adequate number of magazines

[dahermit]

Being a revolver man, I only own three autos.

Being concerned that someday that 13-15 round Browning H.P. mags will again be restricted at the national level, I ordered and received two more 15 rounders from Mec-gar. I also got two more .38 Super mags from them also.

So at this point I have 14 7-round 1911 .45 ACP mags, 11 .38 Super 1911 mags and 10 Browning High Power mags...a couple 13 rounds the rest 15 rounds.

Do I have enough magazines?

 

[rc]

We never know what we might need tomorrow, but I think you are doing good. Buy more AMMO!

 

[Shadow9mm]

You can NEVER have enough magazines....

 

[TXAZ]

For what?
Hunting and plinking? Sure.

Major league day at the range? Iffy.

Take on the Cartel or SWAT team? Nope.

 

[dahermit]

We never know what we might need tomorrow, but I think you are doing good. Buy more AMMO!

I never buy ammo...being a handloader and bullet caster, I only buy brass and primers.

 

[Kirrich]

Depends on the firearm. For my wheel gun, lever or my shotgun, extras are not necessary.
Basically I have five for each caliber, except my MSR. I have enough for over half of my inventory of 5.56.

 

[Pathfinder45]

No. You absolutely don't need any more magazines. Seriously, you don't.
However, keeping in mind, if you have spare change to invest, buying more magazines, when the price is good.....might not be a bad investment.... Who knows? It's all just a roll of the dice these days.... Got a good crystal ball?

 

[jmstr]

My target is enough magazines to load one 50 round box of ammo for each pistol.

Ideally, I'd like to load 2 50 round boxes for each pistol, but I am content with the single 50 round box as a target.

I am in california, so 10rd is my max per mag.

If I only had 2 or 3 handguns, I'd probably stick to the 100 rounds loaded target, but might stretch it to 150 rounds loaded.


My ideal is to load all the mags the day before hitting the range, so that the range is time spent practicing- not loading.

I don't know how your inventory matches my targets- but I agree that you may not have enough for a full-length competition- and no one has enough for a war, but you probably have ample mags for casual range use or HD use.

 

[JohnKSa]

I feel like 5 is pretty good starting point. Looking at my inventory spreadsheet suggests that once I get up to around 10-15 mags for a gun, I stop actively looking for more and will only buy more if a really screaming deal comes along.

If a person is actively competing in gun games that commonly involve dropping magazines, one should take into account the fact that such treatment can shorten their service life and require more frequent replacement.

 

[TunnelRat]

Personally I tend to think of 5 as a good number for pistols (not to copy John). I reserve two for carry (after I’ve used them enough to insure function) and then use 3 at the range. For some pistols, like my Glocks or 1911s, I have more as well as magazines of different capacities for that model.

As mentioned, if you compete the wear and tear might mean you need to replace them more often and they may be more of a disposable commodity. I will say in the close to 30 courses I’ve done I’ve dropped magazines on concrete, asphalt, gravel etc. Glock magazines have help up very well (really I can’t tell the ones that were used in these courses from those that weren’t). I have had other magazines (M&P 2.0 Compact magazines) that didn’t handle the abuse nearly as well.

Absent a lot of dropping magazine bodies are generally pretty rugged. A cheaper option might be to stock up on magazine springs if you’re simply worried about having working magazines in the future.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[shurshot]

Realistically, most of the extra magazines I own, will end up in an estate sale, new in package, when I die. I have a hunch we all have FAR more than we will ever need.

 

[Eddiejoe]

I have 5 for my CC pistol, 11 for a couple duplicate Springfield XDs, but I need more for a couple others, one of which is out of production. I also need some for a Savage .22 rifle.
All that being said, if I found a great deal, I'd definitely buy more.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I'm thinking 3 at a bare minimum-----more is better.

With the coming times, you will probably do well to pick up as many as possible.

 

[Sarge]

I'm thinking 3 at a bare minimum-----more is better.

With the coming times, you will probably do well to pick up as many as possible.

I personally think three is plenty, never carried more than four spares even when on duty.

 

[raimius]

If worries about future availability, I'd say however many you plan to use at a time x2, as a minimum.

 

[jar]

None of the semi-automatics I am likely to carry use magazines that hold more than ten cartridges and I have at least several spares for the few semiautomatics that did come with ten or more round magazines.

 

[zeke]

Am usually trying for 5 for minimum, but certainly have some exceptions. Particulary for the small back ups that are rarely used. Mag shortages are not fun, or when some manufacturers discontinue models rather quickly and when you get into the habit of buying already discontinued/obsolete models. The older ya get, the more you may run into the discontinued/obsolete part.

For pistols used a lot, like having at least 10 mags.

 

[stinkeypete]

One is not enough, two is fine for me.

If I came across something like a run of rare nice surplus handguns like the .32 Berettas of a few years ago where it's uncertain if any magazine at all might be uncertain- sure, get more while you can.

The great thing about the new plate shooting pistol games is you throw your perfectly good magazines in to the gravel as fast as you can, possibly even stepping on them. In this case you buy enough magazines to keep you running in competition even if you mangle a few. Us bullseye guys are happy to keep them on the bench of the firing line.

 

[dahermit]

My target is enough magazines to load one 50 round box of ammo for each pistol.

I handload in units of 100. I go out to my shooting shed (built just inside the sliding door on my pole barn, heated with a kerosene heater), where in I shoot 100 rounds at my falling plate (swinging, actually...do not require a reset), home shooting range.

So with the number of mags I know have, I can take 98 .45 ACP loaded into mags, 99 .38 Super rounds in mags, and 130 + rounds of 9mm rounds out to be fired.

With 14 .35 ACP mags, all seven rounders. Some of my mags started life as eight rounders (Colt Stainless Steel and Kimber Stainless steel) with those folding metal followers. But, I had a few malfunctions with them (inertia feed on the last round so I swapped out the springs and followers that came with them form seven round springs and followers (with dimple) and have not had that characteristic inertia feed malfunction since. I chose reliability over one-more-round capacity.

 

[Carmady]

I've had three mags for my .45 for about 25 years. Just ordered two more.

It isn't my EDC, but if I need to grab a pistol for SD that's my first choice.