Administrative Loading

As I understand it:

An administrative load is one where I am under no time pressure. This may occur at a range table, or at the firing line of a competition or training.

Common advice and practice seems to be to insert a full magazine and chamber the top round. Then remove the mag and load one more round in it, then reinsert the full mag so the pistol is loaded to the maximum.

Some make this process a little simpler by having a second fully loaded mag ready and inserting it rather than loading another round on top of the first mag. This is especially helpful when you cannot lay the loaded pistol down to work on loading the first mag. It works much better on a firing line when it is advantageous to keep the loaded pistol in hand.

I prefer to load the first round from a prepped mag with only one round. After chambering that round, I remove and stow the prep mag and insert a fully loaded mag. The gun never leaves my firing hand. This is faster and more secure than having to load one more round on top of a formerly full mag while still safely controlling a loaded pistol. It’s the same number of steps, just a little easier and safer, IMO.

Another reason I load just one round first instead of a full mag is the very rare possibility of either a stuck firing pin or a malfunctioning sear hammer/striker interface. The gun can go full auto on chambering the first round. Having loaded only one round, such an improbable occurrence would be much less dangerous.

This works for all magazine fed guns.

Of course, when there is no need to have a chambered round and a full mag, I think we all just load a mag with any number of rounds and chamber the top one.

Other thoughts or practices?

The only time I find myself having to do this dance is before the gun show, and I don’t have a stack of magazines to use so I don’t have an empty one handy that I can use for only the single round.

So I end up inserting the full mag, loading the pistol, removing the mag and topping it off.

Sevens said:

I end up inserting the full mag, loading the pistol, removing the mag and topping it off.

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What do you do with the loaded gun while you top off the mag?

IDK, it seems like an inordinate amount of T&E for ONE ROUND

you do you.

Holster. IWB on my right side.

Smoke said:

IDK, it seems like an inordinate amount of T&E for ONE ROUND

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Sometimes there are issues that only occur when a fully loaded magazine is used and it would be nice to find out about them at the range.

This often happens when someone replaces the stock magazine spring with an extra power spring in an attempt to correct problems getting the last round in the magazine into the chamber. Usually because they added an magazine extension and the stock spring does not have enough power to get that last round into position quickly enough and the slide rides over it.

I have never had it happen with a stock gun with stock magazines. But if I ever tried adding a magazine extension with an extra power spring I would want to make very sure it worked fully loaded before I trusted it. Leaving everything 100% stock is a lot easier and more reliable.

Like you said, lot of time and effort for one more round.

Smoke said:

IDK, it seems like an inordinate amount of T&E for ONE ROUND

you do you.

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LOL.... depends; if it's a 17rd M&P mag or a 7rd 3913 mag!!!!!

The only time I've used the "Barney mag" method (i.e. a mag with one round, hence the name) is in competition. When you're on the line, it's much faster with less fumbling, which everyone appreciates. In normal life, it's easier to pop the mag and add a round.


In almost 50 years of shooting, I've never heard of a gun going full-auto upon loading. It may have happened somewhere to someone, but it's surely not a high-enough likelihood to justify this method.

After years of competition and conducting state-required carry courses, I NEVER add a Barney Bullet to a semi auto.
I was forced to tell students NOT to do it in the state-required courses because of TIME and the number of people who would DQ due to a safety violation.
If you want to "top off" with a Barney Bullet, PLEASE learn how to do it safely, and PLEASE DON'T do it in the middle of a timed string.

After seeing how many people get so into the "top off" habit that they automatically do it under stress when they shouldn't, I decided to load the same way every time: quickly, smoothly, and no topping off.
You know, "practice like you intend to fight."

CB3 said:

What do you do with the loaded gun while you top off the mag?

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You holster it, then reinsert the mag while holstered.

Simple answer;

An 'Administrative Reload' is done while the sidearm is holstered, and the sidearm is 'Hot' (live round chambered).
With the sidearm in the holster, you remove the magazine, top it off and re-insert. Or, remove the magazine, and insert a fully loaded magazine. The idea behind an Administrative Reload is to change out mags without removing your sidearm from the holster. It's just a safety procedure to keep your sidearm fully loaded while not on the firing line since the sidearm never leaves the holster.

