Hi:
Is the method of loading one (1) less round in a pistol magazine to make inserting the magazine and working the slide easier still used?
Thanks,
Jimmy

While I do load less into my magazines, it is to preserve the magazine springs, not make the gun function better.

You decide.

Load your magazine to capacity with the most expensive ammo you can buy.

Close the slide.

Now SLAM that magazine into the mag-well a dozen times.

Inspect the round on the top of the stack in the mag.

Inspect the round beneath the top round.

What say you about the condition of those rounds?

What say you about the amount of force required to get the full-to-the-max magazine properly seated on a closed slide?

Now try the same exercise with the mag "down-loaded" by one round.

What say you about that?

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

You were not by any chance a "rider" on the short bus when you were younger- Was Ya?

Instead of that, try this:
Lock the slide open on your gun, slide a full magazine into your gun & press the slide release- Like That Huh- Yeah

When I was in the Navy, they only allowed us to load 5 rounds in the mags of our 1911's. I was told it was to save wear on the mag springs.

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

Seagill, when I was in MP school we were also instructed to load 5 rounds in our magazines. It is my belief that this dates from when they loaded 5 rounds in the SAA. The military is not good at change.

Or, you could drop the slide on a full mag then remove said mag and "top it off" with one additional round. Unless you have a firearm that balks at this (your smith should not do this) you will have full capacity and the rounds are in fine shape. Mag spring strength is just plain silly for an argument. They are cheap and plentiful IF they go bad on you. It is the cycles that weaken the spring not being loaded. As ex military please believe me when I say that everything we learned doesn't necessarily pass the common sense test. There is nothing wrong with questioning training (from anyone btw) if it doesn't make sense and they can't explain a valid reason.

Dear Lord, I hate to jump in on this one. If you have a pistol that holds 15 rounds in the magazine, you can load 15 plus 1 in the chamber. That being said, from schools I have been to plus personal experience, I only load 15. That is 14 in the magazine and 1 being stripped off the top and into the chamber. I do not take the magazine back out and top it off. The reason? As I have been taught and observed, it requires extra pressure to insert the magazine once it has been topped off. This is the magazine spring being stressed beyond it's design capacity. Think about it; the final round is forcing follower and spring down beyond it's intended limits.

That being said, it probably won't make much of a difference either way. And as Pedro said on spring wear, it is repetitions of the spring being compressed and relaxing that wears out the spring NOT keeping it loaded.

Now, let the firestorm begin

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N.R.A. BENEFACTOR Member

Made for 15, well then it gets 15, just my two cents.

An interesting thing about that,
I read where a pile of loaded mags was left along with a Colt 1911 for about 50 years in a safety deposit box. All mags were test fired and all functioned normally, no apparent loss of spring tension was found

if the mag is supposed to hold 15 rounds, then load it with 15 rounds. All the internal parts have been designed that way.

Thousands of mag springs wouldn't cost the Navy beans compared to one F-18 Hornet dumped into the drink. But I guess they had to cut costs somewhere.

We carry a full magazine in the gun and one in the chamber. That is considered "duty ready". We are trained to load the magazine to capacity.....lock slide back....release the slide.......eject and top off......reinsert magazine, holster weapon. We carry the M&P 45 (junk).......and this is the way we were trained even when we carried the 4566.

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Un-Reconstructed Southerner

In my M.P. unit we always topped off our 1911A1's.

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20 years Mil, 18 yrs Sac P.D.

Not by me. I've never subscribed to any of the reasons for downloading mags on any of my guns. I buy quality guns and quality mags and load 'em up, no troubles.

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!