ATAC TV Firearms staff ALWAYS carries extra magazines. Seems reasonable if you have a loaded rifle in your hands, extra ammunition is a good idea in any situation and with the Mini 14, which means extra loaded magazines. If you are going to venture farther than 20 feet from your car or pick up with a rifle, you should be carrying an extra magazine or two just in case you need it. Having the extra ammunition in your pocket or carrier is much better than needing more cartridges and not having them. So, carry more ammunition, get it?

There are a couple of different reloads you might encounter shooting your Mini 14. Lets break them down separately.

Rifle with partial depleted magazine:

You have fired some rounds, but you want to make sure the firearm is as full of ammunition as it can carry, here is how you fix it.

• You are in no hurry to do this; look around to make sure you don’t have to shoot immediately.
• Trigger finger goes straight along the frame of the rifle, tuck butt of stock under your arm to support the weight of the rifle.
• Non-firing hand grabs the magazine; while the thumb pushes the magazine release lever, then rock that magazine forward out of the well. Put the partial depleted magazine in your pocket while looking around evaluating the situation.
• Get a full magazine out of your pocket or carrier, insert it into the magazine well hooking it on the front post and rock it back until the magazine release lever locks in place.
  
• You have time to chamber check to guaranty there is a loaded cartridge in the chamber. Once you know the rifle is completely loaded, go about your business.

Gun is Empty:

Ok, you been shooting at all kinds of things, or just haven’t been hitting whatever it is you are shooting. The rifle runs out of ammunition and normally the bolt will lock open when this happens. There is no trigger, meaning you press the trigger and nothing happens. Glance down into the ejection port and see that it’s all black and dark in the port. The magazines follower is sticking up and there is no brass or cartridges visible. The gun is empty.

• Trigger finger goes straight along the frame of the rifle, tuck butt of stock under your arm to support the weight of the rifle.
• Non-firing hand grabs the magazine; while the thumb pushes the magazine release lever, then rock that magazine forward out of the well. Put the empty magazine in your pocket or if you are in a huge hurry, dump the magazine on the ground.
• Get a full magazine out of your pocket or carrier, insert it into the magazine well hooking it on the front post and rock it back until the magazine release lever locks in place.
• Get back on the target and sights ready to shoot again.

Either of these reloads takes practice with your equipment to become proficient with the Mini 14. In the tactical world, these reloads are called Combat, Emergency and Tactical loads. Call them anything you want but it amounts to reloading the rifle in any situation. Watch the ATAC TV video linked below for a demonstration of these reloads.

WATCH VIDEO HERE: Ruger Mini 14 Reloads

Well, you bought a Ruger Mini 14 and you want to run out to the range and shoot it. Great Idea! But first, you should review the factory manual and watch the Mini 14 instructional programs on ATAC TV. You should be familiar with the operation and controls of the carbine before you add ammunition to the mix.

Safety is the most important issue to consider. Do you know the 4 universal safety rules for handling and shooting firearms? Let’s do a quick review of them before you go out to the range.

ALL SAFETY RULES APPLY! Loading and unloading should be performed at the RANGE or in an appropriate area, as you will end up with a LOADED FIREARM!

Always abide by the four rules of gun safety:

1. All guns are loaded. (Treated as such)

2. Do not point the muzzle at anything you are not willing to destroy.

3. Finger off the trigger, out of the trigger guard until sights are on target.

4. Be sure of your target and foreground/background

Ok, you know the safety rules and you have the new Mini 14, a magazine, ear & eye protection and some proper ammunition for the caliber of your rifle. There are standard procedures that must be followed to assure your safety and those around you. For reference, watch the Mini 14 instructional videos on ATAC TV Firearms Channel to understand these directions fully. Here we go, lets load this blaster to make some noise.

Here are steps to properly and safely get your rifle ready to shoot:

• Load the magazine with cartridges, push the cartridge under the feed lips of the magazine and slide it back to the rear of the magazine body. Keep doing this until you have enough rounds in the magazine for the task at hand and then set it aside or in your pocket and/or magazine carrier.
• With the muzzle pointed downrange, move the safety lever to safe, chamber check by pulling the opperating rod handle back and watch the bolt open while looking into the chamber to verify that it is empty. Release the op-rod handle allowing the bolt to snap closed.
• Insert the loaded magazine into the magazine well hooking the front of the magazine on the small pin and rocking the magazine back until the magazine catch locks in place. Rock the magazine to be sure it is properly seated and locked in the carbine.
• Roll the rifle over on its right side, with your non-shooting hand reach under and rack the op-rod handle back as far as it will go and release. This should have pushed a cartridge out of the magazine into the chamber and locked up.
• Chamber check, pulling the bolt back to expose the cartridge coming out of the chamber and release so the recoil springs can snap forward and close. This gun is now ready to fire.

