How many magazines?

Usually 3 for carry (1 in gun, 1 on belt, 1 in car) and a minimum of 3 dedicated for range use.

Like to keep rebuild kits (springs, followers, floor plates) for each.
 
For some reason I always fixated on having a minimum of 6 mags for all pistols. However, lately I've been leaning towards having a minimum of 9 mags for all pistols, except 1911's with at least 12. Rifles are a different story for some reason. M1A's = 25, AR15's in 5.56 = 150, AR15's in "other" calibers (9mm, 45acp, 6.8, 300 Blkout, 7.62x39 = 12) and FAL's = 100 (at one time dirt cheap).
"I am a magazineaholic and I have a problem"
 
1. You can lose mags if you are in a fight and dump empties on the ground.

2. Dropping mags, even at the range, can bend lips or dent mag bodies.

3. People can borrow or steal your mags (left laying around at the range).

4. Having a few loaded mags (different round counts) makes range trips more fun, interesting, instructional, and gives you more shooting time.

5. Having 4-5 (minimum) mags loaded with defensive ammo, and a similar number (minimum) for range FMJ use is about right for me, minimum.

6. Mags are potential barter/trade items in a crunch.

7. If you have two or more guns that use the same mags, treat them as individual guns needing their own set of mags.

8. Always, always, get a number of extended capacity mags while it is legal to do so. Make sure they are not low end cheapies that probably won't work. First quality.

9. If you have low capacity mags, get more.

After that, every mag purchase is like the wisdom of laying in extra ammo.
 
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If you get into gun accumulation ......... magazines accumulation follows..... it's amazing what you can accumulate over 20 or 30 years......one here .... a couple there!!!!!!!

For those of us who lived through the 1994 to 2004 AWB ... or the "Great .22lr Shortage of 2012-2014"....

It's kind of like our parents living through the Great Depression....... you tend to find yourself preparing in case the worst happens again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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OP here. CB3 is absolutely right. Makes sense to accumulate more. I have around 100 mags for AR, all but a few stashed away. And when the AWB expired, I got several 13-round for the Hi-Power.

Think I'll start picking up M&P mags as well. Probably not 1911 mags as they are fewer in round count than any gun-control proposal.
 
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If you get into gun accumulation ......... magazines accumulation follows..... it's amazing what you can accumulate over 20 or 30 years......one here .... a couple there!!!!!!!

For those of us who lived through the 1994 to 2004 AWB ... or the "Great .22lr Shortage of 2012-1014"....

It's kind of like our parents living through the Great Depression....... you tend to find yourself preparing in case the worst happens again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

True. To an extent.

I'm not buying 50 17-round mags for my M&P9 (5 for now, and I'll likely add 2-3 more) I tend to have 4-6 mags currently for each semi pistol.

I'm also not buying 100 p-mags for my AR or 100 com-blocks for my AK (roughly a dozen each now, likely a handful more each later)


I never did run out of .22lr ;) But, I did shoot it less during those dark days, so I'm stocking up a bit more.
 
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True. To an extent.

I'm not buying 50 17-round mags for my M&P9 (5 for now, and I'll likely add 2-3 more) I tend to have 4-6 mags currently for each semi pistol.

I'm also not buying 100 p-mags for my AR or 100 com-blocks for my AK (roughly a dozen each now, likely a handful more each later)


I never did run out of .22lr ;) But, I did shoot it less during those dark days, so I'm stocking up a bit more.

Don't know that I have 100 of anything....... but over the years I've seen good deals on commonly used Smith mags that were too good to leave behind......so they came home with me........so they accumulate!!!!!!


Didn't run out of .22s either..... did bother me that I couldn't replace what I was shooting.
 
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I got a few spares for my Sig SP2340 .40 S&W dirt cheap. I traded into a Sig SP2022 .40 S&W and gave it and half the mags to my son.
 

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Lanchester SMG - Three 50-rd and three 32-rd STEN mags. Won't hurt to get more Sten mags.

Uzi SMG - Three 32-rd and 3 25-rd. Won't hurt to get more Uzi mags.

Browning BDA380 pistol - Three reduced capacity 10-rd and maybe four standard capacity 13-rd.
Browning Challenger pistol - Two standard capacity 10-rd
Browning T-Bolt rifle - Three standard capacity 10-rd. Those little plastic helix magazines are expensive.

Ruger 10-22 rifle - A lot of standard capacity 10-rd. Nothing bigger.
Ruger Mini14 rifle - Two 10-rd mags, and a bunch of 20-rd and 30-rd factory mags. Maybe I should get some more.
Walther TPH pistol - Three .22 magazines.
 
