AR mag vs pistol mag question

[osok-308]

So I have seen a lot of people who advocate only loading your 30-round AR15 mags up to 28 rounds. They say it increases reliability because of the decreased tension on the spring as well as decreased tension on the bolt. Now here in lies my question. If this is true, is it true for all mags (pistols too)? Because I hear people advocate for this, but these are the same people who wouldn't dream of loading only 16 rounds in their glock 17 mags. Thoughts?

[SouthPaw]

Full capacity in all my mags in both AR and pistol. No problems to this day with quality mags.

If it's a Thermold 20/30 round mag, don't load it more than 4 rounds and it will cycle fine.

[SuperiorDG]

Standard GI mags for the AR15 loaded with 30 rounds make it hard to insert and lock on a closed bolt. You don't have this same problem with pistol mags.

[cofi]

Standard GI mags for the AR15 loaded with 30 rounds make it hard to insert and lock on a closed bolt. You don't have this same problem with pistol mags.
This is the reason for loading to 28 it's much easier to insert the mag on a closed bolt

[spleify]

All rifle I load two rounds shy but pistol mags I load to capacity

[Circuits]

I would never load a mag to less than capacity unless I had happened to run short of ammo. YMMV.

[BPTactical]

Those "High Capacity Magazines" (in best Rap Sheet Rhonda voice) scare me.....

[ray1970]

Those "High Capacity Magazines" (in best Rap Sheet Rhonda voice) scare me.....

Yeah. You guys should only load ten rounds regardless of capacity. It's safer that way.

[StagLefty]

I'm thinking of having Bert convert my AR to single shot bolt so I can avoid all this controversy. [facepalm]

[osok-308]

I'm thinking of having Bert convert my AR to single shot bolt so I can avoid all this controversy. [facepalm]


Wayyy ahead of you45597. This is what I did as soon as I found out that semi-fully-automatic-assault-rapist-guns have the capability of killing 80 people in a fell swoop while simultaneously causing cancer in everyone in a 30 mile radius. Thanks for the information on the difference!

[MarkCO]

Heck, I sometimes put 31 in my PMags. Most of it is [pileoshit]...cycles wear springs. If you load to 20 or 31, it is still a cycle.

I do make sure to slam home a fully loaded magazine in an AR if I have to do a chamber empty start. There are magazines for pistol that are not re loadable at full capacity and so they are dropped one round. It is not uncommon with the 20+ round big sticks used in USPSA competition. Some guys will keep a "special" 140 magazine in .40 that is 20 or 21 rounds re loadable. With 9mm, 23 rounds is typical in 140mm, but I have seen a few 24 rounds re-loadable as well.

Magazines are both tunable and rebuildable, so some maintenance and attention to them is warranted if you want full performance and full capacity.

I do find it amusing to drop off to 28 instead of 29, which is the most I have ever had to do on a new AR magazine to make is easy to load first pass.

[275RLTW]

I've had both aluminum mags and Pmags not fully seat with 30 rds on a closed bolt. It's not often, but it does happen. Never had that issue with 28. Not sure why I wouldn't load 29. If I need that 1 more round after already using 28 then I have ammo management issues. I haven't had that issue with Pmag 40s or SureFire 60 mags yet.

[kidicarus13]

I've had both aluminum mags and Pmags not fully seat with 30 rds on a closed bolt. It's not often, but it does happen. Never had that issue with 28. Not sure why I wouldn't load 29. If I need that 1 more round after already using 28 then I have ammo management issues. I haven't had that issue with Pmag 40s or SureFire 60 mags yet.

If you need 60rds before a reload you also have ammo management issues. LOL.

[275RLTW]

If you need 60rds before a reload you also have ammo management issues. LOL.

Nope....trigger finger issues! Those mags are just for fun.

[King]

Load your 30 round rifle mags to 28. Pistol mags are fine loaded to the max. Try to insert a fully loaded mag into your rifle with a closed bolt under stress.

[MarkCO]

Load your 30 round rifle mags to 28. Pistol mags are fine loaded to the max. Try to insert a fully loaded mag into your rifle with a closed bolt under stress.

And why not 29? If you think you can count to 27 and then do a reload, you are kidding yourself. The vast majority of AR reloads "under stress" are going to be when the bolt is locked back...unless of course you shoot some competition. Still have not missed a full 30 round reload on the clock, so the argument still makes no sense.

The OP did not ask for rote repeating of the old wive's tale, but the why and how.

