog Tactical Gear
08-01-11, 20:03
Hey bro,
Good question and I'll say I'm a big fan of keeping it simple. I say just use your support hand to flip the empty out onto the deck, draw and rock-and-lock the spare, then flip the carbine and rack over the top and re-engage.
Yes, the "youtube reload" can certainly be faster but it's a bit more fumble-prone.
Respectfully that's going to be a very slow reload in comparison, I'd guess over 2 seconds difference though I haven't timed it yet to see. At your local range that's fine, but on a 2 way range real a speed reload is just that, movements should be minimized.
Best Ak reload I've seen and consequently the one I utilize is to use the front of the new mag, not the feed lips. The weapon should be canted charging handle down for a right handed shooter. That way you've brought the mag release and well into your workspace so you can see them. The front Top (above your hand not top of mag) of the mag is used to flick for lack of a better term the mag release/mag out of the way, new mag is rocked in, and then the weapon is charged from underneath with the support hand. That way you never have to re-establish your grip, and you can do it with the but still against your shoulder if you're wearing a properly adjusted sling. It takes a little practice but you can make these both very smooth and very fast.
The bash technique is a 99% solution. The pull-n-toss is a 100% solution. Bash is the fastest technique... right up until it isn't, and then it's agonizingly slow.
I reach under, not over, to charge the gun, but otherwise Jay has it spot on.
I reach under, not over, to charge the gun, but otherwise Jay has it spot on.
Over the top works easier and faster in more positions. Kinda like choosing between two shitty options, however.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKLnZuxqrIc
Anywho, the flip-out method takes more finesse and is way harder to do under stress. So yeah, pretty much agree with Jay. Depends on how much training one has. Obviously a reload-with-retention is the best choice but this thread is about emergency reloads so I digress
matthewdanger
08-01-11, 20:34
Thank you for the feedback everyone.
I can buy into just kicking out the mag with my support hand. When you miss with the "bash" method it can turn into a cluster pretty quickly.
I suppose I'll have to put them both up against the shot timer when I am at the range next time. I suspect that the difference will be marginal enough to merit going with the more foolproof technique.
This.
Hey bro,
Good question and I'll say I'm a big fan of keeping it simple. I say just use your support hand to flip the empty out onto the deck, draw and rock-and-lock the spare, then flip the carbine and rack over the top and re-engage.
Yes, the "youtube reload" can certainly be faster but it's a bit more fumble-prone.
This, but I go over the gun, tilting slightly to the left. If you find going under the gun works for you better, brother, rock on.
The bash technique is a 99% solution. The pull-n-toss is a 100% solution. Bash is the fastest technique... right up until it isn't, and then it's agonizingly slow.
I reach under, not over, to charge the gun, but otherwise Jay has it spot on.
This.......and the guy who took that video is an asshole. :cool:
Over the top works easier and faster in more positions. Kinda like choosing between two shitty options, however.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKLnZuxqrIc
Anywho, the flip-out method takes more finesse and is way harder to do under stress. So yeah, pretty much agree with Jay. Depends on how much training one has. Obviously a reload-with-retention is the best choice but this thread is about emergency reloads so I digress
NCPatrolAR
08-01-11, 21:15
The mag bash works great until you hit the paddle wrong and the mag fails to fall free. Sometimes the quickest method isn't the best.
I tried several ways to change mags at my LAV class - the simplest came out on top for me:
Remove mag
Insert fresh mag
Tilt and rack over the top
It takes all of about a second tops to remove a mag with your support hand as you move it back to get a new one. It took more than a second if my bash didn't work. I'm fairly certain my hand won't fail to eject a mag.
I'll stick to what I KNOW works until I find something else I KNOW works faster/better. If you don't have 1 second "extra" in your long gun fight you are a deadman anyway. If your under a second pull your secondary and finish the fight. There is no way I'm going to retain enough fine motor skill in a life threatening situation to make a bash work 100% of the time, I can't even get 100% at the range.
(100% no combat experience ever here)
infidelprodigy
08-01-11, 22:57
I am not a fan of the mag bashing method at all. Too many variables that can fall out of order resulting in a horrible and slow reload. Everyone can do a mag bash reload on the range, maybe even in your average carbine class. But can you do it after sprinting 100 yds? While sprinting that 100 yds? Can you do it when your hands are muddy, sweaty, or slick with blood? Can you do it when you can barely feel your hands because it is that f&*king cold out?
