How to label magazines?

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Hokie_PhD

Hokie_PhD

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I don't think I've seen anyone post on a numbering system for their magazines. I ask as I've seen people suggest that marking your magazines is a good thing to keep track of usage and I. The event of a failure.

In my case I'm thinking of trying 3 gun so I'm working on getting gear. Plus while prices are low getting more mags makes sense.

So I guess my question is what do most of you who label your magazines do?
Do you simply start at one and go up for all? Start new numbers for each type? E,g. AR, pistol, etc
Or use some other method such as a letter and number?

Oh and this came to mind as I just picked up a 10 round AR mag for shooting prone. So I can see, some system for labeling 10 and 40 round mags differently
 
I just use a paint pen and start with 1 for the mags for each gun. Usually lasts longest if written on the bottom plate.

As to having multiple guns using the same mags if the the mags don't interchange 100% there is a problem with either the magazine or the gun, so fix it and move on.

I've ran into a few comblock AK mags that don't fit my CMMG Mutant a few minutes with a small file has solved the problem.
 
"I don't think I've seen anyone post on a numbering system for their magazines. I ask as I've seen people suggest that marking your magazines is a good thing to keep track of usage and I. The event of a failure.
In my case I'm thinking of trying 3 gun so I'm working on getting gear. Plus while prices are low getting more mags makes sense.
So I guess my question is what do most of you who label your magazines do?
Do you simply start at one and go up for all? Start new numbers for each type? E,g. AR, pistol, etc
Or use some other method such as a letter and number?
Oh and this came to mind as I just picked up a 10 round AR mag for shooting prone. So I can see, some system for labeling 10 and 40 round mags differently"

I fail to see anything here about using a silver Sharpie, but whatever.........you're welcome.
 
I use 'A', 'B', 'C', ...

That's within a magazine type, i.e. I have a 1911 mag marked 'A' and also an AR mag marked 'A'. I can usually tell them apart :).

I don't have more than 26 mags in current use for any given type. If I did, I suppose numbering 1, 2, 3, ... would make sense.

FWIW, I'm not trying to do some kind of global inventory control. I just wanna know if I've had 4 misfeeds in this match, are they all from the same mag. If I took 4 unmarked identical mags to the match, it's hard to know, but almost any marking scheme will let you know which one is bad.
 
pintler said:
FWIW, I'm not trying to do some kind of global inventory control. I just wanna know if I've had 4 misfeeds in this match, are they all from the same mag. If I took 4 unmarked identical mags to the match, it's hard to know, but almost any marking scheme will let you know which one is bad.
Click to expand...

That's the main reason I'm thinking I need to mark mine

I'm also thinking that it would be helpful to get an idea on spring and other wear
 
pintler said:
I don't have more than 26 mags in current use for any given type. If I did, I suppose numbering 1, 2, 3, ... would make sense.
Click to expand...

When I was in the military it was common to have a ton of magazines. Common enough to have more than 25 so in that case numbers work better than letters.

Paint markers work, as mentioned. Or you can spring the $25 or so and get an engraver. I would etch a small number for the magazine on the bottom of the floor plate. Not as bright as a paint marker but far more durable.
 
I don't number or letter. I use a sliver paint marker and label in groups of 4 with basic markings: +, -, x, *, etc.

This is for rotational purposes for my carry gun. I always have 4, 15-round mags loaded. Every 4-6 months I load new mags with new ammo and run the older filled mags through my backup carry gun. When I've had any issues, I toss the mag aside and test it with range ammo that day. Any problem mags get sold and replaced or refurbished.

At the height of the panic, I sold a ton of very well used G19, G17, G18 mags for an ungodly, almost embarrassing profit.
 
Well, there is the possibility that you are over-thinking this.

Despite the fact that 2 & 3 gunners probably put about 3x more on their weapons than serving military types, parts breakage is really not an issue. Or certainly not a larger factor than manufacturing issues in mags, floor plates, etc.

Magazines are pretty binary--they either work or they don't.

A magazine spring which fails about round 26 is as "broken" for 2 gun as one that fails at round 1. So, it's tossed.
You don't want to practice with a bad magazine, either, so that equals toss as well.
$30 is pretty cheap to not get clobbered in scoring.

I know more than a few 2 gunners who will crush a mag rather than risk another malf.

So, you probably do not need an A108 or B020 or 2B1 or such similar "deep" naming system.
Not when you can get a roll of 1" first aid/athletic tape and just put a loop arounf the base of offending mags.
 
Hokie_PhD wrote:
  1. So I guess my question is what do most of you who label your magazines do?
  2. Do you simply start at one and go up for all? Start new numbers for each type? E,g. AR, pistol, etc
  3. Or use some other method such as a letter and number? [Formatting added]
Click to expand...