Ok, you fired a few rounds and need to unload the gun. Here is the sequence to unload the rifle safely:

• Apply the safety and chamber check to verify it is loaded.
• Remove the magazine by thumbing the magazine catch forward and rocking the magazine out of the rifle. Stow that magazine in a pocket.
• Rack the op-rod handle back and either capture the round or let it drop on the ground.
• Chamber check or lock the bolt to the rear with the bolt catch and visually check the chamber to ensure it is empty. Stick your finger into the chamber to feel the opening just to be sure there is no cartridge.

So, you have loaded and unloaded your Mini 14. Be sure to always follow the safety rules and procedures while handling and shooting your rifle. Accidental discharges of any firearm can be deadly or serious injure you or your friends. Learn proper techniques and your will become a better shooter and safer. Watch the video linked below for additional details of loading & unloading on ATAC TV.

WATCH VIDEO HERE on ATAC TV: Ruger Mini 14 Loading and Unloading Program

Many factors affect the flight of your bullet, as many of you know.  The ATAC TV Firearms guys put high value on anything that will affect bullet flight. A lot of shooters spend a vast amount of time and energy taking barometric pressure readings, ambient temperature readings, calculating the Coriolis effect (Spin of the earth) and Spin drift (spin of bullet), all that affect the bullet flight. But, what about the ammunition that sits out in the sun or is exposed to freezing temperatures? The most long-range shooters are always looking for ANYTHING that has an effect on bullet flight, and might be overlooking this simple issue.

Cartridge temperature is a very important factor that can affect the flame/burn time of the propellant inside your cartridge, including the velocity of a bullet exiting your barrel. You should be recording the ammo temperature when you zero your rifle. Shooters tend to document everything else, why not the cartridge temperature that can affect accuracy.

We were at the range recently and a fellow was set-up and shooting right next to me was discussing a problem that had been occurring. His rifle is shooting low for about the first hour in the morning, then after an hour or two the rifle starts shooting zero again.  We asked what procedure did he use getting ready to come to the range.  He thought we were a little nuts, but told me his actions prior to getting to the range. He loaded all his gear in the truck the night before to be ready to go to the range. Including his ammo. It had been a very cold night.  So now he sits with all his ammo lined up on the bench in a row, getting some sun in the bright morning. In Northern Arizona, nighttime temperatures during springtime are roughly in the 40’s. The cartridge temperature in the sun was 88 degrees after an hour in sun. This might make a difference? Yea!  Test it for yourself and know first hand what/how these small issues can affect your shots down-range.

Does this matter to the ammunition in your magazine of the M-16 on your back? Not that much because precise shots out of a sniper rifle have to be pin-point accuracy, where it will not be noticeable in the normal range of the AR/M-16 platform.

On your next outing to the range with your sniper rifle, bring an iced cooler with 5 rounds in a waterproof container. Let another 5 rounds sit in the sun for ½ an hour or so.  Then, shoot a couple of groups back to back.  You will be very surprised.  It might be a good idea to carry 5-10 rounds in your pocket for this very reason.  Try it for yourself, and find out that IT DOES MATTER!

Lenny Bolton,

ATAC TV and Venom Tactical

ATAC TV Firearms Channel

Tom Clarke and Lenny Bolton with ATAC TV Firearms share with you insights about the proper way to make hits at long distance. Trigger control is a very important component in the sequence of shooting for the sniper rifle. This is a five part series; make sure you understand the first 3 parts of the Sequence of Shooting with optics before you continue on with Part 4, Trigger Control.

Assuming your D.O.P.E (Data On Personal Equipment) is correct and your wind calls are accurate, most misses can be attributed to poor trigger control. Although trigger control is very important with any weapon platform, it has greater relevance when shooting at long range. An example of this: A sheet of standard writing paper is .003 thousandths of an inch. Upset the rifles bore axis .003 at the rifle will affect the point of impact .300 thousandths at 100 yards and 3 inches at 1000 yards.

Trigger control is described as: The first pad of you index finger is centered on the trigger, and the free slack (movement or slop) of the trigger is taken out of the trigger movement, sight is aligned, you have achieved sight picture, you are at repertory pause, and you begin your smooth press the trigger straight to the rear and achieve a controlled trigger break without disrupting sight picture or alignment.

