What are the steps to reloading a pistol or revolver?
Pistol: When the pistol is empty, the slide will lock back. Assuming that you have a fresh magazine, the first thing you need to do is eject the spent magazine by depressing the (you guessed it,) magazine release button. (Some automatics, notably Scully’s original Walther PPK in .380, use the Eureopean style of semiauto magazine release, which is a lever-thingie on the butt of the gun. As these weapons were originally designed for use by the officer corps of various European armies, and such men were thought never to need to resort to such vulgar things as gunfights, not much tactical thinking went into that concept…) Once the magazine falls out, you insert the fresh magazine and release the slide. Most semiautos have a slide-release lever that is accessible with the thumb when holding the pistol in a natural shooting grip. Some require a small rearward tug on the slide in order to release the slidestop. The slide slams foward, chambering a round, and you’re ready to party again!
