Rifle mag size selection during stage planning

[ambluemax]

I recently came across a tip that recomended having 20, 30, 30/30 cinch, 45, and 60 round rifle mags at your disposal for various match situations. Obviously the 20rd mags are for specific prone type situations, but if a 30 won't do it how would you decide between the last 3 options?

I've always just run 30's and mag-changed off the belt. At the club level it seems to work, though the high capacity mags seem to be coming into their own as a significant advantage. At the same time, there seems to be something to be said for keeping it simple with standard 30's because they tend to be more reliable than the extended options (which is one reason I haven't invested in a high cap mag yet).

What is your go to set up for feeding a rifle and if you do maintain all these options in your bag of tricks, how do you decide which to use between a standard 30, a 30/30, a 45, AND a 60?

[rangerguy]

I always bring a 20,30,40, and 60 with me. I use the 60 most of the time and carry a 40 on my hip. The 60 is the perfect height for me in the prone position. Unless the stage is less than 20 rounds I just use the 60 rounders, my friend has tuned my 60 and it run perfectly.

[Alaskapopo]

I recently came across a tip that recomended having 20, 30, 30/30 cinch, 45, and 60 round rifle mags at your disposal for various match situations. Obviously the 20rd mags are for specific prone type situations, but if a 30 won't do it how would you decide between the last 3 options?

I've always just run 30's and mag-changed off the belt. At the club level it seems to work, though the high capacity mags seem to be coming into their own as a significant advantage. At the same time, there seems to be something to be said for keeping it simple with standard 30's because they tend to be more reliable than the extended options (which is one reason I haven't invested in a high cap mag yet).

What is your go to set up for feeding a rifle and if you do maintain all these options in your bag of tricks, how do you decide which to use between a standard 30, a 30/30, a 45, AND a 60?

I run a surefire on long hoser stages. If I need to shoot past 200 where I need 77 grain bullets I use a Firebird coupler with 2 30 round p mags. The Surefire doesn't work with longer heavy bullets. The coupled P mags work great as a mono pod. If I need to go low I use a coupled 20 round 30 round Firebird coupler set up. If its a really short course I may just run a 30 round mag in the gun. I carry a 30 round mag on my belt as an oh crap mag. But if I have to use it that means I had a malfunction or missed a whole lot. My Surefire mag runs great with hornady 55 grain FMJ reloads and Hornady 52 grain BTHP reloads both of which are loaded short in oal.

Pat

Edited December 24, 2012 by Alaskapopo

[EkuJustice]

If the stage is over about 26 rounds I use a 45 rounder if its a host stage. If it involves going prone I will use a coupled 30 mag as it monopods great. For stages that are shot from a sloped "rooftop" i have a 20 rounder I will use. I occasionally take a beta mag with me for the occasion where I need the rounds and I dont want alot of extra length on the bottom.

[HRider]

Most stages, I run a 30rd Pmag. I keep a 30 on my belt also. If it is a long range stage where I will go prone, I use coupled 30s (some matches do not allow same height coupled mags though). For high round count hoser stages, I use the 47rd Nordic/Pmag. If I have to stage the rifle in a barrel, I usually use a 30rd, I have seen a Nordic coupler ripped off the bottom of a mag retrieving a rifle from a barrel resulting in rapid unloading of the mag. I alays keep a 20rd in my bag, but I don't think I have ever used it in a match.

Hurley

[steel1212]

20 or less rounds a 30 rounder. Anything over that and I bring out the 45 rounder.

[Ninja Moose]

Depends on the stage round count for me. If the round count is about 25, then I will take the 48 and keep a 30 as a oh crap mag, less than 25 and I will use a 30 with a 30 oh crap on my belt. I only use a 20 when I go prone and can confidently finish the stage with 20 rounds.

[ambluemax]

So if you have a SF 60, is there any reason to have a nordic or lancer type 40?

[JeremyM]

I run a Surefire 60 99% of the time. I keep a 30rd Oh-$hit mag on my belt. In my bag is a 48 (P-MAg W/ NC +18) and a 20 rounder. The 48 & 20 is for awkward prone positions

[jtielke]

Low Prone: 20 Round

Less than 24 rounds: 30 Round mag

>24 Rounds no prone: 52 Round Tripp (I don't trust my Surefire)

>24 Rounds w/ prone: Cinched 30 Rounders (larger footprint and easier to change while prone)

I always have 1 more 30 rounder than I need on my belt. If it's a prone stage it will be at 7-8 o'clock otherwise at 11.

[MarkCO]

So if you have a SF 60, is there any reason to have a nordic or lancer type 40?

Oh yes, for when they go salt shaker or jam up.

I carry metal 20, 30, and 40 rounders. The Arredondo foot can go on any of these. I also carry 20 and 30 round PMags plus a Firebird coupled set of PMags and a 48 rounder (PMag plus Nordic extension).

It is not just round count, but in some cases, the dump barrel, shooting position, props etc. which may dictate what mag I use in what situation.

[broke_again]

I would say have as many options as you can. I got screwed by not having my 20 rounder loaded at the last local match. We had to shoot from a low ramp and the 30 rd mag got in the way. I didn't have time to load my 20 because I was ROing. When my turn came up it was an ah crap moment.