Personally, I can't guarantee a bash reload under those conditions, therefore it is not in my frontline "toolbox". If for whatever reason or TTP you are not retaining the spent magazine, simply remove it with your hand, access a fresh mag, insert, bolt (under or over, I work both position dependant) and go.
To the first video posted (post #2), what's the idea of rolling the gun over to look at the chamber area before starting the reload. I understand the validity of doing so with a M4 system as it is either locked back empty or malfunctioned. However with an AK, 99.9% it is just empty. Even if it was a dead round in the chamber, or a stovepipe, or any other "type 1" malfunction, undianogsitcally reloading the AK will fix all those issues. That is the beauty of the Kalashnikov over most other military rifles.
To the first video posted (post #2), what's the idea of rolling the gun over to look at the chamber area before starting the reload. I understand the validity of doing so with a M4 system as it is either locked back empty or malfunctioned. However with an AK, 99.9% it is just empty. Even if it was a dead round in the chamber, or a stovepipe, or any other "type 1" malfunction, undianogsitcally reloading the AK will fix all those issues. That is the beauty of the Kalashnikov over most other military rifles.
I am not a big AK shooter. I like to play around with the one that I have and it's cheap to shoot. What I did was out of pure habit from shooting my M4s. The "bash" technique as you guys are calling it has worked 100% for me but like I said, I am not a big AK shooter. I like to be a little proficient with some of the other popular military rifles though.
Looks like this Polish Commando is checking the chamber too.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYxhanNimA&NR=1
And he's manually ripping the mag out.
And he's manually ripping the mag out.
and reaching under. :p
An after all this effort... they gave him AR (HK416D165RS) last year and he must train anew ;)
Jay Cunningham
08-02-11, 09:36
I reach under the gun on occasion as well. It's a must if you're running an optic near the back off of the side rail.
I reach under the gun on occasion as well. It's a must if you're running an optic near the back off of the side rail.
Or if you have something like this:
http://en.fabrykabroni.pl/img/Mini-Beryl2.jpg
This is what Polish guy uses on video (with Aimpoint on rail and uderbarrel grenade launcher).
Basically if there is anything mounted or hanging over receiver it is better to reach under. And reaching under works as well where there is nothing in way on over, but allows to keep things consistent.
Sheepdog Tactical Gear
08-02-11, 14:54
I am not a fan of the mag bashing method at all. Too many variables that can fall out of order resulting in a horrible and slow reload. Everyone can do a mag bash reload on the range, maybe even in your average carbine class. But can you do it after sprinting 100 yds? While sprinting that 100 yds? Can you do it when your hands are muddy, sweaty, or slick with blood? Can you do it when you can barely feel your hands because it is that f&*king cold out?
Respectfully these factors will equally and often more so effect a "manual" mag change on an AK because you are using fine motor skills to activate the lever, that's part of the beauty of using the magazine, it utilizes a gross motor skill, not a fine one which will likely be degraded during a real fight. It's also why it's imperative you roll the weapon to bring the lever and magwell into your workspace. If you can't do it every time then the reality is you haven't done enough reps to acquire the proper muscle memory. Building the proper muscle memory takes at the very least 1000 reps to acquire and more often than not closer to the 3-5K range. Judging between the two given 20 reps a weekend class...then I'd probably go with the "manual" method as well...
As for timing...1.5-2 seconds...which is how much longer a "manual" change will take...is an eternity when rounds are actually impacting around you in a real fight.
Are we really combining buzzwords like "fine motor skills" and "muscle memory" with a completely ridiculously inflammatory and inflated time difference of 2 seconds?
:rolleyes:
I can't wait. In about 3 hours I'm going to have up to 20 guys with AKs where we can actually time the difference and look for those 2 seconds of lost time. This is gonna be awesome. I wish I had brought a video camera.
:D
Jay Cunningham
08-02-11, 14:58
This has been done to death, buuuut...
Everything you do with your AK is a fine motor skill, except for maybe bashing the charging handle off of a door frame to clear a stuck case.
Operating the safety/selector is a fine motor skill, pressing the trigger is a fine motor skill, racking the charging handle is a fine motor skill, performing a mag change is a fine motor skill... etc. Using the magazine to activate the mag release is just as much of a fine motor skill as anything else.
