20 vs 30 round mags...

Status
Not open for further replies.
I am inclined to agree that 20 round AR mags are better for prone shooting. You can make it work with 30 rounders but is simpler with 10 or 20 rounders.

Part of the point with prone shooting is getting close to the ground and when part of your rifle keeps you an extra few inches above the ground, it will interfere with your shooting. OTOH, it is something you can probably learn to live with. I am not a fan of using the base of the magazine to support the rifle either, so having a shorter magazine makes sense to me.

But what do I know?
 
I have standardized on twenty round mags as well. The closer I can get to the ground the better.
 
Just put Styrofoam or plastic blocks from ammo boxes in the bottom of the mag holders. Don't weigh much and raise the 20 rounders up higher. I use a similar system when using my mag holders for PCC mags, except I put the blocks on the sides to make up for width.
Or just old-school MagPuls. Which fit on everything, and both are taller, and have a hook to grab. I sorta like 20s deep into pockets for some purposes. Quick access plus more security.
 
For hose worried about the mag touching the ground:



https://www.recoilweb.com/the-rifle-mag-as-a-monopod-53211.html

Frank Proctor, Way of the Gun Training

Back in the day I heard people say don’t put the mag on the ground because it will cause malfunctions. When I shot a little bit of 3 Gun I noticed that everyone was using the mag for support in the prone with no problems. I started doing it too with no problems and I dig it the most! It’s a great way to gain stability. You can get prone and use a magazine the same way as you would use a bipod, without the extra weight—that’s if you can get prone.

https://www.ammoland.com/2016/04/shooting-off-the-magazine-monopod/#axzz61mVRwfTK

When shooting ARs, and most other rifles that accept AR magazines, from the prone position, a thirty-round magazine can be used as a monpod for increased stability. It is just a matter of lowering your body until the bottom of the magazines meets the deck.

This technique enables most shooters to achieve a high level of stability, a level unobtainable via any other posture.

Some will argue that allowing the magazine to thus touch the deck will throw the next shot off target, but we’ve made good use of this technique for some time now, and that contention has demonstrated itself to be untrue, at least at the ranges where we commonly shoot.
 
I too prefer 20's. While I fully support the right and ability to hold 30, 60 or 200 rounds in a magazine, I have never in my life needed more than a dozen or so. Even in a big heard of pigs I didn't get that many shots off, and at the range I cannot afford to mag dump. I could really get by with 10, because that is all I load anyway, but in an AR I prefer the form factor of the 20, and in a pistol, it's easier to load 10 in a 15 round mag than 15 anyway.

My favorite mag is the old straight body 20rd magpul pmag. But like a doofus, that was the one I modded for 300 blackout (and screwed up) and I cannot find a replacement.
 
Recent web gear is designed for carrying 30-round magazines. To carry 20-round magazines, you have to go back to Vietnam-era gear.

I've seen 20rd Mini-14 mags carried in the ALICE 30rdX3 pouches... first mag out, you gotta use a pull cord, but it's that way with 30-rounders, too. Difference in load out is 140rds in seven 20's vs 210rds in seven 30's.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top