Ok, I don't want this to turn into another 28 vs. 30 round thing. I was just wondering why a round must load from the right side of a magazine? Why does the 28 round crowd say 28 instead of 29?

Does the way that the bolt locking lugs are arranged have to load a round from the right side? I wouldn't think that this would be true because after you fire your first round, the bolt ejects and then feeds the left side round normally.

BTT

You can load to an odd number.  Whoever told you that doesn't know what he's talking about.  Load a mag to an odd number and check yourself.  If you the mag had to load a round from the right, there would only be single stack mags...


TS

I have actually heard the samething and I 'm pretty sure I heard it from watching a gunsmithing video from AGI.  I'll have to try and find the video and watch it again to see why he says to load it that way.

There is one reason.

However you load your magazines, if you do an operational reload (insert magazine, watch bolt go forward to see it strip a round, then drop magazine to check that a round was stripped - I do it by touch, to reinforce it for doing it in the dark), then it makes sense.

If you always load to 28 or 30, when you do the above the top round in the checked magazine will be on the left whenyou check (as the original top right side round is now in the chamber).

If you always loaded to 27 or 29, then it would be the opposite, but you'd have to be consistent either way or the technique is useless.