How many magazines should you own?

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Tangent question for those who keep dedicated separate carry/duty and training mags - How often do you allow the springs in your carry mags to cycle? Any concern about the springs "setting" after too long and losing enough power to cycle properly?
 
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Frailer

Newbie
...This got me wondering, how many magazines does everyone think they should have for their primary carry gun? How many do you currently have? Is there a bare minimum? Is there such a thing as "too many"? Do you have magazines of various lengths/capacities and if so what length do you have the most of?

First, this is my *opinion*, which is backed up by neither science nor math. It works for me, but your mileage may vary.

My “acceptable minimum” for any pistol I own is 6, and I prefer to have 8 or 10. I make exceptions for “historical” guns (like my Colt 1903s), as I rarely shoot them, and quality magazines for old guns can be ridiculously pricey.

As far as carry guns go, my go-to semi-auto is the Gen4 Glock 26. I own 3 of these: one that I carry and compete with occasionally, one that I practice/train with, and one spare. I have 2 magazines that stay loaded with defensive ammo, 8 that I practice/compete with, and a dozen or so unused in my “spare mag” foot locker.

The guns I shoot most often are full-size 9mm Glocks, and at the moment I have 50 or so 17-round magazines. Basically, any time somebody says “high capacity magazine” in an ominous tone on a news program I buy another Glock 17 magazine.

For the record, 50 is probably “too many,” but I like having them around.
 

Kain

Member
Tangent question for those who keep dedicated separate carry/duty and training mags - How often do you allow the springs in your carry mags to cycle? Any concern about the springs "setting" after too long and losing enough power to cycle properly?

Personal opinion on springs kind of comes down to this. The spring is not going to wear out under compression. barring the design being fucked. Otherwise we would all be storing out mags disassembled because the spring is under pressure when assembled. Springs wear, all things being equal, due to cycling. To which point cycling ammo would wear your mags more than not, though we then get into the whole how long do you keep duty/Hd ammo loaded? Some say a month, some have had the same shit in mags since 1991, who the fuck knows. Now, some will chime in with "Glock mags have springs over compressed and ect....." But point being, the only mags I have ever had issues with springs were run like rented mules on meth or shit mags to start with. Otherwise I have legit Colt and Adventureline 20rd USGI mags from God knows when that still run fine. Run them and replace when they start having issue, or mark for training only is my advice.
 

Sunshine_Shooter

Established
I would not say you are wrong persay. But context for the training mag thing might be worth noting since I feel there are two primary, and a third maybe reason I would either expect or personally have training mags.

First for ban states with grandfathered mags, training mags make sense for any hard use since I would be hard pressed to want to jack up tge "good" mags when theg are hard to replace and cost primo cash. Agree or disagree with staying, tge laws, ect. The concept is understandable.

Second cheap "second line" mags that are lower quality and malf prone for training. I am personally one to do this. Used to run the, at the time $5 KCI glock mags for training cuz they were shit and malfed regularly. At least in all the glocks I ran them in. Since it was a mixed bag of when they'd malf made for good training in my mind. When the price increased on them it did then become a cost benefit over OEM mags and OEM won out. I do have some magpul glock mags I abuse but that is more due to wanting to play with something new. I also had a friend who had marked thermolds which he had found would doublefeed damn near more than not. Again training mags. There also I think the mindset with mags dedicated for training that you don't feel bad about abusing them. "Why that glock 33rder look like a bananna" "training mag" and I would in no way assume the "good mags" never get shot. Just maybe not violated.

Third. I've seen some departments who are so paranoid bout damaging shit they had ordered officers during training not to drop their mags and instead ordered them to sit them gently on tge ground during reloads during quals. I can again understand getting dedicated training mags in that situation as well.

That all said, if you wish to just rotate all mags through use for training. That does work too. There more than one way to skin the cat.

1) Legit reason. Maybe don't throw out your 'bad' mags, so much as put them in a storage container to be dumped for $$$ during the next panic buy?

2) If you're running a decent quality Glock/M&P/whatever and/or a quality AR, how often do you experience malfs that aren't caused by a bad mag? I don't see hardly any, but I also probably shoot a small fraction of what most guys on here shoot. I'm legitimately asking.