A 'Tactical Reload' is inserting a fresh (fully loaded) mag while the sidearm is still in your hand and you have expended X amount of rounds from the mag that is still in your sidearm. There is a technique that needs to be learned/practiced to perform this type of reload.

There is a difference between an 'Administrative Reload' and a 'Tactical Reload'.

OKFC05 said:

After years of competition and conducting state-required carry courses, I NEVER add a Barney Bullet to a semi auto.
I was forced to tell students NOT to do it in the state-required courses because of TIME and the number of people who would DQ due to a safety violation.
If you want to "top off" with a Barney Bullet, PLEASE learn how to do it safely, and PLEASE DON'T do it in the middle of a timed string.

After seeing how many people get so into the "top off" habit that they automatically do it under stress when they shouldn't, I decided to load the same way every time: quickly, smoothly, and no topping off.
You know, "practice like you intend to fight."

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I'm confused by your response. How do you put your gun into a +1 condition?

ScottS said:

I'm confused by your response. How do you put your gun into a +1 condition?

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You realize it's a waste of time and you don't

Smoke said:

You realize it's a waste of time and you don't

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Really? So your plan is a partially loaded weapon. Interesting.


Not that I'm really arguing, but can you name one reputable trainer who recommends the same procedure?

There are a few guns, including at least one currently made, which will hold more rounds in the mag than can be loaded into a closed gun. In other words, mag capacity supposedly eight, but you can't get a mag with eight rounds to lock into the gun unless the slide is back and locked. No 8 + 1, just 8.

ScottS said:

I'm confused by your response. How do you put your gun into a +1 condition?

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I don't.
I see no advantage in any of the competitions I shoot, and I see a couple of serious problems in training for defense.

One of the glaring problems I see in real life is that most people taking carry classes can't reload under the slightest pressure because they never practice it.

ScottS said:

Really? So your plan is a partially loaded weapon. Interesting.
Not that I'm really arguing, but can you name one reputable trainer who recommends the same procedure?

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Mike Seeklander, for one.
He and I come from the same school in Tulsa, run by the same trainer that trains the Tulsa police swat team. No topping off is allowed in the training, which uses blind stages and surprise targets. Each reload is expected to be when needed, as needed, and as fast as you can do it.
You may be standing with an empty gun in your holster getting a briefing and the range goes hot and you get a surprise target. Shoot it ASAP.

I have always thought an administrative reload involved replacing a partially empty magazine with a fresh full magazine while retaining the partial magazine in case you need it. Usually done while behind cover in a gunfight. I’ve generally considered a tactical reload to mean you’ve run the gun dry, drop the empty mag, insert a full mag, cycle the gun and continue shooting. But maybe my labels are wrong.

LPD256 said:

I have always thought an administrative reload involved replacing a partially empty magazine with a fresh full magazine while retaining the partial magazine in case you need it. Usually done while behind cover in a gunfight. I’ve generally considered a tactical reload to mean you’ve run the gun dry, drop the empty mag, insert a full mag, cycle the gun and continue shooting. But maybe my labels are wrong.

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Empty gun = Immediate Action reload! Nothing 'Administrative' about it. Load up and get back in the fight.

Partially Spent Magazine = Tactical Reload (Usually conducted behind cover/'break in the action'), when you remove the partially depleted mag and insert a fully loaded magazine.

ScottS said:

Really? So your plan is a partially loaded weapon. Interesting

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I never thought of it in terms of a partially loaded magazine. I fully load my magazine, insert it, chamber a round and go about my life.

If it comes down to ONE ROUND I brought the wrong gun.

ScottS said:

Not that I'm really arguing, but can you name one reputable trainer who recommends the same procedure?

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On this particular topic I don't care what reputable trainers think.

The return doesn't justify the effort IMO. I'm not going to all that trouble for ONE ROUND. The only time I'd top off the magazine is if I happened to have one extra round in the box.

You do you.