[osok-308]

And why not 29? If you think you can count to 27 and then do a reload, you are kidding yourself. The vast majority of AR reloads "under stress" are going to be when the bolt is locked back...unless of course you shoot some competition. Still have not missed a full 30 round reload on the clock, so the argument still makes no sense.

The OP did not ask for rote repeating of the old wive's tale, but the why and how.

Very true. i honestly load all my AR mags to full capacity. While shooting I've never had an issue with it not seating. I also agree that I probably will only be inserting them on an open bolt if need be. The only guns I really count while shooting are my revolvers. I thought maybe people have reliability issues with it?

[3beansalad]

I got so tired of dealing with those high capacity mags, I threw all mine into the Pueblo Res last year. Good riddance.

[MarkCO]

I got so tired of dealing with those high capacity mags, I threw all mine into the Pueblo Res last year. Good riddance.

Hmm, can't buy them, but what if I find one on the end of a snagging hook...[dig]

[275RLTW]

And why not 29? If you think you can count to 27 and then do a reload, you are kidding yourself. The vast majority of AR reloads "under stress" are going to be when the bolt is locked back...unless of course you shoot some competition. Still have not missed a full 30 round reload on the clock, so the argument still makes no sense.

The OP did not ask for rote repeating of the old wive's tale, but the why and how.


What about the reloads/topping off when not under stress, ie...tac reloads? That is the main reason for not loading 30.

[King]

And why not 29? If you think you can count to 27 and then do a reload, you are kidding yourself. The vast majority of AR reloads "under stress" are going to be when the bolt is locked back...unless of course you shoot some competition. Still have not missed a full 30 round reload on the clock, so the argument still makes no sense.

The OP did not ask for rote repeating of the old wive's tale, but the why and how.

Um ok. Tac reloads are still under stress. Granted you wouldnt perform when getting shot at. Also, seating a new mag on a closed bolt after a malfunction clearance. Mindset is completely different when your enemy is the clock and mine is the guy who wont go to DOC again.

[JTF3635]

In my opinion it depends on the magazine that you use. I have "Promag", "Pmag", "Tapco", and standard military issued metal mags. For this situation I ran the test to see how things would cycle. Loading each magazine with 30. Loading each magazine into my AR-15 with the bolt carrier locked to the rear. Once the magazine is locked in I hit the bolt release and this is what I discovered.
-PMAG- loaded smooth and had no malfunctions with 30 rounds.
-Promag- broke off a feed lip on the right side of the magazine when the bolt was released. (crap mags! Don't ever waste your money on these)
-Tapco- loaded smooth and had no malfunctions with 30 rounds.
-Military issued metal mags- loaded smooth and had no malfunctions with 30 rounds.
*Note* (From my experience) Military issued metal mags can be made with 2 main types of followers Tan and Green. The Tan have the anti tilt followers which allow things to run so much smoother when under stress of tac reloads and or which SHTF and you have rounds coming at you and you fumble around and reload the best you can do.

The point of this whole test was to say it depends on your magazine. Being in the military and carrying 28 rounds per magazine and 7 magazines when someone leaves the wire is plenty (not to count the SAW (M249) gunner or the M240BRAVO or numerous M203/320's). Ask around to the guys who have been down range and see what they carried. I promise you that if they carried the military metal magazines they were clean and function checked with their weapon before they left the wire. 99.9% of the time everyone carried PMAG and never had any issues with them.

My biggest question would be what are you using this weapon system for that you require 30 rounds? Is it competition shooting, target practice, or home protection? I don't know much about comp. situations with the AR15 but a trick we would use down range is when loading your empty 30 round magazine we would use only 2 tracer rounds in the very bottom so we knew under stressful situations that the reload was coming. We were also instructed to load only 28 rounds per magazine but I have never known anyone to skimp out on those last 2 rounds when they left the wire. I hope this helps it was a great way to burn some time for me on my day off.

[MarkCO]

Okay, so I blew a reload at the Noveske match. Had not made sure a new G3 PMag would fit...it did not. Hacked it with the knife after dropping a ton of time and tanking the stage.

[Circuits]

Tan and Green. The Tan have the anti tilt followers
Tan and green are both anti tilt designs. Green 'anti tilt' followers replaced the old black followers starting in the mid 90s, then the tan (and other colors) 'enhanced anti tilt followers' began replacing the green in the later 2000s.

