My quest for a AR:question 2-(20's vs 30's and why)

[ohiomossyoak]

20 round magazines vs 30 round magazines(various brands) and why?...Which mags are you using(round count an brand etc) are you using,and why?

[Mobuck]

For most uses, 20 rounds will be plenty. I've found the elcheapo Thermold 20 rounders work quite well. The 20's make carrying and handling the rifle easier as well as making shooting from a support more manageable. I've got plenty of Brownell's and Magpul 30 's as well as pouches for belt or Molle applications. If you're going "Rambo", you need a place to carry loaded mags and a place to drop empty mags.

[chris in va]

I have both, Magpul. Prefer the 20 just because it doesn't stick down so far.

[tahunua001]

I have 17 magazines for my ar15 in 5.56:
1-10 round
2-20 rounds
13-30 rounds
1-30 round plastic

they all function 100%

for my 9mm ar I have 4
1 20 round modified uzi mag
2 30 round modified uzi mags
1 32 round Colt magazine
the colt is the only one that functions worth a damn.

[sailskidrive]

I usually use primarily 20 rounders at the range as they are easy to use from a bench.

Our state has laws against buying, selling, or transferring a magazine that holds greater than 20 rounds. It's perfectly legal to own 30 rounders, you just can't buy them here. Depending which range I'm shooting at I may take only 20s as I know that others on the line may not understand the law and it could cause issues.

[RadioFlyer8]

I use both. I like to take the 20rd mags to the range and keep 30rd mags loaded at the house along with some 20's. I have all PMags but I bought a bit in bulk.

[bedlamite]

sailskidrive- That's a situation here I would bring only 30 round mags, along with a copy of the law with relevant points highlighted.

[globemaster3]

FWIW, the SOF folks I was working with in Afghanistan seemed to be exclusively using PMAGS.

I own PMAGS, CProducts, and some surplus metal ones. The only issue brand wise was one of my surplus ones causing some feeding issues.

One word of advice repeated to me and which I have experienced first hand, rotate your loaded mags. I had a couple issued mags I left loaded for 6 months and lets say the springs were a little loose when I stripped them empty for ammo turn in.

As for 20 vs 30, like a few have said, personal preference. 20s are a little easier to bench shoot with since they don't protrude so far. I don't know if this is applicable to your situation, but if you wish to hunt at all with your rig, and state laws mandate no more than 5 rounds, you'll need to add a few of those to the mix. I own CProducts 5 rounders in 6.8 and 5.56 and have experienced no issues. They also work great off the bench, as they protrude the least.

[Nathan]

I use D&H 30's, some Armalite 7's and a 20 rd mag. Truthfully, I need some 10's or 20's for load development.

The 30's are my good mags. To increase the number of mag changes in practice, I load with 10 rounds.

[wnycollector]

My 20 round mags see way more use than my 30 round mags.

The only time I use 30 round mags is with my 5.45x39 AR. I use USGI 30 round mags with the old style black followers and download the mags to 25 rounds of 5.45 ammo and they run flawlessly. My straight 20 round mags will not run reliably with even 10 rounds of 5.45 ammo loaded in them.

[Destructo6]

The old aluminium 20-rnd mags have very weak feed lips. I use about 50 of these things and with use, the weak feed lips will spread or become deformed, allowing double feeds to occur.

Newer style 20-rnd mags, like Pmags, should run fine, however.

[JimDandy]

I have several 30 round p-mags. I have them over the 20 rounders, just because they were easier to find.

[loose_holster_dan]

i've never had a problem with any 30rnd pmag ever. the surplus ones tend to have trouble locking the bolt open with 1 round left. you can fix this by putting magpul followers in them, but i just prefer the pmag.

[ThomasT]

I like the 20 round mags myself. The Pmag site says shipping to dealers only. So where are you guys buying them? Is anybody using metal 20 rounders and what brand? The Stoners sold by Midway have about half the reviews saying they don't work properly.

[JimDandy]

I'm thinking about picking up some 10s. Many ranges have load limits. The highest I've seen is 10, so I may pick up a few for range usage.

[Taptap]

20 round mags for the win!

I wouldn't mind if they limited all magazines, handgun and rifle, to 20 rounds. Too bad they think anything over ten is extended/hi-cap..

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

20 rnd P-mags are my preference. I don't need 30 rounds and the larger mags just get in my way, especially from the bench.

[ThomasT]

I ordered three 20 round metal mags from Brownells. I used to have several 20 round mags when I had my remington 7615 rifle but sold them with the gun. That was one of the guns I sold that was a huge mistake to sell. It paid for my first mini-14 but I wish I would have just bought the mini and kept the remington. What a shooter that gun was.:mad:

[bamaranger]

I'm thinkin' the M16 was initially issued w/ 20 rd box and there was a clamour for 30 rounders when we ran up against the AK and its 30 box in Nam.

For semiauto fire a 20 rd box seems plenty for any use I have. Also....

Twenty rd mags can be more easliy stored in a butt cuff and rifles w/ 20 rd boxes can often be more easliy secured in a patrol vehicle rack. My issue carbine is so equipped. It will not ride in the current mount, with the mount in the curent location, with a 30 rd box.

Too, tac reloads, and manipulating the smaller mags seems easier. I can essentially use the same techniques I use for handgun mags. The 30's do not lend themselves to that.

A twenty allows a lower prone and simplifies shooting from a bench too.