At the moment that the decision has been made to start the trigger press, ideally breathing should be at the empty lung pause of our regular breathing cycle and our ocular focus should be on the cross hairs of the rifle scope. These are discussed in previous installments of the sequence of shooting. Pressure on the trigger should be ever increasing until the trigger breaks smoothly without weapon upset. Rifle set-up should allow the trigger finger to apply pressure centered on the trigger with the middle of the pad of skin covering the distal phalanges of the index finger. The trigger should be held to the rear disengaged position momentarily after firing. This is much like the top of a golf swing after hitting a golf ball.

This brings you to the beginning of Follow Through, discussed in a Part 5 segment.

Watch the video with Lenny and Tom to pick up fine details of this incredibly important part of the Sequence of Shooting with optics.

Watch Now: Sequence Of Shooting Part 4 of 5 Trigger Control

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Tom Clarke and Lenny Bolton describe the importance of the Follow Through to complete the process that will help you hit the target, if all other factors are right. This is the final stage of the Sequence of Shooting. You should have reviewed the first four parts and are ready to deliver the shot on target.

ATAC TV Part 5 of the Sequence of shooting discusses Follow Through. Follow through is what is performed after the trigger is pressed. We have to understand that the bullet is sitting happily atop the cartridge, in the chamber of the rifle at the moment the trigger is pressed. When the trigger breaks the sear disengages the firing pin. The firing sequence is released and spring tension propels the firing pin forward overcoming the inertial weight of the pin. The firing pin hits
the primer of the cartridge and the primer ignites the powder charge.
Expansion of gases takes place. When the pressure inside the cartridge overcomes the interference fit between the cartridge neck and the bullet, the bullet starts its journey down the barrel of the rifle. This is referred to as internal ballistics. We have to remember the bullet
is being accelerated from a standing start.

Although this all seems to happen in a short period of time, there is still plenty of time to screw up this process by the upsetting the shooting platform before the bullet leaves the barrel. Flinching is one of the main causes of poor follow through. Plenty of dry practice is just what the doctor orders to insure perfect follow through. It is essential with precision shooting to be able to call the shot each and every time the trigger is pressed. This means calling out the precise location of the riflescope crosshairs at the moment the trigger is pressed. Telling your spotter where the crosshair was the moment the shot broke allows him to give you corrections to the target. This is discussed in another program called Shooter/Spotter Communications.

Watch the video below as Tom Clarke and Lenny Bolton express the importance of combining all the elements in the Sequence of Shooting to improve your skills with your sniper rifle.

Watch Now on ATAC TV: Sequence Of Shooting Part 5 of 5 Follow Through

Tom Clarke and Lenny Bolton with ATAC TV discuss how important breathing is to the accuracy of your shots. Our thoracic cavity expands and contracts as we breathe in and out. Over the years of our life we become well practiced at this procedure, so much so we do it without much thought. This is going to have to change when we want to make that long range shot. Our breathing cycle will cause the cross hairs of our scope reticle to move vertically, possibly moving the cross hairs completely off the target. This movement causes vertical stringing. (Bullet group strung vertically on target)

We have to learn to control our breathing cycle, if you expect to make the hit. There have been many theories on this, and we should look at three primary methods.

• Lungs Full: Some experts say you should hold your breath with lungs full. This method induces muscle tension in the body.
• Half Lung Method: Do you know exactly where 50% of your lung capacity is every time?
• Empty Lungs: Normal respiratory pause
  

ATAC TV staff prefers the empty lung method as this is pretty easy to reproduce and if you study your own breathing cycle you will soon realize you have a normal empty lung respiratory pause. Try it yourself; feel the pause after you exhale, just before you start to inhale again? This would be a GREAT time to get a clean trigger break. This will also allow for the lowest possible body position when lying in the prone position enhancing stability. Check out the Sniper Position shooting on ATAC TV Firearms Channel.

In a perfect world at the range, or when your target is unaware of your presence this works well. Some advocate deep breathing before this final pause in respiration to increase your oxygen supply. The brain and eye performance suffer after around 4 seconds of diminished oxygen. If you have not taken your shot after around 4 seconds, start your breathing cycle again and reset.

OK, what do we do if we are faced with a limited exposure target? We cannot expect the target to expose itself to coincide with our breathing cycle and there may not be enough time to exhale to our preferred empty lung respiratory pause. You must be able to stop breathing and take the best shot available at the time. You may not get a second chance.

Practice both methods with Dry Practice and Live fire. Although breathing comes so easy, it is one of the most difficult things to master, but you must, if you want to make the hit at long distance.

