How many AR mags per rifle?

I have (17) Blackdog/CMMG mags for my CMMG 22lr M4.

6-10 per a gun

How fast do you want to burn ammo? That seems to be one reason for having a lot of mags. I have 4 20 round, 2 30 round, and 1 5 round mags. When I shoot the rifle, I tend to load 10 and shoot a group, or load 5 each in two mags and shoot a 10 round group. if I want to kick cans, I have a 10/22 (6 mags) for that.

I don't think any of us really think we are going to be in a fire fight that takes more than a mag or two.

Now if you are an end of times type, your perceived needs might be greater.

I have 6 GI mags with magpul followers and Ranger plates, and one Lancer AWM, which I'll probably be buying more of. Plus a few 20rd PMags.

I had a whole box of 30rd PMags in the wrapper, but used them as trade fodder.

Well you have 32 for 3 ARs and if they're all reliable you're in good shape. Still, it doesn't hurt to pick up good mags and ammo when you see a deal. You'll find a use for them and may later cull out some mags you don't care for as much or ones that get damaged or worn.

Depends.

But I don't think of it as "per rifle". It makes no sense to me to say that if I have one AR I ought to have X number of mags, and if I have 3 AR's I ought to have 3X mags. But this assumes that the rifles are primarily for use by me. I suppose if you, I don't know, planned on handing these rifles out to people, or selling/trading the rifle + ammo + mags as an all inclusive kit, then you would want a fixed number of mags per rifle.

Magazines do in fact wear out eventually. But a quality mag can take thousands of rounds to wear out, making the cost of the magazine trivial, at best, compared to the ammo. They can, and WILL, if you train enough, get broken prematurely.

For your regular-Joe private citizen whose AR is used for range fun, plinking, hunting, home defense, 'just in case', whatever, I'd say a minimum number of magazines for 1 rifle is 18. That's my number. I arrived at it this way: 6 magazines kept loaded and ready to go. Not necessarily so you have immediate access to all 6, but because they can be in different locations. For example, I have one in my go-to rifle, two in a leg rig, one in a vest, and one in a belt pouch. That's 5 loaded mags, but not because I would take all of them if I grabbed the rifle. Between the leg rig, vest, and belt pouch I might only have or take one of those

Then, beyond that, 6 more for use training. Once the first six are proven reliable, they are kept loaded but not used very often, or very hard, so that they stay in great condition. The next 6 are used and abused.

Finally, the third set of 6 is 'put back' for the future, in case they are not readily and cheaply available in the future, and you need to rotate out.

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That said, the vast majority of people are limited by ammunition.

Look at it as an entire system. Firearms, spare parts, ammo, magazines...if you were stuck with only what you have now, what would run out first? Second?

I'll bet it isn't magazines.

Buy more ammo.

Yes, I know. The market is bad right now.

Still, buy more ammo.

I have 10 30 round PMags for my AR, 10 15 round mag for my Beretta 92FS and 3 for my Beretta Nano.

My experience parallels Colt. Never had a mag break or wear out. At present I hav 4 Magpul 30 rounders and 2 20 rounders + 1 10 rounder. That's more than I'll ever need.

I own about 30 for my AR but only 10 get taken at a time.

How many do you need? What does need have to do with this! This is America, the United States of Freedom! We got God, Guns, mom's apple pie, and Baseball!

Buy more mags! Buy more ammo! Get as many as you want and can afford, and be happy!



As for me, I like GI magazines, with PMag or equivalent followers. I'll never use a GI follower again, if I can help it. I like PMags, too, but I have a stack of cheap GI magazines, so I only have one PMag I got for a normal price last summer. Just happened to have a $20 in my pocket when I cruised through a gunshop that had them for $17/ea. I bought it b/c that's what I did then - if I saw a mag I could use at a reasonable price and had the money, I bought it. To my way of thinking, right now, I'd rather buy ammo or reloading components than touch another mag.

I like Warp's thought process - 18 mags (a rota of three sets of mags - 1 duty, 1 training, 1 reserve). It makes sense, and I may adopt it. Dang, that means I have to buy more!

But I have been operating on a different premise - that a guy can get by with 2 or 3 mags, if he has enough ammo and stripper clips. I keep one in the weapon, and a couple more loaded, and have a stack more in reserve. The reserve mags are the ones that go to the range.

I'm not in Afghanistan or Iraq (anymore). I'm not going to throw a .50 cal ammo can full of loaded mags behind my seat or on the floor by my feet on the off chance that the 7-10 mags on my person won't be enough. Nowadays, if I'm carrying my AR in my vehicle to go on a hike or hunting, odds are I have 2-3 mags, and that's it. When I hike, one will be in the rifle, one in my ruck or pocket, and the other will probably stay in the truck.