[ClutchUSMC]

My go to mags always seem to be 30 rounders. Right now I have one of the new lancers that I really like and it is usually always in the gun or on my belt as a back up. However I have a fairly large mag load out:

30rnd Mags x3

48rnd Pmags with Nordic Extensions for high round count stages x2

44rnd Cproducts Metal Mags when you need more rounds but need to dump/retrieve from a barrel x2

20rnd pmags for low prone/rooftop positions x2

Coupled 20 round mags for low positions and high round counts x1

Coupled 30 round mags for going prone and monopoding x1

Things that I have used and no longer do:

Surefire 60 - Salt shaker... doesn't like long loaded rounds

Lancer 48- Broke the coupler several times shooting rounds everywhere

[Lead-Head]

I use 30 rd pmags for about 80% of stages and a 48 Nordic extension for the remainder.

I have a couple 20 rounders, but I cannot think of a time I would have preferred a 20 over a 30. I understand the idea of going very low prone, but have just never had to do it, so I lv the 20 rd mags at home.

Same deal with coupled mags. I get it but just not my preference.

Surfires seem cool, but when I ro'ed ot brm3g this fall I saw them fail as often as they worked. The Nordic extensions seem to work well and at a fraction of the cost. 48 rds is still a lot or ammo for most stages.

[michael1778]

A couple of times last year it made sense to use a 20 rounder on a stage when we had to get the rifle in or out of tight spaces. In particular, when the rifle was prepositioned in a car seat and window. The round count for the rifle portion happened to be low as well, assuming you were reasonable accurate.

[steviesterno]

I run a lancer 48 rounder for almost everything, hoser stages, whatever but prone. Depending on the barricade or position I'll run coupled 30s, as you can use them as a monopod, barricade stops, and my favorite props the gun up for table starts

I also really like the weight of that many rounds going prone at distance, seems to steady the rifle easier and keep me on target. I don't even own a 20 round or lower mag, but should pick one up just in case.

Always carry a back up on your belt!!!

[JRicks]

20 or less rounds a 30 rounder. Anything over that and I bring out the 45 rounder.

Same for me, and I keep a 30 rounder on my belt in case something flies apart. I also keep a 20 rounder in my bag but have yet to need it.

[Bullittmcqueen]

I start with a 48-round PMAG (+nordic extension) on most stages and keep a 30 round PMAG on my belt as backup. For most stages this gives me some extra rounds in case I want to put an extra shot on targets. If I'm going prone I'd rather use a standard 30 to mag-pod. I keep a 20 in the bag but have never used it. I have reliability questions with my 20's as they are prone to fail to strip a round from the mag.

[goat68]

The more options you have available opens up what you can do in differnt sitiations to optimize the loading and shooting positions on a stage. Also, if you're not first up and can watch what works and doesn't work for others, you may change your stage plan for where you do your reload.

And the back up mag is always nice incase you forget to do something like reload your mag between stages or come across the prop that for some reason is making you miss something that looks easy. Some matches even let you stage mags so you can have the back up to the back up along the way.

[StealthyBlagga]

I run C-Products 43 round mags almost all the time - my 30 round mags rarely come out of the shooting bag nowadays. For really high round count hoser stages, I run a pair of PMAGs joined base-to-base with a CCW coupler for 60 uninterrupted rounds in a reliable, easy-to-clean mag. I run my Surefire 60 only when I have to shoot prone and expect to need more than 43 from a single shooting position. I have cinched 43s too for 86+1 total rounds on tap when I plan on missing a lot

Edited February 17, 2013 by StealthyBlagga

[carbon9]

I usually run a 20 round pmag for prone, I also run 20 round pmags for high round count stages. Heck I run a 20 round pmag for everything and it doesn't seem to affect my times at all. Of course, shooting .308 doesn't give you much of a choice

[assaulter]

Having options is great to have. Practically speaking, MOST situations requiring over 30 rounds will offer an opportunity to reload while you are moving, making two 30 round magazines just fine. Adding a 48 rounder will cover 99.9999% of situations you will encounter. And I always carry an oh shit magazine that I don't PLAN on using on the stage. So if you plan to start with a 48 rounder and reload into a 30 rounder, that's a good time to also have a 20 rounder in your back pocket, "just in case".

[Alaskapopo]

I have been using my Surefire mags more and more lately now that I have a load I trust with them. 55 grain Hornady FMJ's loaded to 2.230 works like a champ in the mag with no binding.

[JediTodd]

I've found running a PMAG with the Nordic extension solves 99% of the stages you run into. I do keep a 20 rounder for special situations and I carry a spare 30 rounder for those "oh crap" moments. Be careful with the Nordics though, I broke one at the last local match when I dumped my rifle. Having to find a new one was a bit of an adventure under the current circumstances. I've looked at the Surefire mags but I can't justify the cost, even before things went bonkers.

[Sigma05]

I have a combination of the following:

SF 60 round

Standard 30 round Pmag

Standard 20 round Pmag

Double 20 round Pmag

20-30 Pmag combo

Most used is the 60 round. Next the 30 round on stages with less than 26 hits. Some 20 round on stage with less than 16 hits. I use the 20/30 round combo on stages where there is a combination of short and prone long range shots. If there are prone short range shots, I just shoot with rifle canted. I have never used the 20/20 in a match yet but have it in case I have a need one day. If I have steel in a stage, I always count 2 hits per steel when doing my stage calculations. This gives me a good margin of error.

"Ex Umbris Venimus"