Sandbagger123 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 My mag can hold 20 reloadable and a couple can do 21 but not reloadable. I have been shooting limited this season and cant recall that 19/20/21 really made a diffence in a match. I have been advised to break the stages into 2 8 round shooting spots and reload then. So have you found the 2 extra round make a difference in a match or the way you break it down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrohuck Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) It did for me yesterday... 19 vs 20 round mag. Had a jam, cleared it, and continued with my gameplan thinking I had the 20th round in the mag, and instead ran dry on my very last shot before moving to my next position, cost me a lot of time in the stage in an otherwise great scoring run... oh well. Edited December 9, 2014 by nitrohuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 There will be certain occasions where one round in any division will make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I've only been shooting limited for a couple months (after shooting production for a couple years), so take my opinion with a grain of salt.... generally, I don't think 1 or even 2 rounds makes a huge difference, but it does add an extra cushion. There will often be a better place to reload than after 16 shots, so you might want to go to 18-20. If you only have 20 rounds, that is less margin for error or make-up shots than if you have 21. OTOH, if you plan intelligently and execute reasonably, you won't exceed your capacity, whether it's 19 or 21. I'm in the same boat as you, since I only spent $1500 for my entire limited setup (brand new gun, mags, mag extensions). I can start with 21 +1 but only reload 20 rd mags. So far it hasn't been a problem. I tend to not do stage plans that require more than 19 shots before a reload, although I would go to 20 if it was all open paper targets and advantageous to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) There will be certain occasions where one round in any division will make a difference. But if you practice reloading and aren't being a 'tard, that difference can be made insignificant imho. As an RO, I see more people have equipment problems with cutting-edge high-performance guns/mags than see people running dry at inconvenient times. 100% reliability is much more important than an extra round or two. Edited December 9, 2014 by motosapiens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I think it has limited use largely because I can't think of the last time I had a stage plan in Limited where I would be shooting every round in the mag or even "just" 20. When you do need it through, either through malf or makeups it can be a stage saver. Now if the trade off is the reliability of the mag.... no, not worth it to me. Then again I can run 21 reloadable reliably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRush Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 My mag can hold 20 reloadable and a couple can do 21 but not reloadable. I have been shooting limited this season and cant recall that 19/20/21 really made a diffence in a match. I have been advised to break the stages into 2 8 round shooting spots and reload then. So have you found the 2 extra round make a difference in a match or the way you break it down? I chased capacity in the beginning, now I really only care about reliability. I have $200 in a mag that holds 22, and works some of the time... I used to use all 21s and keep that one for 1 mag stages. I destroyed a few mags, and ended up shooting with IPSC mags holding 18 for a while. The only place I feel like the higher capacity magazines make a difference is on a 20-22 round stage. If you can start with 22 or 23, and skip a reload... great! If not, there is generally a place to chuck a fresh mag in somewhere along the COF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 It can make a difference occasionally -- take a 25 round stage at a Buckeye blast ~ 10 years ago. Everyone shooting Limited needed to reload, and if I remember correctly the stage was kind of tight -- not a lot of movement between positions. I filled the chamber, and then popped in a 24 round 9mm mag and proceeded to shoot the stage without a reload..... It had Flex and everyone else on the squad convinced that I forgot to reload...... ....not! But realistically this opportunities only come around so often -- but the opportunity to use a 20 round mag to shoot a 16-20 round stage without a reload does pop up.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neomet Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 The other thing you will see normally is if someone is going to shoot say a 22 round stage without a reload they often slow down so much to avoid a deal breaking extra shot that they are better off planning a reload. The exception to this, and perhaps one of the absolute baddest ass stages I ever witnessed was Glenn Higdon out at the High Plains Classic about 6 or 7 years ago. We had a 31 round stage with two Texas stars, a bunch of little steel in the middle and only about 4 steps to take start to finish. He brought out his 30 round magical mag and ripped through that stage faster than I could probably dump the rounds into a berm and he got all of his hits. Stunning, stunning to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul B Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 My limited gun can hold 23 .40's (22 in the mag