I take this approach too -- I was taught, as a target shooter, that a firearm was not clear unless all magazines with that firearm were empty too. I've followed that approach ever since.ovenpaa wrote:
No magazines in the house or business are ever stored loaded.
However, I have noticed that other clubs work to different rules, and loaded magazines seem to be acceptable when entering (and quite possibly leaving) the range. AFAIK, having a loaded magazine in a public place, with a firearm in tow, as long as the loaded magazine is NOT in the firearm, is not in itself a criminal offence (please correct me if I am wrong), though it may not do our image much good if a fuss were made, by the media or by the police.
When answering the OP, I perhaps should have taken the time to expand on my own position, rather than inadvertantly imply that I thought it a good idea to store or transport loaded magazines; as a target shooter, I personally prefer to have magazines loaded only when on the firing point, after the order to load the firearm has been given. Once shooting stops, all my magazines are empty, for clearing by another competent party.
Note that by explaining all this, I'm not impyling that shooters who take a different approach are wrong -- we should all decide what we consider appropriate, within the law.
David.
Its a different story when you've got 5-6 30rd+ magazines, particularly if people are waiting to use your lane!