M16/AR mags: Fully capacity or "down by two"?

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jagdpanzer347

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Greetings all. ARs are obviously popular rifles on this board, so I pose the above question. To what capacity do you load yours and why? I would be especially interested in any replies from servicemen, current and veterans.

-jagd
 
Hey neighbor! In my infantry days it was company SOP to load 28rds max. During rifle qualification we used (2) 30rd mags but only loaded 20rds in each. This was from '96-'00, could be different now.
 
just read a great article in the very new mag, book of the ar 15. lots of stories of the vets coming back, and still over there. they would clean and lube once everyday, at a minimum. mags would get graphite or some other dry lube. Between the differnt folks, 26 rounds seems to be the max.
 
When a twenty or thirty round magazine is filled to capacity it can be hard to insert and lock with the bolt closed. Downloading one or two rounds will solve that problem. It's my opinion that this is why the military did it.

Some say it is done to preserve spring life. However, springs wear from excercise, not tension.

I usually load all my mags to capacity.
 
Hey Snake. I had previously down-loaded all of mine by two as well. Last Monday I was at my range's plinking area function testing some new DH mags and some Radway Green. I loaded the mags to full capacity and had a couple of double feeds upon chambering. This was by using the charging handle and not the bolt release. This happened the last time out with some Guat as well.
I think I will go back to down loading by two.

On the positive side, the Radway fuctioned fine. Plus it comes with the nylon bandos and stripper clips. Definitely plan on buying more.

Been to AIM lately? The South African 7.62 is about to dry up. I'm going to try and get another case or two in the next couple of days.

-jagd
 
I download by one, but mostly for ease of insertion rather than reliability issues. Besides, I figure that guns have two uses, neither of which demand the extra round:

Fun: Unless I'm paying really close attention, I will not notice the one-round reduction.

SHTF: If 29 rounds of 5.56 have not solved whatever TEOTWAWKI problem has arisen, #30 isn't going to, either.

Besides, that's why you carry more magazines, anyway. :D

Mike
 
"To what capacity do you load yours and why?"

30 rounds.

because they are 30 round magazines.




i have never had a single problem with either m16s or ar15s using fully loaded magazines that was related to the round count - the few problems i've had were always a faulty rifle. the reason the army qualifies with 20 rounds in thirty round mags is that the qualification course of fire was designed when 20 round mags were still in use. springs do not "relax" from being kept loaded. i've left mags fully loaded for YEARS and never had a problem.

when a man's life is at risk he may rely on anything he can, whether there is truth behind it or not. men carry lucky rabbit feet or coins and we don't discuss their tactical applications on this board.

the only rational reason to download magazines is to aid positive insertion and locking and to do that you really don't need to download ar-15 mags at all in my opinion. i do keep my spare pistol mag one round short because a full glock mag can be a bit difficult to insert and lock.

the bottom line is that some folks download their mags out of superstition.
 
Been to AIM lately? The South African 7.62 is about to dry up. I'm going to try and get another case or two in the next couple of days.
Click to expand...

I'm going over there Tuesday to pick up one of those Russian .22 rifles. I'm good on SA, here lately I've been stocking up on Lake City, it's not that much more expensive. The 7.62 surplus market is really starting to make me nervous.
 
US Army from 86-94. Typically kept the 30 round mags topped off at 28 for most any duty that required live ammunition.

If I had a M16/AR15 now I would probobly do the same. My AK only ever gets 28.... Some habits are hard to break. :rolleyes:
 
When a twenty or thirty round magazine is filled to capacity it can be hard to insert and lock with the bolt closed.
Click to expand...

I seem to have bad luck with this. Both my personal AR and my issue M-16 have problems with that. I usually down load for that reason.
 
The 7.62 surplus market is really starting to make me nervous.
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I think/hope that once activities and 'Stan and Iraq calm down, we'll start to see more USGI 7.62 NATO back on the surplus market, since I'm sure Uncle Sam is doing what he always does; get caught short, then overprocure by a longshot. How long that will take is unclear.