Watch Video Now on ATAC TV: Sequence of Shooting Part 3 Breathing

AtacTv.com is a source for Raw, Unscripted Firearm Training.  Seven days a week, 24 hours a day

Sequence of Shooting Part 1 of 5: Sight Alignment

Tom Clarke and Lenny Bolton on ATAC TV Firearms Channel begin the five part series of the Sequence of Shooting with optics, such as scope mounted sniper rifles. It is assumed that you have properly set up a rifle and scope including eye relief, cheek weld and ocular lens focus before the start of this program. Sight alignment is the first part series of basic marksmanship fundamentals. The sequence of shooting is the foundation of all weapons systems shooting skills.

Tom Clarke and Lenny Bolton guide you through the first segment of this very important series on the ATAC TV Firearms Channel

Watch Now on ATAC TV:  Sequence of Shooting Part 1 of 5:  Sight Alignment

Atac Tv is a source for Raw, Unscripted Firearm Training.

ATAC Firearm Reply and Answer: The Glock 21SF is the newer version of the semi-automatic .45 caliber Glock 21. It features a slimmer grip, an ambidextrous magazine release, and a full-length picatinny rail.

In a side-by-side comparison, Tom Clarke and Lenny Bolton with ATAC TV Firearms point out the differences between the two Glock pistols. For the 21SF version, Glock removed some of the girth from the back strap of the pistol grip in order to create a smaller grip option. The width is unchanged, since both the 21 and the 21SF remain chambered in .45 caliber double-stacked magazines, but the trimmed back strap allows for less hand circumference.

Other changes added to the Glock 21 were the picatinny rails for adding accessories, such as light attachments. The 21SF has a full-length picatanny rail with more troughs as opposed to the regular 21, which has the one trough. Additionally, the ambidextrous magazine was added to the 21SF on some models which is an option primed to please left-handed shooters.

The mechanics between the Glock 21 and 21SF did not change. They both still have the same safe-action trigger, and the reliability remains the same. The major change is in the pistol grip, so deciding between the 21 and the 21SF comes down to personal preference. Two things to keep in mind, however, is the Glock 21SF may require a different holster, and only the 21SF magazines work in the 21SF while both magazines work in the standard Glock 21 version.

The ATAC firearm advisors recommend finding a pistol to fit your hand and personal preference and planned usage. Renting a firearm and practicing at a range will give you a good idea on what feels comfortable for you and your hands. Watch Tom and Lenny on the video below to get some more detail on these Glock handguns.

Watch Now: GLOCK 21 Vs GLOCK 21SF Program

ATAC TV Firearms Channel, Lenny Bolton and Mark Flinn demonstrate a failure to fire with the SOCOM 16.  As you’re firing, you suddenly hear a “click” instead of a “bang” when you press the trigger.  What does this mean?  Other than the obvious reasons, such as being out of ammunition in your magazine or forgetting to rack the bolt to chamber a cartridge (charge the weapon), there are a couple different reasons for a failure to fire malfunction to occur.

Lenny Bolton offers a few other possible explanations for this malfunction.  There could be a bad primer in the cartridge in the chamber, the magazine may not have been seated properly and didn’t pick a new round when the bolt last cycled, or your firearm may be broken.   Whichever the reason, you need to know how to fix the malfunction quickly, or make the decision to switch to a back up weapon platform.

Mark Flinn demonstrates what to do after hearing a “click” instead of a “bang”.  His trigger finger goes straight alongside the frame of the rifle.  He grabs the magazine to perform a tap and a tug to affirm it is seated properly in the SOCOM 16.  Mark flips the rifle over while pulling back on the operating rod handle to discharge any spent cartridges.  He then releases the handle to allow the recoil spring to close the action, and gets back on the sights and on target ready to shoot if needed.

Quick Summery:

• You get a click, finger straight on frame.
• Tap tug or rock the magazine to make sure its seated.
• Rack the Op handle as you flip the firearm over on the ejection port.

It’s very important to practice this and all the malfunction drills.  A malfunction on a range may permit the time to inspect your weapon for whatever may be causing the malfunction, but during a life-threatening situation, a split second can make all the difference.   You need to be able to get your fully operating firearm back on target as quickly as possible, or make the choice to switch to another firearm.  Practicing these drills may make the difference when your life is one the line!  Watch Lenny and Mark in the video linked below.

Watch Now on ATAC TV: Socom 16 Failure to Fire Free Program

AtacTv.com is a source for Raw, Unscripted Firearm Training.  Seven days a week, 24 hours a day.