Supranatural Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I plan on competing this year for the first time (kind of obvious from my question...) and want to know what is the minimum and recommended number of mags for competition. I come from the (horrible) state of NJ so I am limited to 15 round mags. That said, I plan on having some mags for practice only (4) to take the brunt of reloading etc. But for a match of course I'll have a different set. How many do I need for a typical stage of a match? How many should I have as backup in case I have a failure? I plan on using Mecgar mags for my CZ75 so I would hope they are fairly reliable. And of course I know there won't be a hard and fast rule about how many but I'd like some opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I would think no more than 5 mags would be needed. They are limited to 10 rounds by rule and most competitors I've watched carry no more than 4. It never hurts to have an extra mag or 2..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supranatural Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 USPSA Production is limited to 10 rounds? Good to know. Does that mean I have to have 10 round mags or am I allowed to load 10 rounds in a 15 round mag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 You can likely get by on most stages with four (one in the gun and three on the belt) if you had to at first. Five is minimal practical number of magazines to run and I did that whole competing heavily in Production for a number of years. Extra magazines allows for more options in how you can effectively shoot a stage. I now run six (one in the gun and five on the belt) and can't recall whether I have ever used the last magazine on my belt. It's basically just there for insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g mac Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I carry 5 in pouches, and one in my pocket. So, when make ready, I grab the last one in the pouch, load one rd in the chamber, remove mag and put back in the pouch, then I grab the one in my pocket and insert in the gun. now, I got 11 rds to start, and still have 5 on the belt (remember only 9rds left on the last pouch mag? Hawaii have 10rd mag restriction, so we usually block our hi-cap mags to accept only 10rds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 USPSA Production is limited to 10 rounds? Good to know. Does that mean I have to have 10 round mags or am I allowed to load 10 rounds in a 15 round mag? You can download your 15 rounders to 10 rounds. That's actually preferred since it's much easier to seat a 15 round magazine with 10 rounds loaded than it is to seat a 10 round magazines with 10 loaded. I also keep 113th-congress rounds in the magazine I use to load with at the start of a stage so that I have 10 still in the magazine after putting one in the chamber. After the start single, however, more than 10 rounds loaded in any magazine gets you moved to open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff9mmM&P Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I carry 5. The one farthest away near my back holds 11 rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 USPSA Production is limited to 10 rounds? Good to know. Does that mean I have to have 10 round mags or am I allowed to load 10 rounds in a 15 round mag? I also keep 113th-congress rounds in the magazine Those sound interesting. Where can I get them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 You can load 11 rounds into 1st mag(leaving 10 rounds after loading chamber for run) and then only 10 per mag after that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chfields Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 If you run limited, there is no ammo limit..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David.Hylton Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 You can run with four, but it may jam you up on mag changes on a long course of fire. Or if you have a lot of misses to make up. My first mag is loaded with 11 and is in a pocket, then I have four mags with 10 rounds each on my belt. I also carry an extra magazine in a back pocket for six mags total. The last mag is in case I drop one from my belt during a reload. When the buzzer goes off you may not have more than 10 rounds in a magazine and all of the magazines carried on you body must be behind your hipbone. HTH Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I carry six mag pouches on my belt. Load the barney from the fifth mag, which then contains 9 rounds; replace it on the belt and insert #6 mag in the maxwell at Make Ready on most stages. That leaves we with 11 in the gun at the start and 49 rounds left on the belt in 5 mags. If it's an unloaded gun start, I have the same six mags on the belt, and the same 60 round capacity. I like consistency -- as much as possible. If it's a weird stage with an inordinate number of reloads (keep in mind sometimes it makes sense to fire 2 rounds and reload in production) I can potentially utilize a seventh mag, by rearranging mags, or moving one from back pocket to maxwell after barney loading from the #6 mag. This is pretty rare. I have gone through a doorway at Nationals and the doorway reached out and stripped two mags off my belt -- I barely had enough ammo left to finish the stage. Had I had fewer mags on my belt, that would have been ugly. As far as what I carry to the match -- I've typically got eight mags in my range bag. If it's a major, I'll usually bring a second set. I've always run the same mags in practice and the match -- it helps me to keep an eye on them and to trim any burrs that might develop. (Glock mags) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 You can load 11 rounds into 1st mag(leaving 10 rounds after loading chamber for run) and then only 10 per mag after that.... Just be careful if you do that to not mix up your mags, and to remember to remove the 11th round for an unloaded start -- otherwise you could find yourself in open. Lots of folks do this -- just got to remember.