AR Sponsor
Posted: 7/8/2006 6:50:38 PM EDT
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I have 4 AR's, and I'm once again...seriously considering picking up another batch of 20 mags. (well, 23 so I can have a nice even number). Here is my mag situation. 27 of them are from the ban days. I put in new springs, the bodies are 100% with finish wear, and they all have good old CB magpuls in them. I use these for range mags. Never had a mag related failure using them. To be honest, 27 range mags is more than I need. The 20 new ones I just bought a month ago have been relegated to SHTF. They are loaded with 55grain IMI 193, and my guess is that they will never get shot, well...unless the SHTF. So...do I need 23 more of these things? Does it make sense to have 70 magazines for AR's, of which I only plan on using the original 27? I'm already leaning one way...I'd just like to hear what you all have to say. Thanks, Scott |
Somehow I think somebody like markm would say you need 87  But I think you've got more than enough for what you plan on using them for. I've only got 3 mags at the moment but plan on getting a total of 10 for my rifle. Thats 300rds of ammo. If I can't settle it in that then it's a major problem. |
Yes, thats what my logic is telling me too. With the 20 I have set aside for SHTF, thats 600 rounds. With all 47 loaded, thats 1410 rounds I have right now loaded up ready to go. If I need more than that, I'll be dead anyways... With what I have now, I have enough to distribute all of my AR's 10 mags with 7 to spare....which is irrelevant, cause I'd never distribute them in the first place  Sad thing is, I still want the damn mags. Something about having 70 mags...2100 rounds loaded...that I like. But why... ARGH |
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I say take the money you were planning on spending on magazines and see if you can buy a life instead . . . No, that's mean. Forget I said that . . . Still, why would anyone possibly need that many magazines? I bet there are guys who've pulled a tour of duty in Iraq who haven't emptied that many magazines. |
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Dude, we live in IL. That should be incentive enough.  BTW, I have about 55 and have 11 on the way from CProducts as we speak (they have an AWESOME deal going on right now: Buy 10, get one free and get 10 Magpul GenII followers free as well). In this state, more is better, IMO. WIZZO |
Hmmm...fuck you. And don't forget I said that.  Oh, and btw, thanks everyone else for the real contributions. Wizzo, thats exactly why I think I'm going to get more. buy 21, get 2 free, plus 20 magpul followers I could either sell or swap out worn ones. That would put me at 70. Done and done. |
That's mature.
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Should be a Miller Manlaw. |
Dude, the next ban is ammo, haven't you noticed the price and availability? Seriously, I only have a dozen or so mags in current usage, 6 for SHTF and 6 or so for 3-gun matches. [Ok, I keep a couple in my hi-power box, and have other odd and end mags around, but that's not the point.] Having a gazillion mags only really seems important if you have a happy position to go with safe and fire on your rifle. Otherwise it seems your $ might be better spent on ammo or reloading equipment / supplies. On the other hand, having a big pile of mags to go with the rest of your toys might make you sleep better, especially if you already have the ammo thing covered. I have considered buying a few extra mags just as investment/insurance against the next ban, but so far I have other priorities... Overall, I would say go for it. Buying 20-30 mags isn't going to bankrupt anyone, and as long as you have storage space [my big problem] you should be good to go reguardless.. |
'Happy position' is "pending". :D |
I would never trust my life to magazines without function testing them all several times, but thats just me I guess. 
