Magpul teaches a way, not the way, its good to get input from as many sources as possible and pick and choose what works for you.
I used to be a fan of immediate/remedial action w/o checking the chamber. Until I got a stovepipe on my C8 under the sort of stress that doesn't come on a civilian range, and thinking I was out of ammo, I did a speed reload instead of clearing it, which took more time then if I took the extra .2 second to check the chamber. *Speed Reload* "Nothing" "F*CK!?" Look at it, hey a stove pipe! tap rack roll, BANG! Case in point, I used to rely on that "feeling" of the bolt locking back in the buffer tube to reload, doesn't work so well under extreme stress.
The new "vogue" way of reloading is racking the charging handle on the C8, doesnt work so well wearing plates and a full combat load if your not a 6foot ape, Shortstroking the gun becomes an issue (which was supposed to be what it remedies). I switched back to using the bolt release (sans forward assist) on workup training and didn't have any short stroking issues. Using the bolt release is faster and I did it for years before THE gunfighter way came out so it was easy to switch back to.
Ultimately, pick and choose what works for you. Just because something works well for someone else but its different doesn't mean it is wrong.
I agree that Magpul offers a way, not the way. That being said, their methods are a non starter for several reasons. As I mentioned in my previous post, a lot of what they teach is system specific(more so for rifles than handguns) and a lot of the techniques are not 100% effective. If they're so hell bent on preaching
Consistency, Efficiency, Reality then why teach several methods of solving the same problem, and especially several methods that don't work for all makes/models and shooters?
As for your stovepipe here is how I see it based on my opinion and my methods(I say my methods because they are the ones I use. I did not create/invent/fabricate or otherwise participate in their coming to be.)
A failure to eject will not permit the trigger to function, you will not experience the "click" of a typical type one stoppage. The dead trigger is indicative of two possible scenarios. The bolt is out of battery(locked to the rear or not it doesn't matter), or the hammer has not reset.
You chose to believe it was an empty gun and went to the speed reload. I suspect your speed reload involved inserting a fresh mag and slapping the bolt catch which would explain why you didn't solve the initial stoppage, the stovepipe. Had you executed an immediate action of TAP TUG RACK you would have cleared the stoppage and continued firing.
Observing the chamber only works if there is enough ambient light for the cones of your eye(retina actually) to process the high resolution image needed to diagnose the stovepipe. The cones of the eye are great for details and colours but suffer greatly under dimished light. The rods of your eyes, located on the outer edges/peripheral of the retina are far more light sensitive which accounts for ones natural night vision, but offer little in the way of detail. Add to that the fact that you are removing your eyes from the threat or threat area. You can also add "Hick's law" which states that for every additional option in problem solving, ones time required to choose the correct course of action doubles. This is important, observing the chamber and determining the stoppage then searching through your brains "files" for the right solution is a cognitive thought process that will take exponentially more time than an immediate action which requires no further input/stimuli before being executed. Like stumbling off the curb. Once your body recognizes it is off balance it executes an automatic response to recover. It does not seek more input/stimuli before choosing a course of action. Should you fall to the ground you are now forced to process more input/stimuli to choose a correct action for recovery(getting up).
Running the charge handle for reloads is the only 100% effective means for charging a firearm. All charge handles on firearms serve only one purpose, to charge the firearm. A bolt catch does not always charge the firearm, it is dependent on bolt position to be effective. You stated you no longer rely on the feeling of a bolt locking to the rear to indicate an empty gun. So why rely on the bolt locking back to facilitate and validate the use of the bolt catch?
Running the CH does not prevent short stroking, it never has and never will. Those who believe that it does do not understand the function of the CH and/or the bolt catch. Running the CH(properly) ensures maximum force when manually feeding the rifle. The down side is the potential to short stroke the system, which can be overcome with repetitions and training. Even if an individual were to short stroke the rifle, the result will be a "click" or type one stoppage which requires an immediate action drill of TAP TUG RACK. Oddly, TAP TUG RACK is exactly the same process as loading the rifle. Grasping a large CH does not require fine motor skills which are absent under extreme stress and/or restrictive clothing. All semi auto rifles have a charge handle so the manual of arms is the same regardless of make or model(not all semi auto rifles have last round hold opens and they don't always work). The location of the CH may differ but the mental process of loading and clearing type one and type two malfunctions is the same. What's even more odd about using the CH, is that the mental process is carried over to handguns as well. Replace CH with slide and the process is identical. Odd....
Running the CH/slide may not be the fastest method, but it is 100% effective for all shooters, on most makes/models under most circumstances. The same cannot be said for the use of the BC, BAD lever, observing the chamber prior to corrective actions, slapping the back of the slide, or the 45' degree slam of a magazine as a method of "autoloading" a pistol.
Run what you want for methods, but the most important factor is its effectiveness. If the method doesn't work 100% of the time, its not worth relying on. A faster method that fails 15% of the time is not effective nor efficient.
TDC
The 5.48Gb would take a long time to D-Load...........
