How many of what lenght? (Magazines)

[kcannaday2011]

I'm having an open gun built by Brazos and was wandering what length and how many of each most of you carry so I have an idea of what I need to order? I was thinking 3-140mm and 1-170mm?? If you buy a four pack of the tuned 140's from Bob you get a slight discount but I didn't want to buy more than I actually need.

Thanks for any input!!

[Jon Merricks]

You are on track with a good starting point, 1 and 3.

[Sarge]

Just went through the same process this summer. I ended up with 3-140 and 2-170 just in case I had problems with a big stick during a match. So far I have not found myself in need of more mags. I have 4 pouches on the belt and generally load from the back pouch giving me room for three in case I drop one or have unforseen problems during a stage.

[BMartens]

Lot of opinions on this subject.

I have 2 - 140's and 2 - 170's. That covers every option and gives me a backup for each. If something breaks you can make it through a match with at least one of each.

The big stick is what allows you to cruise and you shouldn't be without one.

[lcs]

4 140s and 2 170. The 4 140MM are just nice to have. Two 170s are must in my opinion.

[kcannaday2011]

Why not run just 170's, is it because of reliability issues?

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I like to have lots of spare mags I take 3 170mm mags and 5 140mm in my range bag. Sometimes you will find that the 140mm mags will shoot a whole stage if you reload in the right spot. My 140mm mags hold 25 rounds so that helps. I don't like to reload to the big stick but some do. I have seen some guys that only use big sticks also. A good start would be 1 170mm and 3 140mm mags as you stated. If the big stick goes down you can still finish the match with the 140mm. Another thing to consider is the type of conditions you shoot in. If it is sandy soil or it rains alot more mags is better. I hate cleaning wet red dust out of the mags. Thanks, Eric

[BlueOvalBruin]

Why not run just 170's, is it because of reliability issues?

That depends on how much you like reloading a 170mm mag vs a 140mm one. Plus, the 140 mags are lighter if there's a low round count stage and you need faster transitions, or a classifier.

[calishootr]

I usually start w/ a 170mm and reload to the 140'ss just because for me its easier, only time i will loadto a 170 is when on a longer field course i see a spot in the front ofthe course where it works to shoot part ofthe 140 and finish off with the 170...coming from back in the day when we all had single stack 1911's, the 140's 'feel' more natural to reload to than the bigger 170's...

[kcannaday2011]

Thanks for all the responses, I think I will start with 3-140/1-170 and if I need more later I can always get them.

[shooterbenedetto]

Go 2 170 2 140 and stock sti 1 140

[revomodel10]

I go to play with 5 140's, 3 170's

My basic reasoning:

5-140's

2X, multi reload classifier plus one in gun is three needed, best to have at least 1 oh $hit on the belt, not to mention barney mag or reshoot, or just got one soo full of mud.........

3-170's

may have to do a 170 reload in the course of fire!, put all three on the belt to start.......

(I have dropped one in the past, lousy mag pouch!)

Better to have it & not need it

than need it & not have it!

Edited September 10, 2011 by revomodel10

[al503]

I consider mags like storage space in your garage, the size of your deck/patio, horsepower under the hood, and your favorite beverage in the fridge. You can't have too much/many, IMHO.

Edited September 10, 2011 by al503

[robot]

I run two 170s every stage with a 140 as backup. I reload with the 170 faster than a 140.if I had extra cash, I'd replace my 140 with a 170.

Edited September 10, 2011 by robot

[BlackBuzzard]

After two year of open, if I had it to do over again, I would not get any 140's.

I just use 170's all around.

BB

[shred]

FWIW, I can't think of any Open GM that just runs big sticks. There's too much disaster factor there. I have one 'main' 170 and a spare in the bag I rarely use, plus 4 140s that have proved reliable over the years.

Of course the GMs don't miss much and they have total confidence in their mags. If you don't have either of those, then extra big sticks on the belt can be useful

A few tuned and 100% mags are far far better than a bag full of "I think that one works" mags.

[robot]

Is it because the 140s are more reliable? or is it easier to reload?

[snake32]

i have 2 170mm and 12 140mm. i use 1 170 and 3 140 on my belt. the others are for backup. i use 140 all the time and rarely use the 170. the 170 is usually the mag i start with if i need it in a stage.

and to answer robot yes to both. for me anyway

Edited September 10, 2011 by snake32

[392heminut]

I only shot Open for one year before going back to Limited, but I used one 170 and three 140's and never found the need for another 170.

[MoNsTeR]

1 170 and 3 140s is the minimum, IMHO. I never go to the line with fewer than 4 mags.

Personally, in my bag I have 2 170s, 7 140s, and 2 126s. That's more of an accident than by design, but hey at least I've never got too few mags on me Having more than one big stick is mostly a matter of convenience. Often at a local match I will use a big stick on 3 of 5 stages, so having a second one loaded is very handy. But when I don't need the big stick, I generally don't use one. Also I shoot the Rocky Mountain 300 every year and two big sticks is often a necessity on a 60+ round stage.

[MartinLei]

I started with 3x 140s and 1x 170. But found out very soon that 1x 170 is just not enough. Got another 140 & a 170. Many guys in out local club shoot open. Most of them have 3x 140s & 2x 170s, and that's what I have now. I shoot indoor & outdoor, and use dedicated mags for each. 2x 140s and a 170 for outdoor & major matches. The other 2x 140s & 170 for indoor & practice only. Indoor concrete floor can be hard on the mags. I try to save the better ones for outdoor & major matches for that reason.

[kcannaday2011]

I started with 3x 140s and 1x 170. But found out very soon that 1x 170 is just not enough. Got another 140 & a 170. Many guys in out local club shoot open. Most of them have 3x 140s & 2x 170s, and that's what I have now. I shoot indoor & outdoor, and use dedicated mags for each. 2x 140s and a 170 for outdoor & major matches. The other 2x 140s & 170 for indoor & practice only. Indoor concrete floor can be hard on the mags. I try to save the better ones for outdoor & major matches for that reason.

That's a good point point about the concrete floors being harder on the mags!

[Jan R.]

I use 4 x 140 and 3 x 170. I also bought the Dawson mag tuning set after trying to send mine away to be tuned. I called all the major tuners who were all very busy, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It was a little scary beating on your $$$ tubes with a hammer at first!!! I couldn't believe how out of spec the tubes can get! Out of tune mag tubes will create a real mess.

Jan

[Foxbat]

I like reloading to 170's, goes better for me, so I mostly use the 170's... usually carry 4-5 of them, plus a couple of 140's for short no-reload stages.

[40S&W]

I have 5-140mm & 2-170mm. My thought is to always have a spare 170mm if something should go wrong. When I shoot I usually just use the 140mm's unless the COF dictates a 170mm. Personally I have never shot a COF requiring 2- 170mm, but then again I don't shoot any big matches. Usually I start out with a 170mm & then finish with 140mm's. I have 4 mag pouches on the belt. I start by loading a 170mm (29+1, the plus one comes from the 2nd 170mm which leaves me with 28 rounds in the big stick)then put 3-140mm (near to back & in the last pouch put the extra 170mm). Maybe this is overkill; but better prepared then sorry. If you can afford it, its better to have some extra mags 140mm's & 170mm's. Never know what may go wrong.