20 vs 30 round mags...

I prefer 20 rounders mainly because I can use them when shooting off a bipod, can't do that with 30 rounders. I do own some 30 rounders just because, and keep one loaded in the safe just in case, but I rarely use them when I actually go shooting.

I prefer 20, even 10 round magazines for range use. If there were a serious situation then the 30 round mags would get the nod.

Shanghai McCoy said:

Anyone else like the 20 over the 30 rounders..?

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I use a 204 Ruger 26" barrel AR-15 top shoot prairie dogs. We mostly shoot off benches. I prefer 10 round magazines. Anything longer gets in the way.

30 round and longer magazines are too long for my other purposes.

When I competed in NRA Across the Course with an AR15 that is all I would use. The 30 round magazine was too long if you were shooting an AR15 prone with a sling.

I also prefer 20 and 10 round mags. The only reason I have so many 30 round mags is because I found a whole mess of used PMags at a pawn shop that I negotiated down to $6/ea if I bought 10.

I still mainly only use the 10!round mags.

Back when I had an AR, I bought two 30 round Magpul magazines. All the rest were 20 rounders, also from Magpul. Now I just have a Mini-14, and I prefer 20s for that too.

I think I'd like 15 round mags if they were readily available. Not sure why, I just feel like it'd be a good balance.

20-rounder's more compact in general... AR-15 or Mini-14 either one. For range time, I see the point about comfort.

Really, about the only times I've heard about 30rd AR-15 mags actually being useful is if you found yourself in an ambush... two mags taped together in a V makes 60rds that you use to break contact.

I've heard all about how "you don't need a 30rd mag to shoot a deer"... no, use one round for the deer... the other 29rds are for other problems like predators or something that might try to take your deer away from you. Same can be said about 20rds.

Love 20s. Well... 18s. Always download two.

And it's plenty. Have done lots of force-on-force stuff, action shooting matches, and so on with "just" 18 on board. If you aim and use cover properly and so on, it's not a huge impediment, and you get the bonus of getting lower, of getting your arm under the gun more easily, etc.

I really liked the 20 round magazines until I really got into 3-gun. Then I learned to like the 30 round magazines. The five round magazine I have for my 6.8 gets used more than any of the 25 or 30 round magazines I have,

I like 20s because they hold a box of ammo.
30s are too awkward, but I have more of them than anything.

I've got a pile of the G.I. 20 round mags. I use them exclusively for predator hunting and position shooting. Off a bipod or prone, they're much more convenient than 30 round mags.

When I was in the Army I went out of my way to collect 20 round M16 magazines. They made the rifle easier to carry because the magazine was less likely to get hung up on my LBE and it was easier to fire from the prone position.

Armored farmer said:

I like 20s because they hold a box of ammo.
30s are too awkward, but I have more of them than anything.

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That's been my thought, as well, although lately I've noticed the IMI 5.56 stuff MidwayUSA sells is in 30rd boxes.

yes. Especially as I go as low as possible in prone.

-kBob

I prefer 30s, use 20s off the bench/coyote hunting and in 3gun matches I occasionally use a 40.

The 40 comes in handy as sometimes a stage will have a high carbine round count and it also serves as a mono-pod in prone as "TAC-Optis" guys aren't allowed a bipod.

I started using 20rnd mags when I had a tendency to do mag dumps to save ammo, then I noticed when shooting from the bench it was easier with the 20s. I lucked into 2 plastic totes of 20rnd metal GI mags at an estate auction for cheap and have gotten rid of 30 rounders except for defense guns inside the house. I've not seen the 10rnd mags but for hunting I think they would be nice.

Trunk Monkey said:

When I was in the Army I went out of my way to collect 20 round M16 magazines. They made the rifle easier to carry because the magazine was less likely to get hung up on my LBE and it was easier to fire from the prone position.

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I came here to respond similarly. I used a 20 rounder in my M16A2/M4 and carried the 30 rounders in the pouches. The 20 rounder is much handier when your primary Army mission is not gunplay.

I use 20 and 10 round magazines most of the time. Either is much better for shooting prone with a sling unless you want to monopod off the magazine base. Either are better for shooting off bags or with a bipod from the bench. For offhand target shooting, I place my support hand directly under the magazine well and use 10 round magazines.

Unless I am playing gun games, I almost always use 20 round mags.

Recent web gear is designed for carrying 30-round magazines. To carry 20-round magazines, you have to go back to Vietnam-era gear.

AlexanderA said:

Recent web gear is designed for carrying 30-round magazines. To carry 20-round magazines, you have to go back to Vietnam-era gear.

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Just put Styrofoam or plastic blocks from ammo boxes in the bottom of the mag holders. Don't weigh much and raise the 20 rounders up higher. I use a similar system when using my mag holders for PCC mags, except I put the blocks on the sides to make up for width.