Dissimilar mag sizes

[Chatterbox]

What do you think of keeping a larger mag in the weapon to begin with, and reloading with more conventional mags? I'm thinking primarily of starting off with something like a drum in a carbine or a extended ~30 round mag in a handgun, and then going to more handy sizes to reload? The upside is that you have more rounds ready to go, and don't have to deal with sometimes questionable ergonomics of switching in those mags. The downside, as I see it, is that it may mess up your mental picture of how many rounds you have. Opinions?

[andy t]

What is your purpose? For home defense, a standard capacity magazine should be plenty for pistols. When it comes to rifles, some people keep a 20 round magazine in because it is smaller and less likely to catch on things as you maneuver, with a 30 round reload available. I think extended magazines would take you into the realm of special applications - are you running a Glock 18? Are you using your AR as a point defense weapon? In those cases extended magazines make sense. But if you are talking home defense, I think it makes more sense to keep the size more manageable and focus on other issues.

[rifleman2000]

If you can conveniently have a large capacity magazine inserted, why not do it? For a night stand gun, a 30 round mag in a pistol would be great.

And for a rifle, the difference in maneuverability between 20 round or 30 round mag is NIL, for all practical purposes.

The best tactic is to have as much ammunition as close to the breech as possible. Ammo is no good on your belt, chest, or thigh. It is only good when it has a one way ticket to the chamber. That is the whole principle behind a tactical reload.

1 pistol mag of 15 rounds can be gone in less than 5 seconds if you get in a firefight with a similarly armed intruder in your house that is actively shooting back. With no hits. If you don't believe me, check out the research done on close range police shootings.

When your life is on the line and you have a 15 round pistol in your hand, two thoughts will cross your mind.

1. 15 rounds is it????

2. Where is my rifle???

[awm14hp]

I carry standard glock mags but have a few custom mags a guy made for me with mag extensions that take them to 23 rounds and I keep one of them in the gun that is on the night stand I have shot the heck out of it and I know it works and functions 100% but to carry it would be a pita unless you used a in your mag holder in the gun would be alittle large. I think its easier to carry a larger mag in a mag holder over in the gun that is why I carry glk 17 mags when I carry my 26 or 19.

[rifleman2000]

Carrying 17 round mags with a 26 makes good sense. Of course, the idea would be to load that mag ASAP if you sense trouble/get a break in the shootout!

And use more punctuation! ;)

[theJanitor]

my nightstand gun is a M&P9 with a 22 round mag. the Arrendondo extensions have run perfectly for me