20 or 30 round magazines for defense?

Why not a ten rounder? Are you really planning on shooting someone more than 10 times? (devils advocate here)

I like 20 round magazines. They say the police only hit one assailant for every 7 rounds they fire, and I'm an AMATEUR.

Twenties for me, thirties for the wife (she's not quite as good a shot as me.)

Seriously, unless you live in the boonies, ten or twenty rounders (have a few on hand) are probably all you need. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything to have a handful of thirties, though. Better to have them and not need them, etc....

M

^^^^ I agree.

If you got 20 rounders use them. I would not feel defenseless with them, but 30rds would not be bad either.

I've got a 20 round mag in my P226 with another one next to it in the nightstand......


Just sayin.

I like the 20's and use more of them than the 30's.

For home defense, I like 20 round magazines as they are handier than the thirty round magazine.

But, I have my share of 30 round magazines just in case.

Most of the shooting I do with an AR is done with five and ten round magazines.

depends on the weapon,if it's an ar,30 or larger.you may not have a chance to grab extra ammo using 20's,depending on the situation.
i have 1 ar with a double clamped 30's in the mag well and a blackhawk buttstock mag pouch.gives me 90 rounds in an emergency situation.may never need it,but i am not going to get caught short.this also depends on what parts of the country you live in also.

http://www.brownells.com/shooting-a...ar-15-buttstock-magazine-pouch-prod23180.aspx

Why not a ten rounder? Are you really planning on shooting someone more than 10 times? (devils advocate here)

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I dunno, how many of them are there going to be? In the one near home invasion I ran off there were 5 of them. I have no idea how many will be in the next one, should it happen.

For my primary HD long arm I have two 10 round magazines ready - but that is an MKA-1919 semi-auto 12 gauge.

I prefer 20 round mags for my AR. If I knew I were going into combat and resupply might be a long time off it would be different. But for range or HD 20 is enough and makes for a more compact weapon.

I heard the 20rd Pmags weren't as reliable as the 30s. I have a few 20's (no issues with them, but I don't use them much), nearly 50 30s, Pmags and GI aluminum with Magpul followers. I would use which ever magazines are proven reliable for you between 20 or 30s. You likely won't need the extra 10 rds...but you do need whichever rounds you end up firing to all feed reliably!

Now that magazines are sanely priced again, stock up! I typically pay under $10 ea. for GI mags with Magpul followers. $9-$12 for Pmags. I've never paid the silly $40-$50 per during a panic, may sell some next time.

i keep a colt 20rd handy loaded with self defense rounds. i also have a bandoleer hung nearby with 3 30rd mags, just incase i hear any mention of "brains" while they're trying to enter.

20's work very well if you don't spend a lot of time with the rifle. They reload and manipulate much more like oversized pistol mags, then a curved 30 round rifle mag. They make traditional "conventional" positional shooting easier as well.

On the other hand it's 10 less rounds. Your call.

-Jenrick

Haven't there been reliability issues with Pmag 20 rounders?

I like 20s when shooting prone or off a bench, but mostly I shoot with 30s so those are what I'd trust the most.

Buy a couple and try them out. Slightly lighter weight and a little more compact, I really liked them when I had a 5.56 rifle. Search the 'webz for carbine scenarios and work yourself and the rifle with both. If nothing else it will be a lot of fun.

You just cannot adequately defend yourself unless you have three 30-round mags duct taped together for tactical combat reloading!

Eh, who am I kidding.....my AR and mags stay locked up, I keep an M1 carbine handy for social situations. With one 15 rd. mag in the well and two more in the stock pouch. If that ain't enough, I guess I'm toast.

20's for me!!

Much handier length to clear around door frames and go flat on the floor if necessary.

And if I can't do it with 20 rounds?
10 more will make absolutely no difference, except slow me down or make noise when it gets hung up on something in the house..

I reserve the 30-round mags for when I see on the TV news the Zombies are just down the street and coming around the corner.

rc

20's for me too. Especially in the pickup seat riding with AR's riding next to each other.

For my HD rifle, I only have a 7+1 set up. It's a Winnie '94 .30/30. However, she has lots of 9mm company as well as a few .45 friends.

I use 20 & 30 rounders. I prefer 20's.

ratt_finkel said:

Why not a ten rounder? Are you really planning on shooting someone more than 10 times? (devils advocate here)

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You can always choose to stop shooting when the threat is neutralized...you can't "decide" you need more ammo than you brought

For bench or prone shooting, 20 round USGI or 10 round Pmags.

For social work, 30 round USGI or PMags. If you fire off the entire mag, things have gone very bad and they won't pause while you fetch another mag. Nobody in a gunfight ever said "Why did I bring all this ammo?".