Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
If you ever NEED more than three or four mags: You ain't short of mags, you're short of people on your side of the argument.
How many AR mags is enough?
- Thread starter Magic_Man
- Start date
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IN GENERAL: I have three per rifle or semiauto handgun, but I would have 5-10 (or more) if I could afford them. The ideal amount for me is enough magazines that I could load all that I plan to shoot before going to the range. So if , for example, I plan to shoot 100 .45acp in my 1911. Ideally, I would have 100/capacity in mags, or about 13-15 magazines. That way, I could concentrate on shooting and not on reloading.
For AR15/AK47/etc: I have 10 magazines. I guess "enough" depends on what kind of scrap you expect to get into.
For AR15/AK47/etc: I have 10 magazines. I guess "enough" depends on what kind of scrap you expect to get into.
JohnBT
Member
"buy it cheap and stack it deep"
I bought ammo, not mags. What did you think they meant?
I bought ammo, not mags. What did you think they meant?
sarduy
Member
enough for what?
1. hunting?
2. plinking?
3. entering a building with 100 bad people inside?
4. fighting 500 zombies down the street?
1. 2 mags in enough
2. 4/5 mags
3. 8/10 mags + 1 in the gun ( lets hope you're not doing this alone)
4. 18/20 mags + 1 beta mag in the gun + 2 Glock 17 with 4 32rds mags each
22-rimfire
Member
I think 5 or 6 mags is enough for most black rifles. If you need more, you should probably have done some retreating.
For those of us who bought guns and wished we had during Ban I (and I number it becuase realistically sooner or later another will show up), it's like people who ran out of food or didn't have enough of something in an emergency.
We stock up whenever we find them cheap.
I'm glad I did back when magazines were more expensive than the 7.62N to fill them by about .10 and put a few hundred away.
I will never pay 5x retail or more for a magazine again, especially a used one, when you can find them.
And AR mags compared to most of what else I stock up on are so damn cheap it's funny.
Fill a bin of MP5 magazines and get back to me on how many AR mags that'll get you ;0
We stock up whenever we find them cheap.
I'm glad I did back when magazines were more expensive than the 7.62N to fill them by about .10 and put a few hundred away.
I will never pay 5x retail or more for a magazine again, especially a used one, when you can find them.
And AR mags compared to most of what else I stock up on are so damn cheap it's funny.
Fill a bin of MP5 magazines and get back to me on how many AR mags that'll get you ;0
12131
Member
Realistic, to whom? One person's "realistic" is likely not the same as another's.
12131
Member
Best post in this thread.
punkndisorderly
Member
Though this may have changed, the standard combat load was 7 30 round magazines (210 rounds). 3 in each of 2 magazine carriers and one in the rifle.
That has about nothing to do with how much is enough. I have 10 30 rounders. 7 that I tested and put away, 3 for occasional use. I've also got 5 20 rounders that I use for range duty. The shorter magazine doesn't get in the way for bench shooting, the 20 rounders each hold one 20 round box so no leftovers, and they work just fine.
The only reasons I can think of to have craploads of magainzes are if you anticipate running gunbattles where you'll be dropping them and not picking them up. This however leads to the question of whether you'll be able to have a "base" to go get more.
That has about nothing to do with how much is enough. I have 10 30 rounders. 7 that I tested and put away, 3 for occasional use. I've also got 5 20 rounders that I use for range duty. The shorter magazine doesn't get in the way for bench shooting, the 20 rounders each hold one 20 round box so no leftovers, and they work just fine.
The only reasons I can think of to have craploads of magainzes are if you anticipate running gunbattles where you'll be dropping them and not picking them up. This however leads to the question of whether you'll be able to have a "base" to go get more.
Rollis R. Karvellis
Member
I have about 10 30rnd. mags loaded with 28rnds, and put away for SHTF, and 3 30rnd mags for the range, also 1 10rnd for my varmit gun, and a 5rnd for load develiment. If I, find any for a good price I pick them up. 1000 mags are worthless if you don't have any ammo for them.
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
Yeah, but that was for Y2K. I had shot up all that stuff by 2004. What did you do to prepare us for this crisis?
Jed Carter
Member
2 Colt 20 rd, 4 Colt 30 rd, 4 P-mag 30 rd, 2 P-mag 20 rd, 6 Israeli 30 rd, 1 Sterling 40 rd, 2 milspec 30 rd, 1 Sig 30 rd. Total 22
1 Wilson Combat M4
1 SIG 556
1 Wilson Combat M4
1 SIG 556
I have just recently started building an AR-15 and obviously dealing with the short supply. Just out of curiosity, how much were decent 20/30 round mags prior to the most recent run on supplies. I know I just picked up some Pmags for 14.95 and a couple of AR-Stoners for $12 just to have them for whenever I finish my build, however long that may be :banghead:. Were reliable mags readily available for a lot less than those prices. I just ask b/c I know that mags for my 1911, Beretta Cougar, and KT P3AT have been that much or more before the most recent gun rush.
Defense Minister
Member
An LEO friend of mine carries one in the rifle, and a spare in the door map pocket. Does that help?
It's not often that I disagree with Art, but I'm going to do so here.
People are confusing how many magazines you need to have "loaded and ready to go" with how many you need to have on hand in order to maintain a usable supply in the event of some sort of ban or other event that makes it impossible to get more. They're not the same thing, unless you don't train.
If all you do is shoot your AR at the range in a static manner a few times a year, you need no more mags than you want to load and shoot in a single range session. But if you're training to use it as a weapon, you will be running, diving, jamming the thing into the deck, dropping mags and stepping on them. You WILL break magazines this way, especially AR magazines (they're fragile, compared to many magazine types). This doesn't matter at all if you can always buy a new magazine for $10-$15 to replace the one you damage. If, however, you can't, you'll run out of magazines eventually if you continue to train and can't buy more.
Now, if you're asking how many magazines you need to have on hand for a social problem, the answer is different. At work I have one in the gun, and one on my waist. I'm getting a plate carrier rig set up that will add a few more. I have a go-bag in the trunk with about 10 magazines, but I have lots of friends. As to on-person carriage, I think a spare or two is fine for anything short of actual military combat. In truth, I doubt I would ever fire 28 rounds in a single event at work, but it is nice to have a spare magazine in order to keep the weapon topped off, or in case of a malfunction.
Mike
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