Ghost loading legal?

[usmcveteran]

Just wondering if ghost loading is legal? If you have magazine tube with 7 capacity can you load one on feed tray and one in chamber for total of 9?

I would say yes but curious if you all know something I don't or have any thoughts on the matter.

[BigJohnH]

It would depend on the Ghosts age, of course if the Ghost is a minor you will be sent to the spook house in leu of 400 candy corns................. I ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure my mag is full, if that means hand loading a round in the chamber and putting the mag in or pulling the mag and topping it off after the round is chambered that is what I do.

[thughes]

Seriously?

[MilesTeg]

I don't know the term, but considering we're in New Yorkastan it's probably illegal.

[thughes]

I consider it a gimmick, works on some guns but why create a potential malfunction in front of a full tube?

[Cgrutt]

The law applies to features. Your fixed magazine capacity is no more than seven. You're GTG.

[BuellSix8]

I love this place.... Sometimes those strange thoughts that I dare not say out loud are presented here. I suppose I help others out on occasion.

[WARFAB]

I thought the tube magazine limitations were pretty vague and pointless given the different cartridge lengths available. I also thought Skretny struck down the 7 round limit. Even with "ghost loading" you're still under the 10 round limit if you have a 7 round tube.

[Cgrutt]

I thought the tube magazine limitations were pretty vague and pointless given the different cartridge lengths available. I also thought Skretny struck down the 7 round limit. Even with "ghost loading" you're still under the 10 round limit if you have a 7 round tube.

This is for a semi-auto shotgun. The fixed Mag limit is either 7 or 5 depending on other features.

[WARFAB]

This is for a semi-auto shotgun. The fixed Mag limit is either 7 or 5 depending on other features.

My bad. I was thinking maybe the SAFE act wasn't completely arbitrary and capricious. Not sure where I came up with that crazy idea.

[usmcveteran]

For those who don't know this is a demonstration.

[usmcveteran]

I just spent some time looking and for benelli M4 I haven't been able to find people having issues with ghost loading and seems like a common practice especially in competition's.

[Cgrutt]

I'm not 100% sure about this but believe the Benelli will not load another shell onto the carrier plate if there is already a shell on it. Believe the carrier plate needs to be in the "up" position before a shell can physically be ejected from magazine tube. With ghost loading, the carrier plate is in the "down" position. Gun fires and cycles action, plate will lift feeding the ghost round into chamber. Next time it fires, it drops new round onto carrier plate and feeds it into chamber. The carrier is normally empty when a round is loaded and a new round will drop from magazine only after gun is fired. Therefore, assuming there is no ghost round on carrier plate, you can pull back the charge handle, which will eject chambered round and drop an new round directly into carrier plate. Useful for example in changing over from buck to a slug. Most guns won't let you do this without cycling all of the rounds out of magazine first. The M4 is AWESOME!

[Cgrutt]

Just following through with this, if you want to cycle all the rounds out of the magazine without firing, you need to pull back charge handle while holding a button down, which will cycle same as if the gun had been fired. It takes a bit of getting used to. So after loading up magazine, you can't just pull back the charge handle to load a round; you need to first push the button that drops a shell onto carrier and then pull the charge handle. USMC, I know you used the M4 in Marine Corp, but if you have any questions, just give me a call and I'll try to walk you though it.

[usmcveteran]

Thanks it has been a while! I'm sure I might have a question or two.

I also did find ghost loading mentioned in the M1014 marine corps manual saying it can be done and cycles reliably when done.

That said other shotguns may vary in reliability.