"drop free" magazine/mag well capability doesn't make sense.

[NCPatrolAR]

for the record, mag retention was not the point of this thread.

it goes hand-in-hand with the idea of grabbing a mag instead of letting it drop free for many.

It's about the inconsistency of letting a magazine eject itself automatically under the force of the BHO, and to train to always grab the magazine and toss it instead.

In most occasions the magazine release is going to be depressed when the gun is vertical which aids in the mag falling free. People who see inconsistent mag drop are typically releasing the mag when the gun is not vertical. Training yourself to always grab the mag during mag ejection is simply training yourself to work in a less eficient manner. You shouldn't base your training around what might happen; it should be based around what will likely happen. In the case of ejecting a mag from an AR; you are likely to see it drop free in most cases.

How does the Marine Corps/Army train soldiers to release a mag? Drop it with the trigger finger or reach over and press the release button with your thumb?

I don't know about the Marines; but right handed Army shooters use their right index finger to depress the mag release. Left hand shooters use their right thumb.

[kal]

Left hand shooters use their left thumb.

You mean their right thumb........right?

[NCPatrolAR]

You mean their right thumb........right?

Correct.

[Iraqgunz]

I depress the mag release while simultaneously grabbing a mag and bring it up. If the mag hasn't dropped free for whatever reason I will pull it out and insert the new one.

I honestly can say that it happens so infrequently that I can't remember the last time it happened.

[120mm]

You will certainly have empty mags hitting the ground during a class with Pat and virtually any other firearms trainer. The only person that I can think of that stresses mag retention for all of his students is Gabe Suarez.

Mag retention is something that will vary depending on what your "mission" is. For the non-military person (outside of some zombie horde situation) retaining an empty magazine serves no purpose other than to slow your reload speed. Even .mil members can find themselves in situations where having a fresh mag in the gun outweighs retaining an empty mag.

I believe his point was not mag retention, it was not depending on your mags to drop free. Of course, I have never been through an EAG course, and am only working on memory, so I could be wrong. Will look for the post where Pat discusses it on another site.

[120mm]

Found the reference, and yes, Pat teaches shooters to drop mags, but also doesn't think a non-dropping free magazine to be a malfunction and has a couple TTPs for dealing with that.

[stifled]

Why does the original post seem like a troll? I guess maybe because I can't think of one disadvantage to a magazine well that allows magazines to drop free...

[sammage]

Why does the original post seem like a troll? I guess maybe because I can't think of one disadvantage to a magazine well that allows magazines to drop free...

Perhaps seeking justification of having purchased a lower with an out of spec mag well?

[Failure2Stop]

I have shot from pretty much every alternate position. As long as the weapon can be rotated, the mag will generally drop free. For those times that the mag release is fouled the user can simply remove the mag in the gun as if performing a tac reload (something that should be practiced to ensure familiarity prior to the event in a gunfight). Then again, unless the gun is inverted or I am pulling negative G's, I don't have issues with properly checked mags. I vastly prefer to have the mag fall free when the magazine release button is pressed- it allows a more time-efficient reload process (with both rifles and pistols), which is a highly beneficial skill if you do not have a secondary to transition to.

Remember that we are all only one injury away from being one-handed shooters, and making one-handed reloads easier is positive trait; much more than purposely having the gun retain an empty magazine even after the magazine release is pressed. I do prefer ambidexterous controls for this reason.

I cannot think of a single reason that designing the weapon and/or magazine to NOT drop free is a superior choice.

[kal]

Perhaps seeking justification of having purchased a lower with an out of spec mag well?

My ar15 lower is in spec and ejects mags as it's supposed to. Obviously from different angles, it'll eject but won't fly out of the mag well.

Why does the original post seem like a troll? I guess maybe because I can't think of one disadvantage to a magazine well that allows magazines to drop free...

I cannot think of a single reason that designing the weapon and/or magazine to NOT drop free is a superior choice

I didn't say anything about redesigning the rifle. My arguement was simple, because sometimes the magazine will not eject all the way and will hang in the mag well due to the angle the rifle is being held, it's easier to train to always grab, rip out, and toss the magazine for the sake of consistency.

If you're used to handling your ar15 system a certain way, that's fine.

This thread was never about redesigning the mag well in any way, shape, or form.