All this goes to show you is that there's more than one way to skin a cat. I wouldn't call either method, 'incorrect'. There are certainly configurations that would make it harder to go over the top and positions (especially unconventional) which make it harder to go under.
Like I said before, it's basically choosing between two shitty options :p
Well we only got 9 shooters due to threats of inclement weather, and we got off to a late start on top of that due to the weather issue. However, we did get through demonstrations and repetitions of
Loading
Unloading
Tac-loading
Emergency Reloads
-Bash
-Pull & Drop
Transition to handgun
and we performed our skills test of two rounds to the body, emergency reload, two rounds to the body, transition to handgun, two rounds to the head.
I say all of this to say that every shooter performed at least 4 repetitions of each emergency reload technique, and an additional 3 of the technique of his choosing, prior to putting everyone on the clock with each method. Again due to time constraints I was only able to run each shooter through one evolution of each technique for time. I verbally told them their split time for the reload and then came back and had them run it the other way.
Outside of those that fumbled, there was nowhere near a 2 second delay. In fact, some were FASTER with the pull-n-drop method than the bash method! With the data set we had to work with there wasn't much we could conclude about the difference in times, but the one thing we absolutely can conclude is that nobody is 2 seconds slower from one technique to the other. Nobody is even 1.5 seconds slower.
The other thing we can conclude both from this drill and the night as a whole, is people are going to revert to what they are comfortable with. I had shooters that ran the gun with their support hand ALL NIGHT, right up until we put the timer on them and then they wasted the time of pulling their strong hand off the grip to run the bolt. Meltdown under even the slightest of pressure.
Which brings me to the point I kept hammering home with these guys last night. You need to know and understand WHY you are shooting an AK in order to get the most out of it. If you're looking for weapon familiarization and you have a different primary you should make upgrades to the gun that reflect that (read, not many) and you should work on and develop techniques that are 100% solutions with minimal sustainment training. If the AK is your primary exclusive of all others you should make upgrades to the gun that reflect that (read, anything that makes you faster or more accurate) and work on and develop techniques that meet your needs and that you can sustain with interval training.
If you are in the first group, I personally suggest pull-n-drop. If you are in the second, the bash technique MAY work best for you.
As to reaching under/over, after last night I think everyone should be comfortable with both, regardless of which of the above groups you fall into. My suggestion is to have a preference that you automatically go to, but if you can't go to your preferred for some reason, you should be prepared to go to the other. I sill personally prefer under because the gun is already turned that way when I perform the reload and I don't have to turn it back again.
NCPatrolAR
08-03-11, 09:07
This has been done to death, buuuut...
Everything you do with your AK is a fine motor skill, except for maybe bashing the charging handle off of a door frame to clear a stuck case.
Operating the safety/selector is a fine motor skill, pressing the trigger is a fine motor skill, racking the charging handle is a fine motor skill, performing a mag change is a fine motor skill... etc. Using the magazine to activate the mag release is just as much of a fine motor skill as anything else.
Word
The whole fine/gross motor skill thing is BS
infidelprodigy
08-03-11, 15:23
Word
The whole fine/gross motor skill thing is BS
Agreed. With myself and the vast majority of the people I have worked with/taught the AK system to, it is infinitely easier and one has more tactile control utilizing his/her thumb on the mag release than trying to find it with the front edge of a magazine that he/she have no tactile feedback with.
I think rob_s performed a very good experiment regarding reloads.
I think rob_s performed a very good experiment regarding reloads.
+1
And I'd like to say thanks for taking the time to do it too.
I have always wondered how I have been able to use my slide release on my Glock, my magazine release on my Glock and my AR and a million other things since it is a "fine motor skill" and shouldn't be possible under stress. Hmmm......
matthewdanger
08-09-11, 18:48
[snip] Which brings me to the point I kept hammering home with these guys last night. You need to know and understand WHY you are shooting an AK in order to get the most out of it. If you're looking for weapon familiarization and you have a different primary you should make upgrades to the gun that reflect that (read, not many) and you should work on and develop techniques that are 100% solutions with minimal sustainment training. If the AK is your primary exclusive of all others you should make upgrades to the gun that reflect that (read, anything that makes you faster or more accurate) and work on and develop techniques that meet your needs and that you can sustain with interval training.
If you are in the first group, I personally suggest pull-n-drop. If you are in the second, the bash technique MAY work best for you. [snip]
Thanks for the data points from your AK training night Rob.
