+1 or not. How do you do it?

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Being budget-minded, I have avoided really inspecting my rounds for the infamous "set-back" discussed in another thread on this site. I have been carrying my XD .45 with full mag +1 since September and have not bought any new carry ammo (it's been a tight semester). Well, like many of us do, I enjoy dry fire practicing and clear my weapon at least once a day, normally rechambering my +1 round by putting it into the chamber and "gently" pushing the slide back down on it. This has caused visibly noticeable setback in three of my rounds, and I have therefore decided to discard them (advice on doing so safely?).

This is also definitely a bad technique as far as your extractor goes. If it breaks, I really can't afford to fix it right now, so I'm not going to do this anymore.

My thinking is that I am going to start chambering from the magazine (as the gun is designed to do), drop the magazine, top it off, and re-insert the magazine.

I also understand that such chambering also can cause "set back." So, what in the world do YOU do? What is your technique for loading your weapon? Do you throw away a chambered yet unfired round? I know it's only 25 bucks for a new box of ammo (I have neither the equipment or knowhow to reload), but is that the proper way to go? Throwing away ammo?

:banghead::banghead::banghead:

I want to change my habits for the better, but I'd like some advice on the best way to do it.

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I've always chambered a round from the magazine, drop the mag & top it off. I get to get some practice in doing it that way ...

tap, rack, get back in the fight & another reload after that.

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I have a good way to solve your problem. Get a revolver

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imperialism2024 wrote:

I have a good way to solve your problem. Get a revolver

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S&W's new M327 TRR8 .357 is looking pretty sharp (in the new custom Combat Handguns mag)! 8 shots of .357 magnum... almost as good as 11 of .45 ACP! If I had oodles of money to buy me a new gun, I think a good .357 wheelgun would be my second choice (my first is the KT PF9 that I currently have on "layaway" at the shop!)

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you are doing it wrong. put the mag in the XD slide forward, drop mag top of mag reinsert mag.

I have loaded and unloaded my carry round many many many times in the two months its been on duty and it shows no signs of setback.

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murphyslaw wrote:

you are doing it wrong. put the mag in the XD slide forward, drop mag top of mag reinsert mag.

I have loaded and unloaded my carry round many many many times in the two months its been on duty and it shows no signs of setback.

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This is the method I'm going to try for a little while. We'll see how it works.

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An inexpensive micrometer will reveal set back. Some ammunition and some guns seem more susceptible to it than others. The statistics are an interesting exercise.

I am frugal with my carry ammo - Federal EFMJ - and shoot only what has been in the magazine and that at the end of a drill session.

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From what I understand, older Glocks are more susceptible to this problem than other semiautomatics. My Glock 19 is a first generation model, and I've had it for years. It's seen a lot of use. I've rechambered my carry rounds countless times and rarely replaced it with new self-defense ammo. I know that it's recommended we do so for reliability reasons as well as safety issues, but like the original poster said, cost is an issue for me as well.

Anyway, I'm sure that I've had setback on my old self-defense ammo, but it fired perfectly when I'd replaced it and used up the old stuff at the range. Maybe my gun got dangerously close to bursting, maybe it didn't. I guess I'll never know. In the future however, I'll try to keep rechambering old ammo to a minimum because I don't want a Glock slide protruding from my forehead next time I use up old ammo.

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In my understanding, loading a semi-auto through the chamber (rather than via the mag), applies bending force tothe extractor in a way it is not normally stressed - therefore putting it at risk.

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What can you do with 13+1 that you can't do with 13? (from another XD 45 owner) Heh. I stopped doing the mag/rack/drop/load+1/remag deal when I realized I hope I'll never need 14 instead of 13. If I really feel irky that day I'll just carry a spare reload and 26 is more than enough for anything I'd consider.

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unrequited wrote:

What can you do with 13+1 that you can't do with 13? (from another XD 45 owner) Heh. I stopped doing the mag/rack/drop/load+1/remag deal when I realized I hope I'll never need 14 instead of 13. If I really feel irky that day I'll just carry a spare reload and 26 is more than enough for anything I'd consider.

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The issue here is not having as much ammo as possible in your gun, it's about having a round chambered so you don't have to waste time racking the slide in an emergency. If that round in the chamber stays there until it's needed then this whole thread is a nonissue, but unless you don't mind wasting such expensive ammo on paper targets you WILL be unloading and reloading your gun with self-defense ammo before and after practicing with your carry gun.


I currently carry a .45 with 7+1 and one spare magazine.

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I assumed he was carrying condition 1 if he's asking about a +1. So the only real advise is to just unload your top 2-5 cartridges and place them in a random order. That way you extend that magazine's life by 2x-5x depending on how much hassle you want.