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Dont worry about that. |
+1 The mag must drop free from every rifle. If it does not it gets smashed with a hammer. The one that pass that test then must fire 28 rounds from each rifle. any mag that has two failures to feed druing that test gets smashed with a hammer. I own 10 ARs so each new mag required 280 rounds testing before its trusted. I burn alot of ammo and smash alot of mag bodies, but at this point i have all but eliminated magazine failures. Mags are the weakest link in the AR weapon platform and must be confirmed reliable before trusting them. |
Aint that the truth... Heres the way I did it though I keep buying more as I can My Loadout is 12 Mags in case of Zombies/SHTF, so therefore I need 3x that number, plus I have 4 more for use as range mags and they are the ONLY mags I use at the range to save wear and tear on my other mags. I do this PER RIFLE. I now have over 50 mags and will be getting more to cover my sons AR and my other AR All mags I buy MUST be tested for reliability at the range before I mark them as reliable, then I load or store them |
I came back from my 2nd tour in Iraq with a ruck totally full of mags  When we were getting ready to exfil, guys would be packing their stuff, saying "man, I wish these mags didn't take up all this space" and I'd say "I'll take 'em". |
Tell you what dude throw your bad mags in a box and I'll pay shipping to me. I can always use range beater mags. Free is good. No reason to smash with a hammer. |
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Take your worst 6-8 mags and use them at the range. Put grey tape on them so you can keep track. Take your best 10-20 and relegate them to SHTF. Mark them with black tape Take the remainder and store them never to be used. Try to buy NIW mags and leave them that way. Try to get at least 40 more. Investment Investment Investment |
Any issues getting through customs? PO won't let me mail them home. |
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I currently have 72 magazines for my four M4 Carbines; 22 HK magazines and 50 GI Aluminum magazines. I am in the process of buying 2 – 4 HK magazines every month until I reach an about 50 – 60 HK magazines along with the 50 GI Aluminum magazines. What drives me to buy more magazines the very real fact that one’s AR15, without a good quality and reliable magazine, is then just a very expensive and useless single shot weapon. |
None whatsoever. You're carrying all your gear, ACH, IBA, etc on you at the time you go through customs, so mags are no big deal either  Heck, I also brought through 4 AK drum mags. Told the Navy guy they were for my M4. No problems there.You can't mail em home though...no TA-50 or other fun stuff 
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I think you're doing fine. I agree with AR15fan that bare minimum should be seven mags per gun, and you're way beyond that. IMO the only reason to buy more is if you believe a future ban will hit us. At that point you can sell the extra ones for beer money or keep your existing mags in good shape, or pass them down to the young'ins. My money is that there will be another ban in the future. Not necessarily in 2008, but sometime down the road. The feds banned them once, numerous states ban them now (NY, CA, HI, NJ, etc.) and if you ax me, they'll do it again! FWIW I have two ARs and around 55 mags. |
| I'm with bladeswitcher, why in the world would you have that many magazines. I have just a few and I'm satisfied. I can't imagine ever owning 50-150 magazines, based on the numbers previously given. Let's say for example you got a good deal on everyone of those and paid say $5 a piece, that means you have spent $250-$750 on magazines. Maybe it's just me but thats insane. |
Because another ban may come along and you'll wish you had all those mags. |
During a ban, $250 dollars worth of mags can quickly become $800 worth of mags. Of course, most of my mags came from Uncle Sam. I probably wouldn't have put out the necessary cash for the 90-some that I have otherwise. I'd probably have more like 40. |
D'uh! And here I was, operating under the assumption that you could reuse them! |
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The next ban will likely ban transfer of magazines, like Cali. So unless you want to engage in illegal activities, those magazines will only have value to you. If you are lucky maybe they will let your kids take the stuff when you die, but some ban states prohibit even this. Besides, if there was another ban I doubt magazines will appreciate much, people have gone all out buying extras in case of another ban. Here is what to consider when deciding how many mags you need per rifle: How old are you? If you are 75, chances are you won't be wearing out dozens of AR mags before you die. How often do you shoot? Is this a SHTF rifle or just a range toy? Do you compete? Running competitions can be very hard on magazines. If there is a ban, how secure is your storage? Would you consider multiple storage locations to hedge against theft and fire? More storage locations probably equal more magazines. Finally, how durable are the magazines? 5 AK magazines would probably outlast 10 AKs. USGI AR mags on the other hand are just one step above disposable. Just due to the last point, I think the minimum AR magazines to have on hand is 20. But if you have multiple ARs, not sure if you need 20 for each one, you need to decide for yourself. |
| You can buy mags for less than $10 today. There's not a lot of room for them to get cheaper and the manufacturers to still make a profit. However, there are several reasons why the price could go up or availability could go down in the future. A new ban (with no sunset) is very possible depending on the '06 and '08 elections. If SHTF is a concern, quality mags would be excellent trade goods. If you can afford it, why not buy more now while they are cheap. There are a lot of people kicking themselves for not buying an MG in '86. |
Thats more guns and mags than you could ever need but hey whatever floats your boat its hard to have too many guns and mags. One thing to consider is have you got weapon lights and optics on your rifles. These are worth while add ons and you already have a lot of mags. Pat |
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Lots of opinions on this subject as you can see. Since I suspect we are going to see another ban at some point, I have laid back a 100+ 30 round mags along with a good supply of spare parts for my ARs. If the worst happens, you will need what you have on hand to keep your weapons up and running until common sense prevails again at some point. I believe someone on here once said…..you can't have too many magazines or ammo. Pretty sound advise from where I sit. |
No worries, 3 ammo cans of radway and 2 cases of guat just came in. On top of the other stuff I have piled up, we're in good shape
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