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc90 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I shoot production class with a CZ-shadow and carry 5 mags.4 on the belt and 1 in the pocket. . On the load and make ready command I load the first magazine from my pocket as only the reload has to come from the belt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4540 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I usually carry 5, 4 on the belt and one in the pocket, I will switch to carrying 5 on the belt just for piece of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Religious Shooter Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I usually bring 8. 5 on the belt. I shoot a Glock and I find the mags a pain in the ass to load. I load all 8. I tend to find that I only need to reload the mags every other stage with the 8 mags. I think it gives me a little more time to screw around or to digest the stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorfish Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 For USPSA Production Division: Five mags on the belt, One mag in the back pocket. Mags on my belt ONLY contain ten rounds. The mag in my back pocket starts with 11 rounds. This is my start mag and goes in the gun upon the make ready command. Something has "gone off the rails" on stages that take me to my sixth mag (and generally my fifth mag) but I have to admit I've made it to my sixth mag on a few occasions. Also, you'll want to mark your mags so you can identify them easily. Most of us number them but you can use any convenient method. Eventually one or more of your mags will begin giving you "issues" and you'll want to know which one it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKT1106 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Just remember, if the course of fire specifies an unloaded start, you can only load 10 in all mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) I carry 5. The one farthest away near my back holds 11 rounds. That's the method I use. I have five mag pouches and I have numbered Dawson Grip tape on each of my Glock mags. Mag 0 is always the 11 round mag. I put mag one through four in the front pouches and the zero mag is last. If it's a stage where I have a premonition that I want that sixth mag, I put one through five in the mag pouches and put mag zero in my pocket. I have seven mags and I keep them all loaded up. It's nice to have an extra couple in case one gets really mucked up (mud, etc) during a stage or I need some mags quick for a reshoot, etc. It's also good for unloaded start situations since I don't use the zero mag since you can't start with 11 rounds in a mag once the buzzer goes off. I'm going to use this same system for SS/L10 except I'll run it with six mag pouches since I shoot SS major. Edited January 25, 2015 by ericjhuber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camazama Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 It depends on the stage and your level of confidence with certain props. If there is a Texas Star or a Polish Platerack, I make sure to bring an extra mag....or two. I have one in the gun, four on my belt, and if there are certain props, I'll carry one or two in my back pocket. My mags are 17 rounds mags but I only load them to 10, which is the rule for Production Division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Just remember, if the course of fire specifies an unloaded start, you can only load 10 in all mags. I only load 10 in every mag after a stage. when i get to the next stage I load the 11th into my start mag if it's a loaded start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I carry 5. The one farthest away near my back holds 11 rounds. ^This. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee blackman Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Six mag pouches on my production belt. 7 mags total... Here's why.... its always better to have more and not need, than not have enough. I strategize reloads, usually never have more than 3 or 4 on a stage, but sometimes have had five. I don't run the gun dry, I reload when its the most efficient opportunity. Moving between arrays mainly. So if I only use 4 mags, why would I need another 3.... well that bad run on the texas star thru off my count, and I needed another.... or that malfunction happened twice during a stage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericjhuber Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to add that six mag pouch on my Production rig for those same reasons. I've had pretty good luck so far with movers and the like, but I suspect that first time that I declare war on an abnormally skilled Texas Star that doesn't feel like getting shot up, you'll see me with that sixth pouch the next match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMike Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Good advice by all. At a minimum, I always take one more than I think I will need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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