First, I don’t have any formal training and I’m basing this question solely off the Magpul AOTC video. In the video the point is made that on a tac reload you retain the partial mag, even if it only has couple of rounds left, as those few rounds may be the ones that save your ass down the road. However, when clearing a double feed malfunction it seems the mag is always stripped and discarded; regardless of how many rounds may be left in it. Is this done because the double feed is probably happening in a time-is-life situation where it’s more important to get the weapon back up and running or is it done because that magazine is now considered defective and not to be trusted? If it’s the former, given the longer time it’s going to take to clear a double feed malfunction (relative to just a reload) the added time to retain the mag coming out seems as would be minimal and you’d still have the rounds? If it’s the latter, even though that mag can’t be trusted, wouldn’t you still want to keep those rounds so that you could possible reload them into a functioning empty mag as time/safety allowed? Just looking for thoughts and clarification from people smarter than me. Thanks
training to throw away a double feed malfunction mag works great…until it is your last mag…or you are that species of ccw carrier who never carries a 2nd mag…then you are disassembling your gun to no purpose…
we train our clients to retain the mag behind the small finger of the gun hand…ala Clint Smith …
The right answer is probably going to be “it depends.”
Do you have a chest rig stuffed with 12 magazines? Dump the mag, it’s probably what’s causing the problem anyways.
or
Did you run out of your bedroom in your boxers to fend off some gang bangers breaking in? Well it’s your only mag, you better retain it.
Keep in mind that tactical reloads and reloads with retention don’t take place when you’re slinging lead downrange. If you have a double feed then you’re in the middle of a firefight, if you’ve got a fresh mag somewhere you should just rip the problem mag out and toss it in the dirt, fix the problem, feed a new mag, and address the threat. If you’ve only got 2 mags, worry about the problem magazine once you’re no longer being shot at.
If you can train to retain it the way El Gato advises, all the better. Personally I’d probably end up fumbling it and dropping it anyways but that has more to do with butterfingers on my part than it does with “proper technique.”
ETA: It’s not something I would worry about too much until you’re going out there and training (whether in a formal environment or not), learning to diagnose and clear a double feed rapidly is far and away the priority. Once you can do that, then you can worry about refining your technique.
ALSO: train to your typical gear setup. If you’re just a regular joe civilian and you’re not likely to employ your carbine with a whole lot of kit or mags, maybe retention is the way to go. If you’re a LEO, PMC, or .mil or something and you’re going to have a bunch of mags on you, maybe retention is wasted effort.
Thanks for the replies. I am typical Joe civilian which means that the chances of me being in a multiple magazine carbine engagement is slim if not completely none and was just trying to figure out why the difference and the mindset behind it.
Pistol and rifle are different animals, as is the situation when it is the last mag.
If it is NOT the last mag, and there are rounds remaining, before you move try to stuff the mag somewhere so you can redistribute the ammo should the opportunity arise.
With pistol, an obstructed chamber is generally linked to something other than a magazine.
Always remember why you are clearing that double-feed in the first place: you were shooting at something that was actively trying to take a life, and on the last opportunity to stop that threat, your weapon did not work. Priority goes to getting the weapon working again, with magazine retention as a distant second, unless it’s your last magazine. In that case, a single shot may be more valuable than a bad club.
I was trained to stow the magazine under my strong side arm pit. I strip the mag stick it under my arm pit and clear the pistol. I then go towards my magazine pouch to get another mag. If there is no mag there i retrieve the mag from my arm pit. If there is a mag in the pouch I just let the other mag in my arm pit drop to the the floor as I extend my arms out to shoot.
Works fairly well. Although in real life I would not clear a type three malfunction I would just go to my secondary weapon. (Glock 26 bug) Now if I am off duty with just one pistol I will have to clear it.
Pat
Thanks guys; your insight is greatly appreciated. To be clear, when I made the post I was thinking strictly about carbine/rifle mags. I hadn’t even considered how it applies to pistol mags. Even more to think about now 
On a somewhat tangential note… here’s a tip: while setting up malfunctions intentionally to practice clearing them is a fantastic idea (dummy rounds are good for this), whenever one of your mags starts to go south on you, don’t throw it out. Mark it up and/or spray paint it (so you don’t accidentally try to use it for anything but training) and take it to the range/training classes. If you can induce more malfunctions by using a crappy mag, you’ll get more practice clearing them AND that practice will be spontaneous.
I would caution against taking a malfunctioning mag to a training course; especially if it is a course you havent taken before. While its good you want to get reps in malf clearing; using sub-standard equipment like that can cause you to become a drag on the rest of the students during the course.
I agree and another factor is I like to have 100% confidence in my equipment. If I have malfunctions that I did not set up as part of a drill it reduces that confidence even if I know that mag is bad. Because what is to say something else did not cause that malfunction. When a mag stops working I destroy it and then throw it out. Mostly so some other poor sap does not pick that mag up out of the trash and try to use it.
Pat
Fair point. Maybe not with the training classes then ;).