My friend is makign a "realism" mod for a game and is putting a m4 in there and I wanted to ask the proper way to reload an m4. If your putting a fresh mag in there and the gun hasnt been fired you pull back on the I'm not sure of the name, excuse my ignorance, the lever behind the carrying handle. Then after you empty the magazine the bolt/lever locks back, and you take out the mag, click the forward assist(i think thats the name, it's like a button by where the magazine goes in) and the lever/bolt goes back and chambers a round. Thank you.
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m4 reload system
- Thread starter fiend
- Start date
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If weapon has bolt closed....
Insert mag
Pull back charging handle and release
Tap forward assist
Fire
Empty mag will hold bolt/carrier in open position
Eject mag (mag release on RHS of receiver)
Insert new mag
Release bolt catch (left side of weapon) which releases the bolt locks the weapon
Tap forward assist
I know it's much easier to do it than to write it out.
If weapon has bolt closed....
Insert mag
Pull back charging handle and release
Tap forward assist
Fire
Empty mag will hold bolt/carrier in open position
Eject mag (mag release on RHS of receiver)
Insert new mag
Release bolt catch (left side of weapon) which releases the bolt locks the weapon
Tap forward assist
I know it's much easier to do it than to write it out.
Destructo6
New member
If you're having the character reload after running the weapon dry (bolt locked to the rear), have the character just whack the bolt release on the left side of the receiver with the heel of his open hand, after replacing the magazine. Don't have him gingerly press the bolt release with a finger like in the M16 animations for Infiltration.
If the weapon hasn't been fired (but has been previously loaded and chambered), the chamber should already be loaded, so replacing the magazine is all that is necessary. Use the same for when the weapon has been fired, but not run dry (tactical reload).
I don?t know that you?d even need to animate the character using the charging handle since games usually start with the weapons being loaded. I suppose it could be used as initial animation after starting a level or respawning with the M4.
If the weapon hasn't been fired (but has been previously loaded and chambered), the chamber should already be loaded, so replacing the magazine is all that is necessary. Use the same for when the weapon has been fired, but not run dry (tactical reload).
I don?t know that you?d even need to animate the character using the charging handle since games usually start with the weapons being loaded. I suppose it could be used as initial animation after starting a level or respawning with the M4.
Badger Arms
New member
I'll expand a little bit here just to clarify. When the gun runs dry you simply reach the index finger of your right hand (still on the pistol grip) up to the mag release and push. Keep the gun pointed straight downrange during theis procedure. At the same time, reach down to the mag pouch with your left hand. Withdraw the mag and jam it in the mag well. When the mag is in, smack the side of the weapon with the palm of the left hand (this operates the bolt release). Next, bring your left hand up to the handguard in the firing position. Now, as you try to find your next target you should quickly rap the forward assist (button on right side of weapon pointing diagonally forward) with the palm of your right hand at the base of the thumb. Finally, put your hand back on the grip and fire.
I practiced this a couple of hundred times with the same beat-up magazines. To give you an idea, I videotaped myself doing this so I could time it. Watch Discovery channel videos of Seals doing live fire to get a better idea. A good soldier always ducks behind cover while reloading so I practiced this too. Got it down to 3 seconds. Reloading in the open is a good way to get killed.
I practiced this a couple of hundred times with the same beat-up magazines. To give you an idea, I videotaped myself doing this so I could time it. Watch Discovery channel videos of Seals doing live fire to get a better idea. A good soldier always ducks behind cover while reloading so I practiced this too. Got it down to 3 seconds. Reloading in the open is a good way to get killed.
After reading badgerarms and Destructo's post. Badger you have another step it seems. You hit two diff buttons after you insert a fresh mag after emptying a whole magazine. Destructo says just to hit the bolt release and you(badger)say hit the bolt release and the forward assist. Now is it just my lack of knowledge or what that you both are saying the same thign just in diff terms?
Badger Arms
New member
We're saying the same thing but I'm adding the forward assist out of personal preference. The bolt release is a button on the middle of the left side of the receiver. It's purpose is to release the bolt so that it may strip a round and chamber it. The forward assist is a plunger that pushes the bolt fully closed. In the event there is fouling, debris, or other types of matter that keep the bolt from fully closing, it will usually happen when the first round is chambered. This is because the bolt travels less distance on closing and has less force when it's being released from the bolt release.
You don't have to smack the forward assist, but it's good practice to do this as a matter of course. It's really a good way of preventing a jam but does add a bit of time to the total sequence. Problem is, that once in 100 magazines when you should have done it will cost you your life. If you pull the trigger on a not-fully-closed bolt, you have to recharge the rifle with the charging handle. That procedure takes vital time. Seing as how you've already needed the rifle when you first pulled the trigger, you are now in trouble. Hope this helps.
You don't have to smack the forward assist, but it's good practice to do this as a matter of course. It's really a good way of preventing a jam but does add a bit of time to the total sequence. Problem is, that once in 100 magazines when you should have done it will cost you your life. If you pull the trigger on a not-fully-closed bolt, you have to recharge the rifle with the charging handle. That procedure takes vital time. Seing as how you've already needed the rifle when you first pulled the trigger, you are now in trouble. Hope this helps.
Destructo6
New member
We're saying the same thing.
Giving the forward assist a couple of good whacks after reloading the chamber is a matter of who trained you. I know the Marines train that way, but I'm not sure if the other services do. Even though I was trained this way, I usually don't touch the forward assist unless the gun has been acting up.
Giving the forward assist a couple of good whacks after reloading the chamber is a matter of who trained you. I know the Marines train that way, but I'm not sure if the other services do. Even though I was trained this way, I usually don't touch the forward assist unless the gun has been acting up.
Badger Arms
New member
When I was 'trained' by the Air Force, we didn't have a forward assist on our guns. If we had a click, we simply slapped the bottom of the magazine, racked the bolt, and went on with life. This was the same procedure to clear a malfunction from a pistol, so I didn't really have to think it through. Slap-rack-bang.
I already had a CAR-15 and had learned this procedure from... I'm not really sure now. Hung around with my father's friends growing up. Lots of vets. Might have picked it up then. Smaking the slide on the M-1 was also how I learned, so this might have carried over. Good habit at any rate if you internalize it. Them Marines train well, I guess.
I already had a CAR-15 and had learned this procedure from... I'm not really sure now. Hung around with my father's friends growing up. Lots of vets. Might have picked it up then. Smaking the slide on the M-1 was also how I learned, so this might have carried over. Good habit at any rate if you internalize it. Them Marines train well, I guess.