Firing without a magazine

[Rj1972]

Ok admittedly this question is only because I'm curious. I have absolutely no plan to attempt this, and no real reason why I'd want to.

I know some guns have a magazine safety. Some like it, some don't. My question isn't really related to it's usefulness. What I'd like to know though, is it DANGEROUS to fire a semi-auto without the magazine in?

I know your follow up shots are going to be a little slow.

But I was just curious if it hurt the gun or the shooter in any way.

 

[peggysue]

NO

 

[2ndsojourn]

Methinks it's a bit hard on the extractor.

 

[DPris]

Why would you think it'd be dangerous?
Denis

 

[Ghost22]

The danger lies in folks who eject a magazine and dry fire without checking the chamber. It sounded nuts to me too until I showed my (Army Vet) Granddad my new Buckmark. The first thing he did was eject the magazine and click the trigger while causally pointing the pistol across the room without checking the chamber. While everyone else was having kittens he defended himself say "IT WON'T GO OFF, THE CLIP'S RIGHT THERE!" Needless to say, it was the last time I handed him a firearm.

If I had a true carry only gun I wouldn't mind the mag disconnect. If someone tries to disarm me and I'm losing control of the gun, I could disable it by removing the magazine. However, since most of my latest purchases would also be used in IDPA, the disconnect would irritating when it came time to drop the hammer on an empty chamber to verify clear.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Methinks it's a bit hard on the extractor.

No more so than firing the last round in a mag...

Except, perhaps, with some 1911s, where the slide will slam forward on the extractor. (But for other guns, it should be a non-issue.)

For guns that don't lock back the slide with the last shot -- and that is the case with some -- it's no different.

 

[g.willikers]

About the only way that firing an autoloader without the magazine might be hurtful is if another shot would be needed.

 

[ttarp]

The mag disconnect is really just a crutch for unsafe gun handling practices(just my opinion), it helps keep the folks you hear about who put a hole in the dining room table(if they're lucky) from damaging their furnishings.

 

[aarondhgraham]

There is one other factor,,,

If your pistol has a mag disconnect,,,
And you were to lose/damage your mag,,,
Without a spare mag your gun is now just a club.

I know it's a small thing,,,
But if I were putting together a bug-out bag,,,
The semi- pistol I would choose would not have a mag disconnect.

I would rather have a functioning single-shot than nothing.

Mag disconnects are nothing but fodder for lawyers and gun control mavens.

Aarond

.

 

[gyvel]

The magazine safety is for those who have the occasional "brain fart." I, thankfully, personally have never been in a situation where the presence or absence of a magazine safety made any difference.

Originally Posted by 2ndsojourn
Methinks it's a bit hard on the extractor.

No more so than firing the last round in a mag...

Yes, in fact it could potentially hurt the extractor. It's not at all like the last round in the mag. If you drop a round in the chamber of a gun, then release the slide, the extractor has to snap over whatever rim it holds on to. In most, if not all, pistols the "rim" of the cartridge slides under the hook of the extractor. Forcing the extractor over an already chambered round could cause damage, especially in such pistols as 1911s, etc.

 

[ttarp]

It's not at all like the last round in the mag. If you drop a round in the chamber of a gun

For loading the gun sure, but we're talking about firing the bullet without the magazine, not about how it was loaded.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Yes, in fact it could potentially hurt the extractor.

I didn't get the sense that he was talking bout loading single rounds, but simply firing a round, already chambered, with the magazine removed.

For some guns it MIGHT be an issue... but not all guns. It would certainly depend on the extractor's design. As noted above (which I revised before reading your response), it might matter with some 1911s -- as unless there's a round being fed when the slide returns, the slide will close with extra force -- but for many other guns, it's a non-issue.

Then, too, some guns don't lock back the slide with the last shot, so in those cases, the effect on the gun would be the same as not having the mag in place.

 

[Rj1972]

Thanks for the info. I don't know I had some idea that maybe it was a "gas is escaping" scenario or something like a revolver out the front of the cylinder. Yes, I know that doesn't really make sense.

 

[gyvel]

I didn't get the sense that he was talking bout loading single rounds, but simply firing a round, already chambered, with the magazine removed.

My impression from the OP's post, was that he was talking about single loading rounds into the chamber with the magazine out or lost.

I agree with you that it probably wouldn't affect some types of extractors, but it most definitely would be detrimental for a 1911 type. Even more so if using Russian steel-cased crap.

Also, I wouldn't want to try it with a .22RF either. At least not letting the slide just slam home by using the slide release.

 

[2ndsojourn]

"My impression from the OP's post, was that he was talking about single loading rounds into the chamber with the magazine out or lost."

Mine too.

He went on:..."I know your follow up shots are going to be a little slow."

 

[Rj1972]

"My impression from the OP's post, was that he was talking about single loading rounds into the chamber with the magazine out or lost."

Sorry, OP here. I was really thinking firing, already chambered, magazine out.

He went on:..."I know your follow up shots are going to be a little slow."

Sorry, that was just a little joke.

 

[gyvel]

Sorry, OP here. I was really thinking firing, already chambered, magazine out.

LOL!! In THAT case, it's no different than firing with the magazine in.

Walt Sherrill was right, then.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

EXCEPT, if it's a 1911 and the slide can't lock back (i.e., no mag).

Your original concern about the extracter was appropriate for THAT type of gun. With SOME guns, and a 1911 is one, the slide slamming forward after the round is extracted might be damaging to the extractor...

 

[BillM]

I actually did have a problem---fired a Kel-Tec P32 without the magazine
and it unhooked a spring that lives in the grip. That was probably 15 years
ago, no problems with anything since.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

The danger lies in folks who eject a magazine and dry fire without checking the chamber. It sounded nuts to me too until I showed my (Army Vet) Granddad my new Buckmark. The first thing he did was eject the magazine and click the trigger while causally pointing the pistol across the room without checking the chamber. While everyone else was having kittens he defended himself say "IT WON'T GO OFF, THE CLIP'S RIGHT THERE!" Needless to say, it was the last time I handed him a firearm.

What army was your grandfather in, and when? The U.S. M1911A1 never had a magazine safety. As far as I know, the Beretta M9 doesn't have one, either. Your grandfather never learned gun handling like that in the Army (at least, not in the U.S. Army).