  1. I regard magazines as a fungible commodity and so don't number them, per se.
  2. If I did number magazines, I would number sequentially starting at "!" for each type of magazine and make the segregation in my recordkeeping system. That is, I would number all 20 round magazines "1" through "n" and all 30 round magazines "1" through "n" and keep track of 20 round magazines separately from 30 round magazines in my records. In the field, I can tell just by looking that 20 round magazine "2" is different from 30 round magazine "2" and both are different from 9mm magazine "2".
  3. The system I use to segregate magazines is tape. I wrap a stip of black tape around the bottom of magazines that have my "standard" 60 grain loads; 55 grain get green tape and 52/53 grain hollow points get blue. I recently got some 50 grain hollow points and they'll get red tape while the 35 grain ballistic tip lead free rounds will get yellow.
 
I don't use a numbering system. I use a paint marker and draw a line along the back rib on each side of my AR mags. Different color means different load or bullet. Each color doesn't have a set designation. It just allows me to differentiate should I need to. 4 colors is usually enough.
 
Get a pack of paint markers in multiple colors. I use a coloring system on the base plates, rifle and pistol. I use 2 different types of ammo for rifle in 3 gun- 55 grain for 1-99 meters, 77 grain for 100 meters and further. mags with the 77 have rigger tape around them with the marking LR (Long Range).
 
For my AR mags, I number them "1-x" for 10 round mags, "2-x" for 20 round, "3-x' for 30 round. Just to keep the "x" numbers lower. I use paint markers for these markings.

To identify the rounds in the loaded mags, I use a strip of Blue masking tape on the bottom, sharpied with a probably cryptic to anyone else code for the load ( from M855 for, you guessed it, M855, to 16/3/3 , the third lot of the third load I developed in 2016)
 
I mark everything, coolers, tools, jerry cans, guns, gear, etc with a π symbol. All my family, freinds and most aqaintences know the crap with Pi on it is mine. For mags I use roman numberals. πI, πII, πIII, πIV....etc. Helps me keep track of my mags, and helps keep them from getting mixed with someone elses too. For Polymer mags like glock and Pmags. I use a soldering iron to engrave it on the base plate. But π is mine, you pick your own symbol......;):p
 
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"Magazines are pretty binary--they either work or they don't."

I'm not sure it's always easy to tell if it's not working, though :-(

In the context of fussy 22 Bullseye pistols, for example, let's say you get a misfeed of some kind. Is that because that round of ammo was slightly out of spec? The chamber is getting dirty? The previous round was a little soft? My experience is that there is some background rate of misfeeds for any combo of ammunition/gun/magazine. If I get a single misfeed with a certain magazine and throw it away, there is no guarantee the replacement will be as good as the one I tossed. By marking the mags and noting which mag is in use for each misfeed, I can loosely track each mag's performance over time. If one mag is generating more problems that the others over time, then replacing it is a good gamble.

I've had similar experiences with Mini-14 mags. It's not that the aftermarket ones I had always failed; they just failed maybe 1% or the time, where the factory ones failed at a rate that rounds to 0%. Since they were slightly visually different, I noticed the aftermarket ones had a higher failure rate, and got rid of them.
 
I had three colored paint markers on hand already and use hash marks on the bottom of each MAG for ID and number. 1-4 stripes are MAGS one to four and a slash makes it 5 etc. Repeat as necessary adding one stripe on next MAG. Different color stripe combos on the LH edge to ID the magazines to match ID of different firearms. Note I have no more than 9 of any type of firearm that requires a MAG so far but I can always buy another color paint pen if that happens.:cool:
 
I use a paint marker, start with 1 and work my way up. Numbered on the baseplate and side of the tube. For pistols, I number the left side of the tube, for rifles I number the right side. I'm guessing I do that so I can see the mag numbers when loading? I'm cross dominant, so I shoot long guns wrong handed.

I don't number my training mags. They're all cheap, low-quality, or (now) unreliable magazines. They offer the chance to clear a real malfunction, rather than a staged one using a snap-cap or something.
 
CapnMac said:
Magazines are pretty binary--they either work or they don't.

A magazine spring which fails about round 26 is as "broken" for 2 gun as one that fails at round 1. So, it's tossed.
You don't want to practice with a bad magazine, either, so that equals toss as well.
$30 is pretty cheap to not get clobbered in scoring.
Click to expand...

A numbering system can save a lot of money. I have had magazine failures caused by a dirty mag that just needed to be cleaned. I would much rather try to clean a dirty, malfunctioning magazine than to toss it and spend money on a new one. For awhile the cheapest I could get some of my Walther magazines was around $65. Would rather not throw it away on a whim.
 
herrwalther said:
magazines was around $65
Click to expand...
Ah, exactly--OP contet was in relation to inexpensive & readily available (and sometime dubious quality) magazines.

The magazines for my Mossberg M-44 run from $49.95 to $75 (for a 10 round .22lr mag with a screw pin to make them single shots). They should be about $5 each given the thousands issued out to ROTC detachments, but c'est la vie.
Those magazines have a neat dab of white-out on the base, to support fine-point sharpie markings.
 
Only ones I mark are the Glock magazines, which are polymer. Those just get a small number put on with one of those small hand held, battery powered engravers. It can be handy if a magazine is having problems you can isolate the problem a lot easier.
 
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