I may be reading between the lines a bit but it sounds like I am hearing you say that a shooter can train to the bash method much like using the slide release method on a reload (but if the AK isn't a shooters primary weapon, it may not be worth the training time). However, I hear others saying that, in their opinion, it is not necessarily a method that is worth pursuing.
I am not trying to cherry pick the quote to represent a pro bash method stance. I am just trying to be intellectually consistent since we know that techniques like using the slide release during a reload can be trained to (the slide release is an easy example).
Is the anti-bash method posters' position that the bash technique is something completely different than using the slide release since the mechanics of the technique are not completed with an actual part of the hand but rather with the magazine? Does this make the technique something that can not be reliable as a technique like using the slide release, even with adequate training?
In the end, it may not really make a difference for me since, largely due to this thread and some time spent with a shot timer, I have been doing dry fire reps of the clear the empty with my thumb method in order to make it my primary emergency reload technique. The AK is not my primary and I think there is a lot of wisdom in using the less training intensive technique.
My experience with all of the range experiments I've done with our group is that, surprise surprise, people are fastest with whatever technique they use most often. Speed loads on AKs, tac loads on carbines, drawstroke, whatever. So it can be hard to test these kinds of things.
However, in the case of our 9 shooters most of them were not familiar with the AK, and I'd say only one had spent much time practicing his manipulations. So I think it's a pretty pure sample.
Yes, the bash technique CAN work as evidenced by my own personal experience, but if you're going to take that experience as gospel you have to factor in that it also is a very perishable skill in that same experience and with even a month or two off the skill goes away.
I didn't miss a single bash the other night, but it doesn't mean that I won't miss the next one.
I've shot my brother's Arsenal a few times to get familiar with it, and he picked up the bash method from that Russian Spetsnaz guy (Sonny Puzikas?) where the idea is to scrape the magazine along the trigger guard until it contacts the mag release and kicks out the old mag, as opposed to aiming the edge of the new magazine at the magazine release. It seemed pretty simple to me at the time... is this "standard practice" as part of the bash technique?
I've shot my brother's Arsenal a few times to get familiar with it, and he picked up the bash method from that Russian Spetsnaz guy (Sonny Puzikas?) where the idea is to scrape the magazine along the trigger guard until it contacts the mag release and kicks out the old mag, as opposed to aiming the edge of the new magazine at the magazine release. It seemed pretty simple to me at the time... is this "standard practice" as part of the bash technique?
That was how I was taught it, and how I demonstrate it to others.
KalashniKEV
08-10-11, 09:25
Agreed. With myself and the vast majority of the people I have worked with/taught the AK system to, it is infinitely easier and one has more tactile control utilizing his/her thumb on the mag release than trying to find it with the front edge of a magazine that he/she have no tactile feedback with.
I'm glad to see some sanity out there regarding the bash method.
I'm a lefty, and fairly well versed with the AK, so my manipulations are fast. It always makes me crazy when some Freddy Cheeseburger type randomly (and unsolicited-ly) pops up and tries to enlighten me regarding this method... usually referred to as "the Spets-Naaaaaagghs Way."
Hey bro,
Good question and I'll say I'm a big fan of keeping it simple. I say just use your support hand to flip the empty out onto the deck, draw and rock-and-lock the spare, then flip the carbine and rack over the top and re-engage.
Amen.
It's easier to mess up the bash than it is to mess up grabbing mag as you normally would to remove it by grabbing the magazine with your fingers around the front which indexes it to get the thumb on the mag release and depressing the mag release with your thumb.
Sonny shows several ways to skin this cat. Check out the left handed reload at 4:30 that is just over 3 seconds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3XCMNYMHFM&feature=related
That 3-second reload is amazingly fast with that gun. Note that he reaches under. :p
One thing I found in our drills night was that many guys were, as we all tend to, trying to go too fast. The AK is VERY unforgiving of this. Any missed motion requires an agonizingly long period of time to recover from. A missed bash has to cycle back around and try again. A charging handle slip requires a similar re-cycling motion. A failure to rock the magazine in correctly can result in a magazine locked in the gun with the rounds too low to allow the bolt to pick them up.
While it's a good lesson for all things, learning the motions slowly and correctly on the AK is a must as it's far less forgiving of mistakes.
