In two movies and in another two tV shows, this happened:

Someone picks up an AR , because it is going to be needed very soon , to shoot someone else.

And all four of these people , push a button, then pull out the mag ,from the rifle,
then they look at the top cartridge ( the one that is visible)

then they re-insert the magazine in too the mag well.


My question is what are they looking at?

are they looking to see if there is a bullet there?

what does seeing 1 round of ammo tell someone?

They do not count all the rounds in the magazine , they just seem to want to see that there is at least one round in there

do most AR mags have windows on the side ? to be able to see how full the mag is?

When looking at the bullet end of the top of the magazine, you can generally see if it has a few or more than a few rounds in it.
Can you accurately count the rounds? NO.
Will you know if you have 5 or more? Yes.

Is it common to do while under fire? No.
Is it a quick verification of magazines once there is time? Yes.

As for Hollywood, it serves as a visual aid o show that the actor might? know what they are doing, and to build suspense as if they are looking to verify the magazine is holding rounds, they might not be able to fire off 100 rounds from it/

You can sometimes tell from looking down into a mag, combined with the weight/feel, roughly how full it is. (Very roughly, as in "only a few rounds", "more than a few rounds but not close to full", or "full/nearly full".)

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
what does seeing 1 round of ammo tell someone?

When looking at the top of an AR magazine, you can see more than just one round. For example, looking at this photo of an AR magazine, you can tell that there are at least 4 rounds in it. And if the photo were taken more directly overhead, you could likely see a few more:


But no, it's not a great way to count the rounds in a magazine. The bottom line is: it's Hollywood. The stuff they do with guns often has little to no basis in reality. The actors do stuff because they're told to, and oftentimes someone tells the actors to do it either purely because it "looks cool" or because they think it makes the character look like they're experienced with guns (even if it leaves the real gunowners scratching their heads).

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
do most AR mags have windows on the side ? to be able to see how full the mag is?

No, most do not.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

The characters are just doing that to tell the audience that shooting is imminent. Racking slides when they take the gun out of the holster is another one. Cocking sounds when the person has a Glock is also used because that sound is a prompt to the audience.

I do like to make a press check to see if an AR mag is loaded to correct capacity, ( not fully loaded or over loaded ) but I can generally tell by the weight of a mag if its nearly empty or mostly full.

Pretty much the only reason to remove and look down into a mag would be if was not feeding properly, etc.

What you would do in real life is:

1) Note which round is the top one (whether it's on the left or right side).

2) Insert the magazine.

3) Chamber a round.

4) Extract the magazine and see if the new top round is on the same side as when you first inserted the magazine or not.

It shouldn't be on the same side if you properly chambered a round since the rounds alternate (i.e. if, when you first inserted the magazine, its top round was on the left, then you chambered a round and pulled the magazine back out, the top round should now be on the right).

The point of doing this would be a insure that you've actually loaded a round. It's basically a soft press check. With semi-auto rifles, it can be harder to see if the bolt has fully gone into battery and some rifles do not have forward assists. So it's "safer" to pull the magazine out and re-insert it than to pull the bolt back and then let it slide back into place. By riding the charging handle, or preventing the bolt from moving forward at full velocity, you can induce a failure to go into battery and not know it (because the bolt/chamber area is hidden inside the receiver). Yes, a knowledgeable user might be able to tell that the bolt carrier is further back than normal, but it's not a easy to see a failure to go into battery as it would be on a pistol.

What Hollywood is doing?

Who knows.

1) Yup, it's loaded.

2) Ooo! Look! Something shiny!

3) No, they're not blanks.

4) It's probably the Hollywood rifle equivalent of racking the slide, since most people have no idea how to charge a rifle, but they do know what a magazine ("clip") is.

My process when loading is to turn the rifle sideways and watch the round chamber then I know for sure it is ready to roll.

Checking to see if the boolits are in the clip backwards

I don't know the circumstances of finding the weapon. But if I find a 'random' AR on the ground that looks functional and I might need -soon- I'm going to pick it up, drop the mag to see if there are rounds in it (and this will also give me an idea the number by visible inspection and weight, inspect the rest of the weapon for obvious faults, pull the bolt to the rear and inspect that the barrel is clear and charge the thing.
Now if the guy who was just shooting the thing was right next to me I'm going to pick it up and still drop the mag to see what the ammo situation is and charge it. Unlike most Hollywood this doesn't sound totally stupid.

LDD is correct above.

Its to make sure that a round is chambered.

When you stick a full magazine in, the top round will be on the left (or right) side of the magazine.

When you pull the charging handle, a round is loaded.

Pull out the magazine to verify that the top round in the magazine is now opposite of what it was before you charged the weapon.

Its an alternative to press checking to verify that a round is in the chamber.

The technique is not just there to look cool for TV. It has a valid tactical purpose.

Most infantry and police that were trained on an AR15 platform rifle should have been taught this technique, among others.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
Its to make sure that a round is chambered.

The technique is not just there to look cool for TV. It has a valid tactical purpose.

No, it's not the technique to ensure a round is loaded, as you and LDD have described. (LDD even points out in his post that this isn't what Hollywood is going for...) That could be true if the actor did it as part of the process of chambering a round, but they don't.

Instead, the typical scenario is that the hero simply picks up a rifle, removes the mag, looks inside, reinserts the magazine, then goes off to fight the bad guys. It's the Hollywood way of suggesting that the hero has ensured he has a fully loaded magazine, and that he's now ready for battle.

It's also used to imply that the character has some knowledge of firearms, since they know how to eject the magazine and reinsert it. Hollywood does that with handguns too... There's the old trope of the hero handing a gun to a supporting character, asking if they know how to use that. The sidekick's reply is to drop the magazine and slap it back in, apparently as a way of demonstrating "Yeah, I know about guns".

He's just making sure they're not green tips as to not damage the back stops.

If grabbing a rifle I didn't know the status of, I would likely drop the magazine to see what I had and the check to ensure a round was chambered.

Or if in haste, simply chamber another round and you'll know it's loaded.

And I was taught to watch the round being chambered, that way there is no doubt you have one in there. No need to drop a magazine again and thing "was it left or right?". You see the round being chambered.

And if they drop the mag, look and sigh, you know he's low on ammo.

Sometimes things are just a visual story device.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
In two movies and in another two tV shows, this happened:

Someone picks up an AR , because it is going to be needed very soon , to shoot someone else......

If you're ever in this situation -- by all means do what the director wants when he calls "Action", the camera is rolling, and the clapboard is clapped.

For the rest of us who don't earn our livelihood on the silver screen, a reputable carbine course will teach you the basics of all things AR.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
In two movies and in another two tV shows, this happened:

Someone picks up an AR , because it is going to be needed very soon , to shoot someone else......

If you're ever in this situation -- by all means do what the director wants when he calls "Action", the camera is rolling, and the clapboard is clapped.

For the rest of us who don't earn our livelihood on the silver screen, a reputable carbine course will teach you the basics of all things AR.

BOOM.

Fritz from the top ropes with the suPLEX!!!! Bam, 1-2-3, Bendable has been pinned!!! It's over!!!!

But wait, there's more....

Bendable's partner distracts the ref, just as he calls for the pin. Bendable comes to life and elbows Fritz in the solar plexus. Fritz rolls off too soon, the ref now looks back, and there's no pin.

Bendable leaps over to his corner, tags his partner, who grabs a folding chair. Said partner smacks Fritz in the back with the chair, who falls to the deck. Bendable and his partner pile on Fritz, who now seems lifeless.

The ref starts the count, however Fritz's partner throws the ring bell at the ref, knocking him out, and there's no count to three.

To be continued.....

. .