# Extra mags



## DerBiermeister (Aug 15, 2014)

Just curious -- how many 30 round mags for your ARs do you folks have on hand?

I have 6. In the prepping for a SHTF scenario, I am wondering if that is really enough? Of course, if we end up on the run, that would be too many to carry -- so am thinking more of a staying-put scenario.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

No such thing as too many mags.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

6 per weapon is a good start...Then again, I don't plan on running.


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## Jeep (Aug 5, 2014)

I have a few more :-D


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

DerBiermeister said:


> Just curious -- how many 30 round mags for your ARs do you folks have on hand?
> 
> I have 6. In the prepping for a SHTF scenario, I am wondering if that is really enough? Of course, if we end up on the run, that would be too many to carry -- so am thinking more of a staying-put scenario.


Loaded or unloaded?


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

A couple of dozen. They are not expensive.


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## DerBiermeister (Aug 15, 2014)

Camel923 said:


> A couple of dozen. They are not expensive.


I paid about $13 each for the extras (my Ruger came with 3). 
I am not sure I'll ever get up to a couple of dozen, but looks like most here recommend more. I can accept that I am not yet prepared.


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## DerBiermeister (Aug 15, 2014)

AquaHull said:


> Loaded or unloaded?


Well loaded of course.


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

I keep 10 thirty round mags loaded. I figure that if the military uses a 300 round load out, it is good enough for me.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

DerBiermeister said:


> Well loaded of course.


6 - 20 rounders,about 15 -30 rounders


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I had 4 per rifle but after they immediately went after the high capacity magazines I have been gobbling them up. Thank you, Senator Feistein for showing me the light. I now have......many.


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## Sarkus (Sep 11, 2014)

I currently have six total 20 or 30 round mags for my primary rifle. Given weight considerations, that's probably about as many as a person might reasonably carry on them.


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## keith9365 (Apr 23, 2014)

I have many....and lots of rounds on strippers.


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## Jeep (Aug 5, 2014)

You got strippers ?


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

Let's see... two in the AR (mag doubled, though I'm considering a redi-mag), spare next to the bed, four in my chest harness, 2 in the emergency kit, 1 in the car emergency kit... If I could count, I would tell you how many that was.


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## Mr Ed (Dec 29, 2012)

Six per weapon seems about right for 5.56- 30rd and maybe 4 or so for 7.62- 20rd


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## Jeep (Aug 5, 2014)

I'll come clean, I have 18 for my AR, scored a deal several years ago, I bought LEO military only Mags for 10 dollars a piece in exchange for older after market mags the guy could sell for 30-40 a piece due to the ban in Cali. I have 7 for the Beretta, 3 for the SA-85 and a 75 rd drum.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I'm embarrassed to say! But my wife wanted me to buy more.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

A lot, never enought


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

AquaHull said:


> 6 - 20 rounders,about 15 -30 rounders


Only 14 - 30 rounders are loaded now.


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## alterego (Jan 27, 2013)

I enjoy this site. And I enjoy the comradary of comparing the size and quantity of my extremities with you guys. However I am a little shy and am not easily compelled to whip it out in public places. So I remain bashful and keep all of it in my trousers.


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## Jeep (Aug 5, 2014)

Umm I don't have much room down there, sorry


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

6 is a terrible answer. AR 15 magazines are virtually disposable. The feed lips on the steel and aluminum magazines wear out and get dented, the polymer mags like Troy/Magpul and Lancer will become brittle over time and inevitably become unreliable. Your state or Federal government may ban these at the drop of a hat. If you don't have a lifetime supply of new magazines you need to. I prefer the Lancer smoke/clear for polymer magazines because they have the metal reinforcements. I love my window P mags too. For stashing away, it's steel and aluminum Mil-Spec for the AR. 

For the AK 47 I have Tapco and Magpul polymer. New production Croatian, Romanian, East German, Korean and Bulgarian steel magazines. I don't think you need so many steel AK magazines. These will easily outlive me as long as they are kept dry and clean.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Long as you kept them out of the 249 Saw the old mags held up pretty good. I still have a rather large box of the around. The early followers did stick some times and that gave them a bad name.
Shot the living heck out of a few MAGPUL G2 and G3's never had an issue with one.


