30+1 ok with an AR?

If that one is in the chamber and not the magazine then it should be just fine. Most handguns have extra space that you can fit +1 into if you want but that space is really there to keep the magazine spring from wearing out too fast.

I've never had a problem with it.

No. 27-28.

It is more likely to work with 30 if you insert the mag with the bolt to the rear.

For generations now, it has become a useful routine to NOT stuff magazines to their full capacity.

Military organizations in my soldiering days typically recommended (or ordered) downloading by about ten percent to get better functioning. In 30-round mags, load 27 or 28. In 20-rounders, load 18. It's far better to be ASSURED that the first round from a fresh magazine WILL chamber normally, than to have the debatable "benefit" of an extra round or two in that magazine.

The extreme compression of the spring at full capacity can require increased effort to strip the first round from the mag, sometimes giving a failure to chamber the round. In a tense situation needing a reliable reload, you do NOT want any hangups when doing a fast reload.

AKs are pretty reliable, as are the mags. At the VERY least, I would just strip the top round from the full mag into the chamber and just leave the rifle at that state. By my preference, though, that mag would only contain 27 rounds to begin with.

I load them 30-1
My AR has a tough time stripping off the top round if I load 30.

i agree with bruce, an AR mag crammed to capacity can sometime fail to chamber properly, does put maximum strain on the spring and is of "debatable benefit".

Two problems with loading to 30 - sometimes the mag fails to seat; because you really have to jam it in there with the bolt forward in order to get a mag loaded with 30 to seat. If this happens, you fire one shot and then the mag drops out which isn't fun.

Second problem - in rifles where either the buffer spring or mag spring has weakened, 30 round mags may not feed if loaded to full capacity. When the buffer spring gets weak, it can't strip a full 30 round mag because of the extra work to strip off the first round when they are packed full. When the mag spring gets weak, it can't push the weight of 30 rounds up into position.

If you load to 28, you avoid both of these problems and get better function even with marginal mags and springs.

Gun school story: Despite knowing this and having been taught it repeatedly, I decided at a recent class I would load 30 per mag because I was shooting Guatemalan ammo with comes loaded 30 per box and liked the convenience. Second day of class, I go to shoot and the mag had not seated so the round didn't chamber and the rifle goes click. I then drew my secondary, where I had simply forgotten to chamber a round, and it went click as well. At least it was just my pride dying in this case

+1 on the comments concerning a magazine possibly not locking in when loaded with 30 rounds and the bolt is already forward. That is, at least in my experience, the the main concern/issue. I've never had feed problems with a 30+1 kind of set up as long as the magazine is properly seated.

That said, I don't see 30+1 bringing much to the table compared to just loading 30 as part of a deliberate loading sequence. The only time I could see ending up with 30+1 would be topping the gun off when you had a partial mag in the gun in the middle of an engagement or course of fire or whatever.

If you're carrying in a non-combat situation, it's not good idea to carry an AR with a round chambered. The firing pin floats free and it can strike the primer of a chambered round with enough force to fire the round if dropped. This happened at H-1 Launch Control Facility(FE Warren AFB) in 1989 and I personally know the individuals involved. The selector lever was on "Safe" but the ART member had chambered a round inadvertently when he dropped his weapon down the LSB ladder while on an alarm response. As he was stepping up to the clearing barrel, he dropped his weapon (I know, lots of big time no-no's in this incident) and the chambered round went off, striking the FSC in the upper front portion of the left thigh.

I say this not as a certainty that an AR will go off if dropped with a round chambered, but that it can, even with the safety on. Only you can determine if the situation is "hot" enough to take the risk, but you should be aware of the risk.

One feature of the HK 416 that isn't much discussed is that it has a spring loaded firing pin to prevent things like that happening.

ACLU Member, NRA Member. Contridiction???
28 in the mag. Good to go.


Semper Fi!!

I never top off my mags, not for handgun or rifle, I always leave then one round short, sometimes two depending on the mag and how easy it is to get those last couple rounds in.

Why? If loading into an open chamber there is less chance of the bolt or slide getting hung up on the wedged in top round. On a closed bolt or slide the mag goes in much more snug and fully locks. The magazine won't bulge on the sides because there is still some play in the spring, this is especially true on Glocks with plastic mags.

This is just a habit that my firearms instructor passed on to me, some people think differently. My opinion is if having that one extra round is that important you need to work on your aim. If you can't get the same job done with a mag that's loaded with 14 instead of 15 or 29 instead of 30 then you worry too much. Personally I'd rather have one round less in all my mags and know that my mag with go in all the way and that the slide or bolt will have no trouble dragging that round of the top of the stack.

JMO, I don't thing there is a definite right or wrong on the issue it really comes down to personal opinion and what you feel comfortable with.

28 in USGI mags. I've been playing with PMAGs a lot lately and they function fine loaded with 30.

They are called 30's for a reason. If they couldn't hold that many they would be called 27-28's. This is a mixture of internet hype and Vietnam era ignorance (coupled with actual problems with early M16's.)

30 +1 is a different story primarily because it is difficult to seat a magazine stuffed with 30 into a closed bolt. But from an open bolt it will work fine or something is wrong with your rifle.

Stinger seems to know what he is talking about.

If it was my job to create a 30-round magazine and it turned out that the gun was having trouble stripping rounds when it's fully loaded due to spring pressure, I would give the spring a little breathing room at the bottom of the mag, while preventing the follower from moving any further than needed to get the 30 rounds in there.

That would work just fine, and I doubt that I am any better at making mags than people who ACTUALLY do it for a living.

I have 2 AR's and both have trouble loading the first round in a 30rnd mag loaded to capacity. Neither has any problem loading the first round in a 20rnd mag loaded to capacity.

I have an issue with carrying one in the chamber on an AR since the firing pin is free floating. With that said, I routinely carry one in the chamber on my P-3AT. So go fig.

I've read what it takes to make the inertial pin in the P-3AT slam fire, so I'm not worried about it. Any info on what forces it takes to make an AR slam fire? If it takes a drop from 200 feet, I might change my mind.

I've intentionally caused a slam fire on my SKS (snap cap); NO WAY am I carrying it with one in the pipe. I've seen the aftermath of an 870 slam fire; again nothing in the pipe on that one EVER until ready to rock and roll.

Not, not generally. Some people even underload to 29, 28, 27... I just do 30.

Any info on what forces it takes to make an AR slam fire? If it takes a drop from 200 feet, I might change my mind.

Click to expand...

Like I said in my earlier post, the M-16 involved slam fired after being dropped from roughly port arms. Might have just been that it was an old worn out weapon, but it happened. Selector lever was on safe and later examination showed that the safety was fully functional. I'm guessing that the firing pin may have been stuck forward after the original impact of being dropped at an odd angle down the LSB ladder. Thus, when dropped at the clearing barrel, there was enough force in that impact to detonate the primer.

28 rnds in mag does the trick for me too .

I have never had trouble with 30+1, but some 20 rounders work better with 18 rounds or less loaded.
Richard
Schennberg.com

I think it depends on the mag. My 30 round Barrett mags, for example, will hold 31. I'm assuming that they designed it that way, so when you load it to its design capacity, 31-1, you get what you pay for, 30. In that case, I don't think I would be doing the magazine any favors by only loading 29, or 25, or 3.

no, I would download to 26 to 28 rounds.