You cannot have too many magazines:
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Magazines are a wear item and they have no shelf life. So, buy one every time you have a few extra dollars.
 
I have no idea what would be too many. I'd say at least 10 per platform is a workable amount. I have no idea how many PMAGs I have, probably about 70 or 80. I also have a decent number of GI 30 round mags One of my goals was to take at least 50 AR mags already loaded to every class I attended so I did not waste time loading during breaks, so I could use the time to hydrate, take in some food, remove gear and let it dry, etc.
 
The last pistol class I went to started with a review of what we had learned in a previous class. When we went to the line some asked how much ammo we needed and the reply was, "A bunch." So, I took every mag I brought with me. It was a good thing because we shot at least 60 rounds before we stopped.

I didn't run out, but I was down to the last mag or two. Most had to run back to get more ammo.
 
There is no such thing as too many but I feel pretty comfortable with 6 to 10.

It also depends on how often and how you practice.

I typically go shooting once or twice a month and put 50 to 100 rounds through both my carry and home defense gun as well as some more rounds for guns I shoot strictly for recreation. Since I never carry a spare magazine I don't practice tactical reloading so my mags do not get dropped to the ground and stepped on. In 35+ years of shooting like this I have never worn out a magazine, including a couple of Browning HiPower and Glock magazines that have had a few thousand rounds through them. An action pistol enthusiast that shoots hundreds of rounds a week, every week, and drops a lot of mags on the ground will need a lot more magazines than someone like that shoots a few hundred rounds a month.
 
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For me, it all depends on what the gun is for.
My revolvers are all for pleasure, either target shooting or hunting, and the one magazine attached to the gun is more than enough.
My ar10 and ar15 are for SHTF. I feel ok with 10 for each, becouse that is about how many I would want to carry.
My choice for a semi auto in SHTF, is my glock 17. Four standard magazines and two 30 rnd make me feel comfortable. Going to be carrying a rifle anyway.
All other semi auto handguns, I like to try not to wear out the original magazines that came with the gun, so I'll order at least two additional ones for target and plinking and keep original ones in box.
I also keep a glock 19 in each vehicle, the 3 magazine's that come with the gun is all I have with them.
 
Who's Watching?

Having been in the intelligence field at one time... when reading some of these posts....who's watching? "How many (you supply the item) do you own? How much ammo do you stash?
So, who is telling the world how well armed you are?
Then there's the huge computers catching "trigger words"?
Same with email, guys.
Stay safe
Poli Viejo
 
personally, I have far too many. I have at least 11 for each pistol.

(3 loaded with carry, 8 with range fodder.) I always add when I see screaming deals.

let's be honest. range time gets pricey in a hurry. or, l can load mags sitting in front of the tv watching swamp people, drinking coffee, and hanging out with my dog.

(we won't even discuss the ar/ak pile... those take an eon to load)
 
Having been in the intelligence field at one time... when reading some of these posts....who's watching? "How many (you supply the item) do you own? How much ammo do you stash?
So, who is telling the world how well armed you are?
Then there's the huge computers catching "trigger words"?
Same with email, guys.
Stay safe
Poli Viejo
If the anti-gunners get elected, ban guns and decide to ignore the rest of the constitution too they would use credit card records and 4473s to find out who owns a lot of guns and ammo. If you have ever Googled "best price on 9mm" that information is stored on a server somewhere too. Looking through forum posts where BS often reigns supreme is much less efficient. While criminal hackers may now know that "Dave Lively" has an M&P with 6 magazines that is a different kind of criminal than the ones that break into your house.

Since Dave Lively is a screen name I use only on forums I don't see too much risk. With a subpoena the government could easily find my real name and I am pretty sure both the NSA and Google could provide my real name and address in less than a millisecond if they wanted to. But neither of them are going to break into my house and steal things. The NSA has bigger issues to deal with and Google prefers stealing my personal information.

A much bigger risk is social media. The time my house was broken into I was targeted because my son had told his friends I had a lot of guns and after the word got out a few of them decided to steal them. A gun safe might not slow down a professional much but in my case it proved effective against teenage boys trying for some drug money. They did trash the house and smash the lock on the safe so badly I had to pay a locksmith to open and repair the safe.

I rarely post on social media but when I do I never mention politics or show off items that someone might think is worth stealing. Pretty much just occasional pictures of grandkids and vacations. And I only post vacation pictures after I get back. Assume everything you post on social media will be seen both by your next potential employer and the son of of your co-worker who has problems the co-worker never talks about.

I wish I could talk about guns on social media but its just too risky. When we only talk about them on forums and hide it from the rest of the world it makes it look like owning guns is something we are ashamed of or embarrassed by. Which isn't the case. Or least it shouldn't be.
 
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