3) No comment.
 

spinmove_

Member
1) Legit reason. Maybe don't throw out your 'bad' mags, so much as put them in a storage container to be dumped for $$$ during the next panic buy?

Dude, that’s kind of a dick move. If it’s a bad mag, destroy it and throw it away. Don’t scalp someone else looking to get some decent support gear for their gun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Sunshine_Shooter

Established
Dude, that’s kind of a dick move. If it’s a bad mag, destroy it and throw it away. Don’t scalp someone else looking to get some decent support gear for their gun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Eh, maybe. I have little sympathy for panic-buyers. Just include that these are well used and may not be as reliable as new unopened product. If someone is truly looking for good gear, they won't buy it. Mr. "I want it because they tell me I can't have it!" -he can get my worn out mags.
 

CK837

Amateur
I have a primary duty dun, and I have a primary off-duty carry gun. I usually have fewer mags for the off-duty carry gun as I do my duty pistol because I just don't carry as many bullets off-duty. For my duty pistol, I have three 21 round 9mm P320 mags that are my full time duty mags. Those mags are obviously tested before I trust them, but generally new magazines from reputable manufacturers are reliable. I leave them loaded and do my best not to dump the rounds from them because, as it has been stated already, the wear one springs is typically from the compression/decompression cycle. I then will have at minimum the same number of training mags as duty, but I prefer to have double. The more time I spend loading mags at training, the less time I'm shooting, so it benefits me to have loaded mags before I step on the range if possible.

For my off-duty, I eventually end up with a similar setup on magazines, but since I carry fewer rounds, and shoot my off-duty less since I'm less likely to use it vs my duty gun, I don't worry about it as much. Similar concept though. Keep duty ammo loaded in some tested mags, use the others for training, etc.

Extra magazines don't have to be a debilitating up front cost. I usually will buy them in 2's or 3's, but you can definitely buy them one at a time. I've never thought, I have too many magazines, but I have wished at times that I had more. I would also suggest that even with older or antique firearms that you don't shoot often, it's worth investing in the magazines over time because they can become difficult to find as time goes on.
 

Kain

Member
CK837 brings up a good point and reminds me of another one actually.

First, if you have old guns, or older out of production guns, if you find mags for them it never a bad idea to pick an extra couple up. More is better. And even if you end up selling them down the road proper factory mags do add to value of the odder stuff. And trust, it is an absolute bitch having to hand fit a magazine for an older gun. I have an old .22lr that I have had to do that with a couple times now. It also doesn't help that with odd ball stuff figuring out what mags work with what model can be rather, exciting let's just say. And even if it isn't hard to know what does and does not fit, there is something to be said for buying mags while the getting is good, especially for guns that are no longer in production. Spare parts too.

A final word. Shit isn't getting cheaper. Not likely. So if you have a desire for a particular gun to add to your collection at some point. And mags or even other accessories are cheap now, it might not be a bad idea to pick up a few(dozen) now when they are silly cheap rather than wait. Anyone pushing AKs can probably tell you about mags that are h&k priced now that used to be like $10 or less.

All that said, you can also be the crazy mofo like me and buy mags for guns you don't really intend to own and really are just buying them because they interest you in a weird sort of way. That is my explanation why I own a Bren gun mag. And probably my partial facination with Cetme L mags. Although those do fit in an AR and a green or black follower will fit them and lock the bolt back in an AR.
 
I'm also of the thought to have double the carry load as a minimum. So for me, that's 6 pistol and 10 rifle magazines per weapon,at a minimum.

I also remember living and working through the AWB, where a Glock magazine sold for as much as $100 per magazine.

With the current prices of quality magazines, I recommend stocking up.

I would also remember that a magazine is a wear item. I have dedicated training magazines. The thought is that when they wear out, I'll replace them. Still waiting for my M&P9 training magazines to wear to the point that they need replacing.
 

shoobe01

Established
Just putting away stuff this weekend, realized I also have 6 for the 9mm SMG upper for the AR, and 6 for my now-much-less-used S&W 5946. And only two for several range-only fun guns (Star PD, CZ70). So somehow I have settled on 6 as the minimum for carry/practice/training.

Two is the bare minimum to own a gun even if not carried, if only for identifying if the gun is having a bad time and needs work, or it's the mag.
 
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