I have an even dozen, for a Tromix Saiga in .223. Because these are harder come by, I feel like I should have a few more than "necessary" should I lose any, or they become defective. But they are also more expensive ($33 each before the latest panic, now $44 each). I'm good with a dozen, but if I get flush with cash some time, I might buy three more. For an AR, I might be comfortable with just 10. Normally, they will be a little easier, and less costly, to replace.

Back in the 1980s I bought a bunch of mag pouches that hold 6 mags each. As a result, my basic load out is 6 mags per rifle. I do have a lot more mags than that accumulated over the years but never really use more than 2 or 3 mags for any given rifle.

The chance of using more than one 20 or 30 round mag in any situation short of an all out war/zombi apocalypse is pretty slim. Realistically, 3 mags per rifle is adequate. One in the rifle, a reload and another reload just in case of a malfunction. Three mags is pretty much what police carry for their pistols for the same reason.

just like the people that are buying up all the ammo and mags because they think this will be banned are sending the message to anti gunners that they are in control. stop buying more than you would if things were normal. that would send a much stronger message to washington. no need for more than 4 mags per rifle or handgun. don't be a puppet the pukes are keeping an eye on your reactions to what they do

elwoodm said:

just like the people that are buying up all the ammo and mags because they think this will be banned are sending the message to anti gunners that they are in control. stop buying more than you would if things were normal. that would send a much stronger message to washington. no need for more than 4 mags per rifle or handgun. don't be a puppet the pukes are keeping an eye on your reactions to what they do

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I really don't think that buying an item they want to ban in massive quantities is a bad thing.

BTW: Some of the people who did so, and are doing so, such as Colorado residents, are possibly going to be very much ahead of the game for stocking up.

I own one 4000 round magazine but it sucks to load and very heavy too.

Heh, I probably have 15-20 mags but I never had one wear out and if I need to put more than 100 rounds downrage that quick there is damn sure going to be at least another 10-20 people firing with me or I am RUNNING not standing and fighting!

10 is a nice round number for any defensive firearm. They get dropped, stepped on, sometimes lost, etc.

I have many more for my 5.56 AR, mostly USGI. Before the panic buying spree I would just watch for sales at various websites and buy them when they went cheap and if I had the money. Most of my AR magazines were less than $10 shipped.

I would look at it as how many can you carry at one time. While the mags are not that heavy, the number of rounds carried are. A reasonable number would be 5 mags, an emergency number would be 10 mags. Beyond that you might need a hand cart to carry all that ammo.

Jim

jim243 said:

I would look at it as how many can you carry at one time. While the mags are not that heavy, the number of rounds carried are. A reasonable number would be 5 mags, an emergency number would be 10 mags. Beyond that you might need a hand cart to carry all that ammo.

Jim

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There are many reasons to own/possess more magazines than what you can carry loaded on your person.

Updated number... 15 per AR. Bought a few Hk mags for the MR556.

no need for more than 4 mags per rifle or handgun

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So, 30 Glock 19 Mags for two guns is too much? And my 37 AR mags for two rifles is too many?

Are you saying I should cancel my order for 10 more AR mags and stop buying G19 mags whenever I see them?

I'm glad I don't purchase based on needs then, just wants.

stumpers said:

So, 30 Glock 19 Mags for two guns is too much? And my 37 AR mags for two rifles is too many?

Are you saying I should cancel my order for 10 more AR mags and stop buying G19 mags whenever I see them?

I'm glad I don't purchase based on needs then, just wants.

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Different people have different 'needs', as well. Some may be for 4, some may be for many more. Still, I would argue for a "need" of more than 4.

But it is up to each person to decide how many they want, as you say. Well, how many they want and are willing/able to afford.

I'd much rather have 37 than 4, that's for damn sure.

There are many reasons to own/possess more magazines than what you can carry loaded on your person.

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Possibly, but I took 20 mags with me to the range Saturday and only used 4 of them. Did I "need " to carry the other 16 there and back, I don't think so, they tend to get heavy, fortunately they were not on my body but in the truck, otherwise I would still be prone on the ground till someone came by to help me up (LOL).

I hope everyone understands they are re loadable, I think next time I will only take 10 with.

Jim

jim243 said:

Possibly, but I took 20 mags with me to the range Saturday and only used 4 of them. Did I "need " to carry the other 16 there and back, I don't think so, they tend to get heavy, fortunately they were not on my body but in the truck, otherwise I would still be prone on the ground till someone came by to help me up (LOL).

I hope everyone understands they are re loadable, I think next time I will only take 10 with.

Jim

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Owning or possessing a certain number of magazines, taking every one of them to the range at the same time, are two fairly different things.

When I went to the range a few days ago and took my AR I only brought, uh, maybe 5 magazines and I only actually used 2.

That doesn't mean I only have "need" for 2 magazines. Or only 5.

That doesn't mean I only have "need" for 2 magazines. Or only 5.

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Depends on how you define "need", sounds to me you only needed 5 on that day. But what do I know, I was dumb enough to carry 20 with me. In the past 50 years, I have had only 3 mags go bad on me.

Jim