My AR is set up for precision shooting out to 600 yds so I do mostly shooting of 69 gr SMK match ammo. Some times I seat my bullet depths longer than "mag length" and up till now I would insert one round in the mag, insert the mag, cycle, shoot, then pull the mag , and start over. I was told by a fellow shooter you don't need to feed a round into the mag to single fire. He explained all's you need to do is insert the mag, insert the round through the ejection port and rest the round on the mag follower and release the bolt. I've been doing this for about a week and seems to work great, but I am very concerned about a slam fire. Is this possible ? Would like some input from the pros's . Thanks in advance !

Rich K.

Perfectly safe.

Yep, fine. Push feed (ARs) verses control feed (I can't think of a semi that does but mausers and 1903s)

Yes , it is safe.

Another similar way to go is a sled .

It is a replacement follower or special magazine that allows the inserted cartridge to sit a bit more securely. It is used by service rifle folks for the single fire portion ,

Brownells calls theirs a "bobsled"

Thanks guys, you put me at ease I was worried about an ND ! I will definitely look into the "bobsled"

That's the way it's done in every competition I've been to.

It's also why the guys that say "bla bla bla load with out a magazine and you'll get a slamfire" don't know what they are talking about.

Probably not very precise at 600 yards with 69s. If you're going to be single loading, shoot 80s.

I can safely say loading a 69 grain SMK longer than mag length is a waste of time. That bullet is designed to jump, same as their 77 SMK. It's too short to gain anything and you lose your semi-auto function in the process. Save this reloading technique for Hornady 75/80 grain A-Max bullets, Sierra 80 grain SMK's, Nosler's 80 grain Custom Competition or Berger's 75/80 grain VLD's and 80.5/82 grain match bullets.

Hornady's standard 75 grain hpbt match bullet should be seated under 2.260" and used from a magazine.

I have shot NRA service and match rifle tournaments every year since 1985 and single load for the slow prone stage just as you described. If you are not careful the bullet can get jammed and ruin that round. I try to get the bullet started in the chamber before dropping the bolt. I've never had a slam fire with an AR-15, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. Muzzle control is the #1 safety rule when loading any rifle. It has to be pointed in a safe direction 100% of the time.  

The "sled" works OK but I've simply slide the bullet point into the chamber area while tilting the rifle forward so gravity helps it go home. I use standard 20 round magazines in slow prone. Make sure you don't tip the rifle back to level before closing the bolt or the cartridge will slide out of the chamber. Good Luck.

Agreed. I shoot 69's and 75's all the time from my mags. I'd use 80's the way the OP is describing for shooting 600+ to get all I could from it.

My 24" Varmint barrel is a 1-9 twist, I've been told don't shoot anything over 69's. Anything heavier might not stabilize.

If your have a 1/9 with a 24" barrel you are more likely to get a Hornady 75 grain hpbt to stabilize than you would if it were a 16" or 20" 1/9. I own a Winchester M70 with a 25" 1/9 in .223 that hammers with Hornady 75's. 1/9 is borderline and sometimes doesn't work with this weight bullet. Each rifle owner needs to test to see if they'll work in theirs. Only buy one box of 75's just to try them out, otherwise you might get stuck with bullets that don't work.

You are not going to get better accuracy with 68/69 grain bullets by seating them longer than magazine length. Just run them at 2.250" and don't worry about it. These bullets can shoot well when the wind is ZERO, once it starts to blow at the 600 stage you are toast.

I never agreed with ramming my 600yd loads into the chamber after all that work making sure they were straight, especially with 75/80 grainers.   I push the round into the chamber with my pinky but if you have dick fingers you can't do that.   Never broke an extractor or had anything go wrong with doing it that way.

I have shot some factory 77gr  FGMM and my AR did excellent, I shot .8 MOA @ 200 meters. but could not get any chrono data, there was inconsistent lighting and my crono was being a fussy bitch that day.  I'll give some heavies a try. I've had great luck with hand loaded .30 cal A-Maxes . My club does not allow any .223 bullets lighter than 69's at our 600 yd range, so it's beneficial for me to find some heavier options if I have to shoot in the heavy wind.  Thanks again for all the feedback !

As others have said above, single loading is the required method of loading in the 200 yard slow fire standing and the 600 yard slow fire prone stages of a high power match.  However, there is always a very remote possibility of a slam fire with an AR-15 or even an M1 Garand.  Even when the round is loaded from a full magazine.  I personally witnessed an M1 Garand slam fire - and got pelted with the resulting spray of gravel.  The AR-15 and M1 Garand have free floating firing pins.  They don't have a spring on the firing pin like a bolt action rifle.  So, when the bolt goes forward, the firing pin can hit the back of the primer.  Normally, there is not enough force to detonate the primer, but it can happen.

ALWAYS have your muzzle pointed at the berm when you release the bolt.

If you shoot factory 5.56 ammo, they usually use a harder primer to resist slam fires.  If you reload, research which primer brands have harder primer cups - CCI 450 magnum and CCI #41 have harder primers.

I also have witnessed slam fires in the Garand and AR 15 but only 1 time for each. I asked both times what primer was being used a 1 time it was a CCI the other was a Winchester . Both standard primers. But another possible cause could be the primers were set to high. No way to tell. I use only CC! 34 in 30 calibers semis and CCI 41 in AR's just in case. Still  could happen if the primers are set to high.

I slam fired a hornady tap round into my kitchen floor when reloading my HD rifle after a day at the range. Safety on and finger off the trigger, inserted magazine and chambered the round using the bolt catch and BOOM. Further inspection found that the primer on the TAP round was not fully seated. YMMV

Had that round been chambered previously?