Can I chamber the first round from the breech?

[acpie360]

I am currently shooting USPSA Production Division using a Beretta 92FS. Since the gun allows directly loading a round into the chamber from the locked slide, I am wondering if I can chamber the first round from the breech without using a barney mag. Is there anything in the rule book that prohibits this? Thanks.

Edited September 11, 2012 by acpie360

[jualdeaux]

I can't recall any rule that prohibits it, but then I'm not a rule lawyer either.

Can't you magazines hold 11? If so, just put 11 in your first mag.

[wide45]

I am currently shooting USPSA Production Division using a Beretta 92FS. Since the gun allows directly loading a round into the chamber from the locked slide, I am wondering if I can chamber the first round from the breech without using a bunny mag. Is there anything in the rule book that prohibits this? Thanks.

Sure you can. There are no rules about what method you use to load your pistol no matter the make.

Range Ninjas might give you grief, but it does not mean they are right.

Don't be a stranger to the rules. Knowing them well will make you a stronger competitor.

[ParaGunner]

I know a local shooter that does it all the time. I'm just waiting to see how long his extractor can take it before it breaks.

[Poppa Bear]

You can but you are better off either loading to 11 on the first mag or using a barney mag. Dropping the slide on a chambered round is hard on the extractor.

[yoshidaex]

I don't see anything in the rule book about it being prohibited.

But "rolling" your extractor over the rim of the brass can't be good for the longevity of the extractor even if its spring loaded.

[Carmoney]

Uh-oh, you guys are passing on tired old 1911 folklore here!

I had always heard that it's hard on extractors to drop a round in the chamber and close the slide like that. Hell, it seemed to make sense, and I'm sure I heard the admonition many years ago from some old fart at the range or the gunshop--or maybe I read it in a gun magazine--and it imprinted on my brain.

But then I became aware of scientific testing that was done by gunsmith Ned Christiansen which proves it's not true.

Google it.

[yoshidaex]

m1911 forum thread regarding the extractor test.

[ErichF]

Springfield Armory says in their manuals to NOT drop a slide on a chambered round, due to possible extractor damage. So, it does depend on the gun.

[Carmoney]

Yeah, the research purely involved a 1911 extractor, which is the context where you normally hear that admonition. It might not necessarily apply to other types of pistols, but I would think the spring-loaded extractors on most other production pistols would be unaffected by snapping over a cartridge rim.

It's not a practice I engage in, or like to see--but once again, I suspect there is much more folklore in play here than reality--which is common with many things surrounding firearms. Self-annointed gun experts (and we all know several of those, right?) tend to pass along much misinformation, and in many ways the internet has only made it worse.

[Chuck Anderson]

Seen lots of chipped extractors on Glocks. I'm betting it's a result of doing a lot of double feed clearance practice at my agency Essentially the same thing, forcing the extractor to do something it wasn't designed to. I would minimize dropping the slide with a round in the chamber as much as possible. There's just no reason to do it.