I've searched to no avail and I'm pretty sure this is a stupid question (and worse one to which I'm pretty sure know the answer), but is there any "signal" that one needs to perform an emergency reload on an AK47 beyond getting a click but no bang?
As most/all know with the AR, since the bolt stays open on the final round, there are immediate tactile and visual clues that you need to reload when you're out of ammo. It doesn't seem there's anything similar on the AK beyond a 'click'.
Also, are there any good videos/DVDs/etc on malfunction clearance and other important differences in running the gun. I (stupidly) bought "Fundamentals of the Kalashnikov" by Gabe Suarez, which I found completely worthless as he spends most of the video standing there talking about sling selection and so on with a little time on basics like trigger control. Unfortunately, however, I didn't see many other options. I guess I could get his 'Advanced' video but based on the one I have, I'm really not feeling dropping another $50 on another of his DVDs. I'd do a class but there are no AK-specific ones in my area and with a five month old son I'm probably not flying out to take one with Larry Vickers anytime soon.
I've found a few threads on the AK and can keep looking but was hoping there was something out there a bit better. Perhaps I'm over-thinking this and beyond a basic understanding of the differences in reloads and malf clearance, I simply need to practice the same fundamentals of trigger control, sight picture, stance, etc as with any other rifle. Advice appreciated.
I've only been to the range with the damn thing a couple times (and can't remember) but does the trigger *not* reset on the final round or something like that? Seems intuitively like it would whether a round was chambered or not, but I don't know enough about the internals to know.
One big reason I'm not a fan of the Yugoslavian magazines that use a follower that locks the bolt back is that the only real clue you get that you're out is that "click" on an empty chamber. With the Yugo mags, you just get a dead trigger.
As far as a video specific to the AK, I don't know of any that I recommend.
Doc Safari
08-16-11, 11:33
You need to know and understand WHY you are shooting an AK in order to get the most out of it. If you're looking for weapon familiarization and you have a different primary you should make upgrades to the gun that reflect that (read, not many) and you should work on and develop techniques that are 100% solutions with minimal sustainment training. If the AK is your primary exclusive of all others you should make upgrades to the gun that reflect that (read, anything that makes you faster or more accurate) and work on and develop techniques that meet your needs and that you can sustain with interval training.
.
Sage advice and it brings up a good reason why the AK is not a good primary weapon for most people.
I find that a lot of people purchase an AK for the cool factor or the Red Dawn factor to put it another way. They want it to be the ultimate combat weapon while maintaining its historical configuration. They don't want to upgrade it and thereby kill the gun's looks as it would be carried to the battlefield by Ivan Ivanov.
I have to plead guilty to this too.
Sure, a lot of people plan to keep an AK just in case society breaks down or some other bullcrap because of its so-called legendary reliability, but to remove the Red Dawn mystique by doing a bunch of tacticool modifications ain't gonna happen for most people. And that's why most AK buyers are better served by another platform other than the AK for serious stuff.
Not trying to hijack the thread but I have made the journey through training tactically with the AK and I find the gun is indeed better served with modern mods--and most people who love AK's won't make them.
Jay Cunningham
08-16-11, 11:49
There' s a school of thought that says if you're dedicated to the Kalashnikov "platform" ( :haha: ) there's something to be said for a bit of diagnostic gun-handling.
Sage advice and it brings up a good reason why the AK is not a good primary weapon for most people.
I find that a lot of people purchase an AK for the cool factor or the Red Dawn factor to put it another way. They want it to be the ultimate combat weapon while maintaining its historical configuration. They don't want to upgrade it and thereby kill the gun's looks as it would be carried to the battlefield by Ivan Ivanov.
I have to plead guilty to this too.
Sure, a lot of people plan to keep an AK just in case society breaks down or some other bullcrap because of its so-called legendary reliability, but to remove the Red Dawn mystique by doing a bunch of tacticool modifications ain't gonna happen for most people. And that's why most AK buyers are better served by another platform other than the AK for serious stuff.
Not trying to hijack the thread but I have made the journey through training tactically with the AK and I find the gun is indeed better served with modern mods--and most people who love AK's won't make them.
There's a whole lot of truth in that.
There's also a huge amount of push back from a lot of "AK Guys" to any Western accessory....and it boggles my mind. The BEST Russian optics are still at LEAST 15 years behind the better Western optics. Looking at pictures that have come out of former Soviet Union and it's satellite countries depicting efforts to upgrade the Kalashnikov system just makes you shake your head with the wrong headedness of it.
