Manual

tained on the top round in the clip. It may be
necessary to strike forward on the operating rod
handle with the heel of the right’hand to fully
close and lock the bolt.
c. Pa&fatty fdkd clip. To load a partially
filled clip, hold the rifle in the same manner pre-
scribed for a full clip.
With the operating rod
all the way to the rear, place an empty clip into
the receiver.
Place the first round into the clip
and on the follower, to the left of the follower
slide.
Press the second round into the clip, ex-
erting a downward, turning motion until the
round snaps into place. Load the remaining
rounds in the same manner (fig. 20). With the
knife edge of the right hand against the operating
rod handle force the operating rod slightly to the
rear. Push down on the top round with the right
thumb, allowing the bolt to start the top round
forward. Remove the right hand and allow the
operating rod to go forward.
13. Unloading the Rifle
a. To unload a round from the chamber, sup-
port the rifle butt on the thigh or on the ground ;
with the right hand grasp the operating rod han-
dle and pull the operating rod slowly to the rear.
At the same time, place the left hand, palm down,
over the receiver to catch the round as it is ejected
(fig. 21).
This keeps the round from falling into
the dirt or away from your position.
b. To unload a filled or partially filled clip, un-
load the round that is in the chamber as described
in a above. When the operating rod reaches its
rearmost position, hold it there. Place the palm
of the left hand over the receiver and depress the
clip latch with the left thumb, allowing the clip
to be ejected up into the hand (fig. 22). Do not
relax the rearward pressure on the operating rod
handle until after the clip has been removed.
14. loading Rounds Into a Clip
a. Insert eight rounds into the clip, holding the
clip and rounds in the manner shown in figure 23.
Start placing the rounds in from the lower left of
the clip and make sure that each round is against
the rear wall so that the inner rib of the clip en-
gages the extracting groove of each round. The
top round will then be on the right, making the
clip easier for a right handed firer to load in the
rifle. For the same reason, clips are loaded this
way at arsenals.
6. Each time rounds are loaded into a clip, the
clip should be checked for long rounds. If one
round extends beyond the others, it will be hard
to load the clip into the rifle. The long round
should be seated by removing the top round, push-
ing the long round into place and then replacing
the top round.
Tapping the bullet against a
solid surface to seat the long round may result
in the bullet being pushed back into its cartridge
case. This may damage the bullet or break the
Figure 20. Loading a partially flUed dip.
Figure 81. Unloading a round lrom the chamber.