and 1 in the chamber) and the 22 rd mag is reloadable. Ever since I have had the capability you would not believe how may stages I have noticed that are 24 rounds. As near as I can tell, all the extra rounds give you is confidence on shorter courses and sometimes the ability to change your reload point. I agree this is not going to win any matches or stages without a good driver but I need all the confidence I can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I have a couple 140mm mags that can hold 21 rnds but I normally use them as my 1st and 2nd mag on the belt and just run 20 in them since are easier to seat than my mags that can only hold 20. Though there have been a few 22 rnd stages here and there that I started with one of the 21'ers in the gun for 21+1 at the start to avoid having to do a reload. However I agree with the comments that the majority of the time there is usually some place in the stage where you can toss in a reload without losing much time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I was talking with Dave S. after the MidCoast Dual Championship on why his points were so much higher than Taran's. Dave had 10 rounds in his magazine and Taran had 8. Dave basically said since the match was set up for Single Stack his extra two round gave him opportunity to push his speed knowing full well he had extra rounds. Is that always the case--Nope. Based on my experience with Nationals and the Desert Classic (Area 2) it was pretty rare that an extra round made a difference. When things go south, that extra round might prevent a standing reload but I have rarely experienced that problem. That said, Taran's TTI will tune your mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHA-LEE Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) More rounds in magazines is usually better than less rounds, but its really rare to have a stage where 21 - 22 round mags in Limited verses only having 20 rounds is really an advantage because you don't have to reload. The vast majority of field course stages have at least one section of the stage where you have non-shooting movement while you get to the next array of targets and you can simply do a reload during that time. The other thing that I see happen a lot is people cramming 21+1 or 22+1 into the gun on a 20-22 round stage and choose a stage plan that eliminates the reload but then they shoot way more conservative than they normally would because they DON'T have extra rounds for make up shots. I myself have fallen into this trap many times before I realized that If I simply did a reload it would allow me to shoot far more aggressively because I know I have extra rounds to work with for make up shots. I actually see a lot of Open shooters try to eliminate doing a reload on 28 - 30 round stages even though they have plenty of time to do a reload somewhere on the stage. Then they usually end up eating a miss or running the gun dry then have to deal with a panic unplanned reload. Big Stick no reload plans for the loss!!! Edited December 9, 2014 by CHA-LEE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeislarge Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 It's always kind of bugged me that my mags are only 19 reloadable. I can start with 21 in the gun but that's it. Biggest issue for me is losing count or blowing past my planned reload during a COF and running dry. If I never did that again I doubt that mag capacity would be an issue unless I have a serious brain fart on steel (which happens on occasion) and need a few extra rounds for make-up shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKT1106 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Extra one or two rounds can make a difference when a plan goes to pot. That being said, I am not afraid to use all the mags on my belt if the opportunity presents itself for reloads. I have used 3 20rd mags on a 32rd stage before. Didn't use all the rounds, but I gave me options if a section of a stage went downhill without doing a standing reload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaycwebb Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 My mags are 20 reloadable, and I make sure to start every stage with 21 in the gun whenever I can. To answer the OP's question I don't think the last few rounds are usually all that important...until they're really important. More often than not I drop my first mag with 5-10 rounds still in it. But if I have the time to top off the gun with as much ammo as possible/ make upgrades to my equipment to increase capacity, there's no reason not to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 If you have to bank on one extra round, the disaster factor is too high. 9 times of of 10 in Limited, I put in a 20 round mag, rack the slide and don't even bother to top off. I am likely going to shoot 6-10 rounds and then 6-10 rounds again at most. If there are 2 10 round arrays, sure I will top off, but again, rare. Only times I ever went dry is shooting at steel when I was in B class. Once steel becomes a one for one common practice, extra rounds are not worth a whole lot in most COFs. I sometimes shoot Limited minor with 23 rounds and those 3 or 4 extra rounds almost never get used. So, in answer to your question, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heaman Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 My thought on this is simple: I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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