[275RLTW]

In my opinion it depends on the magazine that you use. I have "Promag", "Pmag", "Tapco", and standard military issued metal mags. For this situation I ran the test to see how things would cycle. Loading each magazine with 30. Loading each magazine into my AR-15 with the bolt carrier locked to the rear. Once the magazine is locked in I hit the bolt release and this is what I discovered.
-PMAG- loaded smooth and had no malfunctions with 30 rounds.
-Promag- broke off a feed lip on the right side of the magazine when the bolt was released. (crap mags! Don't ever waste your money on these)
-Tapco- loaded smooth and had no malfunctions with 30 rounds.
-Military issued metal mags- loaded smooth and had no malfunctions with 30 rounds.
*Note* (From my experience) Military issued metal mags can be made with 2 main types of followers Tan and Green. The Tan have the anti tilt followers which allow things to run so much smoother when under stress of tac reloads and or which SHTF and you have rounds coming at you and you fumble around and reload the best you can do.



Now do this again with the bolt forward and see what happens...

[XC700116]

Never had a problem loading the full load in my Pmags, bolt open or closed doesn't seem to matter for my rifles. So I'll keep stacking them full.

IF I had a problem, then I'd rectify it one way or another, but I hadn't, so I won't bother.

[JTF3635]

**CIRCUITS** all the Green anti tilt followers i have from my military issued metal mags are junk lol. Just sit in a pile in the corner of my TA50 collecting dust. They don't feed well and their "anti tilt" isn't so anti.

**MARKCO** That's the first PMAG I've heard of that took a crap out of the wrapper.

[MarkCO]

**MARKCO** That's the first PMAG I've heard of that took a crap out of the wrapper.

Nothing wrong with the magazine. I use a Lancer lower with a magwell. The seating stop on the G3 mags is larger than the G2s and that is what kept me from seating it fully. I knew it, I just had not trimmed all of them...the one I happened to grab.

[DocMedic]

For me the past 5 years I've been shooting 3gun and tactical rifle matches I can count on one hand how many times I've dropped a 30rd loaded magazine while reloading on the clock... I've dropped exactly zero when they are downloaded by 2, maybe I'm superstitious, but a botched rifle reload can cost me up to 5 seconds :)

[RonMexico]

**CIRCUITS** all the Green anti tilt followers i have from my military issued metal mags are junk lol. Just sit in a pile in the corner of my TA50 collecting dust. They don't feed well and their "anti tilt" isn't so anti.

**MARKCO** That's the first PMAG I've heard of that took a crap out of the wrapper.
Open them up and replace the follower with magpul followers. That's what I do with all my GI/al mags, best $8 per 3 mags I've spent.

[Great-Kazoo]

That's the first PMAG I've heard of that took a crap out of the wrapper.

I have / had 4 30 rd pmags wouldn't lock in any AR magwell. The catch area was very shallow, Xacto knife fixed them . Would have sent them back But it was the CO Airlift ones during those last weeks prior to 7/13

[brutal]

That's the first PMAG I've heard of that took a crap out of the wrapper.

I have / had 4 30 rd pmags wouldn't lock in any AR magwell. The catch area was very shallow, Xacto knife fixed them . Would have sent them back But it was the CO Airlift ones during those last weeks prior to 7/13

Hmmm, I seem to have a few of those still in the wrapper.

Now I know.

[Great-Kazoo]

Hmmm, I seem to have a few of those still in the wrapper.

Now I know.


It's embarrassing when you hand the spouse the mag telling her try these, they're suppose to be fool proof and not prone to failure. Slam in to the magwell, DROP it goes. She's like,. How many of these piece of shit mags you buy and why [facepalm] Still refuses to use them. That's the nazi bloodline stubborn as a muthafuka

[HoneyBadger]

I load all my mags to full capacity. Anything less is a waste. Some of them have been in storage (loaded) for several years and when taken out to the range showed zero issues. Meh. I have a good mix of PMags and GI mags. If the SHTF, I'd rather have PMags.

[brutal]

I load all my mags to full capacity. Anything less is a waste. Some of them have been in storage (loaded) for several years and when taken out to the range showed zero issues. Meh. I have a good mix of PMags and GI mags. If the SHTF, I'd rather have PMags.

I keep fully loaded pmags as well but don't really rotate them. Most are M855/M856 peppered tracers loads.

I do think it's important to store them with dust covers for long term storage to prevent the feed lips form opening up. However, that's just a theory and I've performed no practical tests of it.