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## 7515 (Aug 31, 2014)

Maybe a dumb question but I will ask it anyhow.
Don't you worry about loaded magazine compressing the spring?
I only keep a couple of AR and AK magazines loaded for this reason, all the others are empty in storage.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

I think the biggest problem is the stress it puts on the feed lips. Magpul dust covers solve that problem. The spring gets worn out from being cycled, not compressed.


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## 7515 (Aug 31, 2014)

Arklatex said:


> I think the biggest problem is the stress it puts on the feed lips. Magpul dust covers solve that problem. The spring gets worn out from being cycled, not compressed.


Thanks - I was going to ask this in a separate thread but this post popped up today and it seemed like a appropriate place.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

alterego said:


> I enjoy this site. And I enjoy the comradary of comparing the size and quantity of my extremities with you guys. However I am a little shy and am not easily compelled to whip it out in public places. So I remain bashful and keep all of it in my trousers.


Magnuts?


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Don't have an AR, but back in the day, on a base camp deep in Indian Country, the issue for my M16 was six 20's in pouches on my web gear, six more 20's in a bandolieer, and one bandolieer with another 120 rounds on strippers with a magazine loading attachment.
30 ground mags did not come into regular issue until after I was gone.
So that would give an AR owner a basic guideline of what to have if you lived in a dangerous area, like maybe Memphis or Detroit.


Today I have 8 East German 30 rounders for my AK, other magazine fed rifles I keep less.


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## SDF880 (Mar 28, 2013)

I have a few 20, and mainly 30 and 40 round mags maybe 15 - 16 loaded for 2 ARs. I have a bunch of new empty mags just because.


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## PalmettoTree (Jun 8, 2013)

DerBiermeister said:


> Just curious -- how many 30 round mags for your ARs do you folks have on hand?
> 
> I have 6. In the prepping for a SHTF scenario, I am wondering if that is really enough? Of course, if we end up on the run, that would be too many to carry -- so am thinking more of a staying-put scenario.


None, you only need 30 if you cannot hit any side of a barn from the inside. You should have the right to have them or larger. I just don't need them.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

I keep 5 - 30 rounders loaded (more unloaded). But truth be told, I HATE the 30 round AR mags. I much prefer the 20 rounders.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

After the magazine ban sunset, I set about acquiring magazines, I figure if they did it once they could do it again. So I probably have more than I need. What the heck, it's not a huge amount and they really don't take up much space. I'm prepped on magazines. Kinda feels good to know that if they ban them again I can walk by the scalpers and gougers and smile.


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## Hemi45 (May 5, 2014)

Box of frogs said:


> Maybe a dumb question but I will ask it anyhow.
> Don't you worry about loaded magazine compressing the spring?
> I only keep a couple of AR and AK magazines loaded for this reason, all the others are empty in storage.


Not a dumb question at all but good luck getting the *definitive* answer. There are those who swear it's steady compression that wears down the springs. Others swear it's the repeated loading/unloading that weakens them. What most agree on is that you should download by two rounds, leaving 28 in a 30 round mag. Personally, I keep several fully loaded and cycle through them at the range.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

Hemi45 said:


> Not a dumb question at all but good luck getting the *definitive* answer. There are those who swear it's steady compression that wears down the springs. Others swear it's the repeated loading/unloading that weakens them. What most agree on is that you should download by two rounds, leaving 28 in a 30 round mag. Personally, I keep several fully loaded and cycle through them at the range.


Just to extend on Hemi's answer instead of basically saying the same thing; good luck getting one to wear out. The few people who experience this are putting rounds down range day after day for months and years. If you're going out every weekend, and leaving a few on the shelf fully loaded in case of an emergency, the likelihood of one failing due to spring compression is low. Have enough of them loaded at any given time, because an empty magazine is useless.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

Lately I've been burning a mag a day of something

5 out of every hundred loaded , just to check function.


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## Blacktimberwolf (Sep 13, 2014)

I have 5 for every pistol and at least 6 for my rifle.


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## 7515 (Aug 31, 2014)

Thanks Arklatex, Hemi and DannyD for your replies.
Spring compression was more my worry than weakening the spring due to the cycle of use.
My concern was based on the original equipment mag that came with my AR was always kept full by the previous owner.
From day one I have had trouble with that mag feeding the last round into the rifle, my assumption was that it was due to compression.

