Newbie Tip: Loading a Magazine

Miscellaneous
#1

In the Women’s Handgun & Self-Defense Fundamentals book, Beth shares some advice she’s gathered from others in the industry:

Carrie Lightfoot of The Well Armed Woman teaches, you can think about loading ammo into a magazine kind of like loading candy into a PEZ dispenser.

There is a method and a rhythm to loading rounds in a magazine, and it may take some time to get used to or find what works best for you.

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And I love that @Beth chose to use Darth Vader PEZ dispensers to illustrate the concept. :rofl:

What other common items have you used to help explain firearms?

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#2

Ok with some mags, not easy with others. If the mag springs are still consider a magazine loader to save your thumb

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#3

Uplula… Just get one. Or two…

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#4

Anyone who didn’t hand load their magazines at my SO 20 or so years ago got shamed! I still do mine the old fashioned way.

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#5

I agree with @Fred_G.

Get an Uplula!! Saves fingers, time, curse words and worn out hands.

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#6

I still load by hand myself @MikeBKY. Call me crazy but I like it.

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#7

I can remember too many hours sitting around a pile of ammo cans “jamming mags”, stripper clips, single rounds, delinking machine gun ammo, relinking ammo for M-60’s It’s a ZEN moment.

To the original question, I was teaching this thin little blonde bundle of energy and could not for some reason explain to her the “squat” utilized in shooting and movement with pistol or rifle/carbine. She was a cheerleader, I asked her what movements she knew that required her to be in a precise place precisely placed. She talked about “the plant” prior to “throwing” another cheerleader to the top of a pyramid. I asked her to demonstrate. Low and behold it it was feet shoulders width apart, slightly squatted and leaning forward. She opined that if I ran at her and could get my foot in her hands she could throw me 6’ in the air, I did not question or challenger her. We just had to get her hands from a cupping motion to a draw motion. After a little hand work she developed one of the best “base stances” I have yet to see. In a foreign environment, translation is key.

Cheers,

Craig6

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#8

Some of us have had unfortunate issues, with degenerative nerve damage that we have to use a mag loader. I use one for all of my pistols to get the last few rounds in.

Got bit by a dog in my left hand and all my ligaments now attach to base of left thumb. Max strength grip between 20-30 lbs.

Right hand is fine but I can’t reliably count on fiddly bits to make it So I use a universal sized magazine loader
But thats just part of life for me now, so I guess.

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#9

I use mag loaders for all of my semi-automatic firearms. I do have some strength and inserting rounds into the mags. So I mag loaders for my .22ls, my AR-15, and one that will load for all other calibers but .22lr for handguns.

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#10

I use a magazine loader - I’d rather spend more of my range time shooting than loading magazines. :slight_smile:

Here’s the Uplula everyone’s been mentioning and how it works (I’m not trying to advertise for them, this is more of an explanation):

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#11

I hand load my magazines so far. I’m not opposed to using a loader, I just haven’t bought one yet.

When I get to the range I set up my targets, then pull up my chair and load my magazines. After firing them out I take a few minutes to assess my groups, then sit down and load up again. Of course, I’m not paying by the minute for range time so the relaxed pace isn’t an issue in that way.

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#12

I have this one as well. but the only problem is you cannot use it for .22lr. but I love it.

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#13

yep, using the UpLula… I like having thumbs I can use for other things :grin:

I have “hitch hiker thumbs” (thank you Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) … they bend back at a 90 degree angle and they’re not very sturdy for doing things like loading mags.

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#14

I have a friend, big burly former AF MP that uses UpLULA. I tried it. It takes some getting used to.
And loading by hand slows me down but I’m ok with that.

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#15

The UpLula is the best thing to come along in a long time. I bought a FN40 and the mags were almost impossible to load, I bought the Uplula, Problem solved.

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#16

Welcome to the Community, @Mike39!

I finally broke down and got one when I knew I was going to be shooting upwards of 500 rounds in a weekend class. I wanted my thumbs to survive. :smiley:

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#17

I really want what the H&K truck had mounted to the rear of it in the early 90’s. It was a machine into which you poured 9mm ammo by the can full. Then you took an MP-5 magazine and stuck it into the “receiver” then you hit the button. About 2 seconds later it ejected a perfectly loaded 30 round mag. I ALMOST had more fun with that than I did the MP-5 and other bits.

Cheers,

Craig6

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#18

I have one. love it. The unloader function comes in handy too.

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#19

@Craig6 heres the mini version:
Mag pump

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#20

I absolutely love this product. My fingers and thumbs are starting to feel the effects of age plus I work with my hands and play guitar. It’s also a quick way to reload at the range if you still have time to shoot!

1 Like