As to the foreign stuff, who can say? More and more nations have moved away from 7.62 NATO as their ammo of choice, so it all depends on how many more nations have reserves to sell off, and in what quantities. At some point the foreign stuff will dry up completely, I'm sure.

Mike
 
the only real reason to download your mags is to make it easier to reload on a closed bolt. I load my shtf mags to 29 rounds.
 
I was a 20 year old infantryman in Nam in 68-69. We had only the 20 round magazines which we loaded to 18.This was SOP when I got to the field(4th Inf-Central Highlands).It always worked on 18 and probaly would at 20.We took our magazines apart and cleaned the dirt out but did not lube. My 16 always worked and one day we went through a lot of magazines with no jamming. Byron
 
The spring in the USGI 30 round magazine will not usually compress enough to allow you to insert the magazine on a closed bolt if it is loaded to capacity. This can cause the first round to fail to strip from the magaine and chamber or it can cause you to have a very red face and sheepish smile when the magazine drops out of the rifle onto the ground after you fire the first round.

Load your USGI 30s with 28. Then you can insert the magazine on a closed bolt. I have never had any problems inserting a fully loaded USGI 20 round magazine on a closed bolt.

The HK enhanced reliablity magazines are a bit longer and they will allow you to insert the fully loaded magazine on a closed bolt. What will those extra two rounds cost you? About $45.00 each for the magazines if you can find them. A couple pounds more weight to carry because they are made of steel and the possible expense of buying new ammo pouches because they don't fit in many of the pouches designed to hold USGI aluminum magazines. Not worth it to me, but to each his own. I just load 28 in my magazines.

Jeff
 
The spring in the USGI 30 round magazine will not usually compress enough to allow you to insert the magazine on a closed bolt if it is loaded to capacity. This can cause the first round to fail to strip from the magaine and chamber or it can cause you to have a very red face and sheepish smile when the magazine drops out of the rifle onto the ground after you fire the first round.
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30 rounds for a 30-round mag. In 20+ years of service (and counting), I have never had the above happen to me, either in peace or war. I was always taught - and I now teach - to "Push-pull" the mag. Push in 'til you hear a clck, pull down to ensure the mag is seated in the mag well.

Mike
 
You know, I used to load 30, and never had a problem, even on a closed bolt. But then I went to a class, and had an "inserted" mag fall out on the deck. First time it ever happened. I now download to 28. Once was enough for me.

Also always push/pull your mags.
 
I run 28rds in the 30rd GI mags. I have run into issues with mags being hard to seat when loaded with 30rds. If you are running quality new mags, it is less of an issue; but when I had to run pre-ban mags that were often pretty worn, it seemed that loading to 30rds almost guaranteed some type of issue.

Just as an aside, my first experience with the M16A2 was playing OPFOR for a local group of Marine ROTC candidates. One of the MCROTC guys warned me not to load 30 rounds in the mag... at the time I was working for an FFL building M16s so I "knew better". First engagement the rifle double-fed. I downloaded the mags to 28 and had no problems from there on out.
 
I load 28 and 18, and push/pull to seat. May not be needed but it always seems to work and that's what counts....
 
I load 30 because its a 30rd mag. I've never had any issue, but then, the most dangerous thing I shoot at is paper, and I always reload from a locked open bolt. If I was going into combat and thought I would have to seat mags on a closed bolt under stress, I might consider downloading to 28/29.
 
After 50 years (almost 100 if you count all magazine-fed weapons), you think that this would be an early problem rooted out in the early days of a weapon's development. Yet, the practice is still around. Wonder why... :confused:

I've always loaded all of my magazines to full capacity and have never had a problem.
 
Pat Rogers says to only load 28 rounds in a 30 round GI mag. I try not to follow any advice blindly, but Pat knows of what he speaks, so I defer to his judgement on this one.
 
In Iraq many of our rifles would have feeding problems on the first round if the mags were loaded to 30. We downed to 28/29 and it went away.

Mags that were purchased personally by soldiers didnt have this problem.
 
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