I was curious if anyone else had experienced this too, or if I was making a stretch in my assumption.
I really enjoy this site. Lots to learn and share here.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

I have a few older magazines that work quite well, I should probably round file them, but they keep working and I keep using them (range only), they are Ruger and Beretta magazines if you must know.

I tend to buy either factory magazines, or magazines that are known for quality. I think quality magazines even though they cost more, saves a person money in the long run. I keep a couple of magazines loaded and have yet to experienced any problems with doing so. 

Besides that, magazine springs are relatively inexpensive and easy to find. If it worries a person to leave a magazine loaded then I'd suggest buying a handful of replacement springs and letting it go at that, or leave the magazines empty.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

The problem with some AR mags was not spring compression it was the single followers the plate would tip slightly and stick. This was not limited to AR's . However because there are so many of them around that is where you most often hear about it.
Most brands of modern AR mags have fixed that issue.


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I need to bolster my handgun magazine selection. I have 3 for my H&K, 2 for my Glock and 2 for the wife's Khar.


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## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

I keep 12 magazines for my 2 1911's,4 for the 9mm. My Garand has enbloc clips,SKS, and Mauser's take stripper clips. They can stay loaded forever and always work when needed. They are also so cheap I won't be crying the blues if they're lost.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

csi-tech said:


> I need to bolster my handgun magazine selection. I have 3 for my H&K, 2 for my Glock and 2 for the wife's Khar.


If you have the money, now might be the time to do that. I recently caught a sale on Beretta 92FS magazines and now have enough and then some. I also found some reasonably priced 13 round magazines for a Beretta 84. Which is surprising because those little buggers are expensive and not always easy to find.


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## Hemi45 (May 5, 2014)

Box of frogs said:


> Thanks Arklatex, Hemi and DannyD for your replies.
> Spring compression was more my worry than weakening the spring due to the cycle of use.
> My concern was based on the original equipment mag that came with my AR was always kept full by the previous owner.
> From day one I have had trouble with that mag feeding the last round into the rifle, my assumption was that it was due to compression.
> ...


It could just be a bad mag - it happens. I'd buy some new, high quality mags and go from there. Magpul Gen 2's are great and can be had for around $10/each.


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## 7515 (Aug 31, 2014)

Hemi45 said:


> It could just be a bad mag - it happens. I'd buy some new, high quality mags and go from there. Magpul Gen 2's are great and can be had for around $10/each.


 Based on what I've read here I am going to figure the magazine in question is just a bad item.
I have several Magpul's I like them very much


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## 9UC (Dec 21, 2012)

I keep multiple mags for my primary carries and my one SD rifle. As the .380 was my first, and even though I now carry a 9mm most of the time, it's still my favorite, so I got 10 mags for it before I bought the 9mm, more so because I don't like to have to load mags at the range. Two for SD loads and 8 for target grade. After I got the 9mm, I did the same thing, 10 mags, 8 for target and 2 for SD. Now to tell a story of just good dumb luck, three weeks ago, a friend who last year bought the same 9mm as I have last year, decided after about a hundred rounds, that he wanted to sell it and buy a Sig. He offered it to me with a total of 7 mags for $250. That was just a little less than the cost of the mags. I now have a total of 17 mags for the two guns. I keep one loaded for SD in the gun and the rest went into my range box.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

Box of frogs said:


> Based on what I've read here I am going to figure the magazine in question is just a bad item.
> I have several Magpul's I like them very much


Magpul is made in the USA by patriots who have chosen to stand up for what is right on multiple occasions. I'd buy a few of them even if they were junk, and thankfully they're far from it.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

3 fully loaded, and on the gun.
Two of them are coupled together in the mag well, one is in a pouch on the collapsible stock.
90 rounds on the gun as soon as I grab it.
If I had to bug out, and could grab no other gear, I'll make 90 rounds suffice.

This is not enough as far as I'm concerned, and I will be getting at least 6 more as time allows.
Standard loadout vests have two to four mag pouches that should hold at least 2 a piece.
Mine has 3, therefore I need 6 more. Yes... I said *NEED*. :grin:

6 fully loaded mags should NOT be too much to bug out with.


