Best magazines for 3-gun style competitions

[Dr.Rob]

I'm not talking about benchrest stuff here. Tried the search feature for this and results were 'mixed' at best.

I know Justin and a few others here shoot hardcore carbine matches and just wondering what magazines you like in your AR-15s?

[Hoser]

I use lots of plain old GI mags with Magpul followers. I also like my Sterling 40 rounders. And, of course, P-Mags run good.

You should come down to Pueblo for a rifle match. Justin and Zak are normally there.

[Dr.Rob]

Never shot a 3 gun match just askin as I'm picking up an AR tomorrow. (Never shot a match further south than the Springs, but its not a big deal to do so.)

[memphisjim]

i think playboy magazines will do well

[Justin]

Real knee-slapper there...


Rob-
Most of the magazines I'm running these days are pretty much the standard GI 30-rounders. For the most part, they'll run quite good. If you feel like it, you can replace the followers with the MagPul ones, but it's certainly not a requirement.

I've got a couple of PMags, and they seem to run well also.

For specialty magazines, I've got one each of the Tripp Research (http://www.trippresearch.com/osdoc/arpri.html) Super 42 and Super 52 round Cobra magazines.

I've found that the Super 42 magazine is quite good. I've run it at two or three local matches, as well as this year's Superstition Mountain Mystery 3 Gun Match (say that five times fast) with no hitches. I haven't shot the Super 52 Cobramag as much, but have had a couple of jams with it, so I don't trust it quite as much.

For 3Gun or practical-type competition, some guys will really cover their bases and bring a 20-rd mag for shooting through low ports, a couple of 30-rounders, and then something bigger for stages that have high round counts or a significant amount of close-in hosing. By no means do you need to have that many magazines rattling around in your range bag, though. Three or four thirty-rounders will be more than enough.

[Zak Smith]

I usually just use USGI mags with Magpul followers, maybe throw in a new spring if it's ancient. I have some Pmags I've used with success, and I have a couple 20's I bring if I really think ahead. More often than not, I just bring whatever I grab out of the bin first, and throw away any individual mags that cause malfs.

[RH45]

It really depends on the stage you are shooting.

Sometimes, I'll use a 100 round, Beta mag, and sometimes I'll use a standard, Brownell's 30 round magazine, and sometimes, I'll use a DPMS 45 round magazine.

I even have a couple of 30/45 mags, that you can start with 45 rounds and if you get down to 30 rounds, or less, and need to go prone, you can slap the bottom of the mag and collapse it to the size of a standard, 30 round magazine.

If you're going to play the game, get all the toys!:D

[VegasOPM]

P-Mags and Beta mags seem to be the usual for the game.

[Zak Smith]

Most of the Rocky Mtn 3-gun shooters I know don't used Beta mags, and those that do, use them extremely rarely. More often than not, they seem to cause more problems than the small benefit one would gain.

[Justin]

Depending on the match, use of a Beta Mag can bump you into Open class.

[Dr.Rob]

Need to go back to Jensen's. they had 30 rd Colt military mags for $20.

Have yet to find any P-Mags, though several places claim 'backorders', Midway isn't one of them.

[Jed Carter]

Where I'm going to shoot, (bluegrass sportsmans league) the pits are covered in large gravel so I think I'll use the Magpul P-mags. Metal magazines could become deformed or dented in my thinking. I'll be shooting a SIG 556.
I do have a question: Is it ok to clamp 2-3 magazines together? USPSA rules do not appear to prohibit this, they do mention spare magazines in a pouch or pocket.

[RH45]

A lot of guys clamp two mags together and if they go prone, use the mags as a monopod.
I don't know of any 3-gun rules that don't allow it, but, I'd suggest that you go to a range and try it first. I know that sometimes, the top round of the mag that's not in the gun will work forward due to recoil.