Do I have to chamber a round on M4 when reloading

It helps to chamber a round if you want to fire the gun... If the bolt is fully retracted, you can use the bolt release to chamber a round.
 
What kind of question is that?..........seriously!

Are you really a marine or do you just play one on t.v.? :) No offense intended but that is a silly question for a marine to ask or Uncle Sam has sum splainin' to do(best Ricki Ricardo voice)! That is like a police man asking a citizen ,"Hey, is my safety on?" about his on DUTY WEAPON. Just don't seem right. Oh well......You only need to use the charging handle when you initially prepare to fire(chambering the first round) or if clearing a failure of some sort(a failure to fire). After the last round is fired from a magazine the bolt catch should hold the bolt open(to the rear); allowing you to drop the first mag; insert a second mag;and (with rifle pointing in a safe direction!)slap the bolt release(left side; opposite mag release) with your off-hand(finger off trigger as the rifle is now ready to fire :eek: ).(quote)"Do I have to chamber a round with the T-charging handle when reloading my M4? I want to buy one." Do you HAVE or "want to buy" an M4? :confused:
 
Getting real specific with the question - - -

Do I havet to chamber a round with the T-charging handle when reloading my M4?
Click to expand...

The short answer is probably, "yes." You write reloading, indicating an operation after firing. If you have emptied the magazine, the bolt of a properly functioning M4/M16/AR15 locks open. In this case, you may insert a loaded magazine and then either press the tab on the bolt hold-open catch, OR pull back on the charging handle.

Pressing the catch is probably better, as it is the quicker maneuver, and it does not expose the charging handle, however briefly, to damage. Notice that the charging handle is not spring loaded itself, so pulling it rearward with the bolt locked open leaves it loose and more subject to side-to-side play.

Of course, if you have NOT fired the rifle after the final round from the mag was chambered, the bolt would be closed, and, no, you'd not have to close the bolt by either method. :D

If you contemplate acquisition of such an arm, you'd do well to purchase some sort of reference or training manual. This is practically as much part of the system as additional magazines, sling, and cleaning gear. The US military field manual is invaluable in learning the operation, disassembly/reassembly, and maintenance of the rifle. You simply disregard the parts dealing with the full auto or burst fire features. If you are buying a Colt brand item, their factory manual is quite good.

Best,
Johnny
 
If you're a U.S. Marine you would know the answer. If you don't the only problem I have is why you would imply that you were something you are'nt. It would be an insult to all armed forces members or former members. U.S. Marine is a title earned, not assumed.
 
Hi, usmarine you still need to answer the question.

"Do I have to chamber a round with the T-charging handle when reloading my M4? I want to by one."

Do you have a M4? or are you going to buy one?
 
IZinterrogator,

Sorry, I didn't really use the M16/M4 much when I was in Iraq, I was the gunner on an M1A1. I preferred my "acquired" P90 when things got hairy.
 
I would much rather have the M1A1 also. Spent a summer in Kuwait a few years back attached to a tank company. They let me fire a table during gunnery. Much more stopping power than 5.56mm. :D

Where did you "acquire" a P90 in Iraq?
 
IZZY, you can pretty much slap any part of the gun and it will chamber a round, as long as the bolt is back....you should know that.....
 
True enough. When I want to do that, I just kick the butt with my heel. Never hit the forward assist hard enough to try it that way, though. Boots are sturdier than my hand for some reason. ;)
 
I picked it up off a dead insurgent around mid-March of last year, I guessed he was a Saudi or he got in Saudi Arabia because I know that they have them.

IZ, see Freeman25s M4 thread for the whole story, as I really dont want to type it up again(bad memories, nightmares, I think that I may have PTSD. I'm serious!)
 
What is this a mall ninja thread or what?
Future warriors that that don't know what a forward assist does?
Marines that don't know how an M4 works....Jesus.
P90's for everyone! Ra!
 
something amiss...

I dunno, CQB, but after reading that thread, I think I'm gonna go sew a scroll AND an' SF combat patch on my right sleeve.....yeah!! Then I'll go buy some Jet black BDU's and tell everyone who'll listen I'm a Delta Force sniper... ummm..... on loan from the SEAL's..... That's it!!!! :barf:
Seriously, kids.... you wanna learn how to reload an M4??? do like I did & go pay a visit to your local recruiter, & tell him you wanna go Infantry.... Not only will you be reloading M4's in your sleep, you'll also be dissassembling / reassembling them, AND performing function checks. This will go on until you ETS, retire, or your knees give out...
 
Cut the guy some slack. He is merely someone that asked a question about a firearm. He's neither a troll nor a mall ninja. Just someone with an interest and desire to learn about firearms.

Instead of scoffing at the individual for asking a question you feel is beneath you and prancing around like you know everything about the subject while degrading him, politely answer his questions or remain silent.
 
Like I said before, if you don't know the answer or feel you have to clarify my answers, just don't post.

Simple version as you don't seem to get it:

If a "Futureforcewarrior" who took a P90 off a dead insurgent doesn't know that a forward assist doesn't "chamber a round", then yeah that qualifies as a mall ninja of the highest order.
 
Mall Ninja of the highest order huh???

I'm just saying, that personally, I never used an M16/M4 series rifle in combat. I know the whole "every Marine is a rifleman" thing, OK. I know the '16, I had to qualify on it, but am personally not a huge fan. I wasn't one of the Marines you'd see on FOX News or CNN, breaching a door to some mudhut before filing in to raid the place, or those boys seen locking and loading their M16s before standing up over that parapet and blasting away at some off-camera ragheads(you've all seen the footage playing over and over and over again!). For the most part, the only gun I was behind was the 120mm on an M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, handling the "Silver Bullets." I know Marines who carried captured AK-47s and the like into combat, it was generally frowned upon, but they did because those 47s might have suited their needs better than an M16, just as that P90 suited my needs. Upon first going into Iraq, some of us young kids heard some of the "Horror Stories" from guys who had fought in Afganistan talking about how they had seen "skinny/malnourished/weakling" Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters hit by multiple 5.56s and keep coming and how those Stoner SR-47 M4/AK Hybrids were Godsends. Well to me that P90 was a Godsend, and I'd take it over an M4 anyday! But yeah I can use an M4, but due to my particular duties I never used one, nor did I want to use one. I only used one when I had to qualify every so often. And sorry for seeming like a "Mall Ninja."

Semper Fi.
 
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