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## DerBiermeister (Aug 15, 2014)

Kauboy said:


> 3 fully loaded, and on the gun.
> Two of them are coupled together in the mag well, one is in a pouch on the collapsible stock.
> 90 rounds on the gun as soon as I grab it.
> If I had to bug out, and could grab no other gear, I'll make 90 rounds suffice.
> ...


At least for the initial confrontation -- I agree with the six, although I have a different setup. One mag stays fully loaded in the gun. I carry two extra mags in taco pouchs on my hips. And in the back, I have a drop pouch that will easily hold 3 loaded mags. If I happened to be far away from my ammo stash, and need more than 90 rounds, then I am truly in a war instead of just a skirmish -- and I will probably be toast.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

DerBiermeister said:


> At least for the initial confrontation -- I agree with the six, although I have a different setup. One mag stays fully loaded in the gun. I carry two extra mags in taco pouchs on my hips. And in the back, I have a drop pouch that will easily hold 3 loaded mags. If I happened to be far away from my ammo stash, and need more than 90 rounds, then I am truly in a war instead of just a skirmish -- and I will probably be toast.


May I make a suggestion?

Dump pouches located on the small of your back (if that's what you're saying here, I may be misunderstanding) are a Really Bad Idea™. Get a chest rig or some mag pouches that bring them forward for two reasons; first, if you're moving and you have anything on the small of your back, when you fall you risk seriously hurting yourself and being taken out of the fight instantly. When training, everyone should be doing moving exercises, even if it's simply moving forward and backwards. Unless you're Spiderman, there will come a time when you trip and fall while walking backwards, and you should continue to be able to fire from that position. Having even a radio there can permanently change that.

Second, you should always be in a position to reload while keeping your eyes downrange and on the enemy position. You should never be lowering your weapon or taking your eyes off of that (with the obvious exception of dropping behind cover to reload during heavy fire). Fishing around in a pouch for a mag is extremely inefficient and slow. Always keep your loaded mags forward, place your tactical reloads to the rear, and keep them all pointed in the same direction so you can index each one with your preferred grip, without having to check their orientation.


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## just mike (Jun 25, 2014)

2-8 round mags for the 45acp, 4-20 round for the AR all loaded and ready. Many more waiting in the safe for emergency. how many? More than I need but not as many as I want. Prefer 20 round mags for the AR, especially when firing in the prone position, but I do stock 30 rounders for fire suppression.


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## DerBiermeister (Aug 15, 2014)

dannydefense said:


> *May I make a suggestion?
> *
> Dump pouches located on the small of your back (if that's what you're saying here, I may be misunderstanding) are a Really Bad Idea™. Get a chest rig or some mag pouches that bring them forward for two reasons; first, if you're moving and you have anything on the small of your back, when you fall you risk seriously hurting yourself and being taken out of the fight instantly. When training, everyone should be doing moving exercises, even if it's simply moving forward and backwards. Unless you're Spiderman, there will come a time when you trip and fall while walking backwards, and you should continue to be able to fire from that position. Having even a radio there can permanently change that.
> 
> Second, you should always be in a position to reload while keeping your eyes downrange and on the enemy position. You should never be lowering your weapon or taking your eyes off of that (with the obvious exception of dropping behind cover to reload during heavy fire). Fishing around in a pouch for a mag is extremely inefficient and slow. Always keep your loaded mags forward, place your tactical reloads to the rear, and keep them all pointed in the same direction so you can index each one with your preferred grip, without having to check their orientation.


Yes, you certainly may. This is really good stuff! Right now, I have the dump bag -- empty, off towards the back, off of one hip. Next to it, on the other hip side is my medical trauma pouch -- pretty soft. (in addition to being an EMT, for ten years I was a trained Cardiac Tech, so I know my way around trauma.) I keep my mags on left side, opposite my holster. I really like the idea of adding a vest -- maybe just for mags. Have to admit, working with the malice clips is a real PIA -- kind of makes you want to limit what you carry. :lol:


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## hardcore (Jan 13, 2013)

got a GI foot locker full of GI 30 rd ar mags. i went with the mag pulls for carry thou, 1 in the rifle, 6 in the pouches and 6 in a bandoleer


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