I personally have some AK's that I've kept "slick" or authentic, and I do run them in classes, but you get a huge force multiplier when you add a quality optic, white light, and (if you're right handed) tabbed safety lever.
I enjoy the historical aspect of the Kalashnikov and I could probably quote most of Red Dawn to you, but I don't operate under any illusions as far as the drawbacks and the strengths of the system.
Doc Safari
08-16-11, 13:04
I enjoy the historical aspect of the Kalashnikov and I could probably quote most of Red Dawn to you, but I don't operate under any illusions as far as the drawbacks and the strengths of the system.
It's been a while, but I think I remember seeing pics of some of your AK's posted here or on some other forum. IIRC, you've got everything from cool collectibles that I drooled over all the way to sidefolders set up with RDS and lights.
I think you strike the right balance between owning them for purposes of collecting and for tactical use. :cool:
I was more referring to "that guy" that buys one AK thinking he now has a weapon that doesn't need anything but mags and ammo to take on the zombie hordes. :D
AZ-Renegade
08-16-11, 14:44
I have not tried this on an AK, but the reload method I use for the M1A is as follows:
1. Fresh magazine is retrieved and held upright [as it would be inserted into the gun] with the thumb held straight at about a 90* angle from the magazine.
2. Place the thumb on the magazine release and push forward as you would with an AK magazine, unlocking the magazine release and flipping the empty magazine out of the gun simultaneously.
3. Rock the fresh magazine in place.
If this works with an AK, one would have better control over releasing and removing the empty magazine than using the reload magazine.
The M1A's mag release is easier on the thumb than the AK's and the magazine lacks the stamped rib, so this method with an AK may prove to be a little too harsh on one's thumb.
I am currently using an M92 and althought it's cool looking and short, I'll take an M4 any day of the week. I consider myself pretty good with it when it comes to loading, unloading, reloading, etc... but I am not going to break any speed records.
However, if I find myself in a situation and I am having to worry about "speed reloads" I'll be transitioning to handgun first.
.................Also, are there any good videos/DVDs/etc on malfunction clearance and other important differences in running the gun................
Beyond the Firearm Part II
https://www.gospelofviolence.com/store/
Won't a Galil magazine release fit?...
I just did this. I have not shot it yet. It does appear, to my inexperience eyes, to address some of the concerns expressed in posts here. You are able, by design, to push the mag release with your trigger finger (right handed shooting). So, you push the release forward with your finger, which then enables you to do a LIGHT bash to ease out the depleted mag.
It won't drop out on its own like an AR, of course, but you don't have to 1) hit the mag release "just right" with the mag body of the replacement mag, and 2) The system is more guarded from accidental magazine release (in theory), because of the Galil mag release design.
So, if I'm right, it will end up being a kinda mix of the two mag change approaches being discussed here. It's like you're thumbing the release in the sense that proper disengagment is pretty much assured as long as your trigger finger does its job, but you also get to have that good caveman full fingered grab on that incoming mag body, without the added complication of getting your thumb in there just right before you begin the release process.
Disadvantages with the Galil mag catch are that you CAN'T do the normal bash out. It's blocked. So, if that's how you've trained, then it will suck for you. But if you're an open slate, then I think it might be a cool mod for the handy. YMMV.
;)
I recently picked up a couple of the Galil mag catches. I don't understand what you mean by "blocked".
Thanks.
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/1130/img2361x.jpg
I'm sorry, I should have been more clear. I'm using the entire mag release system for the galil. Not just the catch. Meaning, the trigger guard too. Apologies for not being clearer.
S.
I am currently using an M92 and althought it's cool looking and short
For whatever reason, I always find the smaller something is the more your average fighting men want it--regardless if size negatively effects utility and usefulness. The Galil Micro is a pretty apt example of this.
However, if I find myself in a situation and I am having to worry about "speed reloads" I'll be transitioning to handgun first.
That is, assuming you are within your comfortable transition window of engagement.
I don't operate under any illusions as far as the drawbacks and the strengths of the system.
Nor I. It's funny that I've been called an, 'AK-hater' for being intellectually honest. During one such conversation with a zealot, my buddy Phillip interjected and said, "Uh, you do know that Dave has an AK tattooed on him--right?"
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