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Something else I've seen a lot on the competition side...
We do special loadings quite a bit to force reloads and/or transitions to pistol. Many of our shooters choose to use 20 round magazines for the down-loaded mags in order to have an easy visual cue. This is fine, to an extent, but they often forget that their pouches are intended for 30-round magazines and wind up having trouble retrieving the smaller magazine. This is why I've gone to Lancers for this purpose.
If he said it, I wonder when it was. With evolution of AR magazine technology, I can't imagine why this would be true anymore.
Good mag, but no longer the gold standard.
The 20rd GI mag is great, until you drop it on it's top. The feed lips are less rigid than the 30rd counterpart due to the lack of support at the rear and have a greater surface area more susceptible to damage.
IMHO, the best 20rd mag going right now is the PMag.
Like others, I like 20s in certain carry cases and from the bench. Otherwise, it's 30s for me.
I know several agencies that require that officers use only 20s, or use a 20rd mag as a primary and allow 30s for a reload. The primary reasoning is to not alarm the public with "banana clips." One is more cognizant of the benefits of a 20 but identifies them later in the discussion.
I can also put my shorty in a tennis racket bag or other non traditional gun case and have it loaded with a 20. I can't do that with a 30.
"Not every thing on Earth requires an aftermarket upgrade." demigod/markm
Very interesting discussion. I'm fairly new to AR's, and have not built up a supply of mags yet, either Pmag or aluminum. I'm buying them as they become available and as funds allow. Still looking for the best mix of USGI and Pmag, 20 vs 30. Several points were addressed here that I find most interesting...
Feed lip durability - the straight 20 is more prone to damage, but easier to fix. Does one actually ever try and fix bent feed lips? I thought mags were just tossed when damaged. Obviously, if it's all you've got, you'll try and geep it running, but that's what spare mags are for. Also, how often do ejected mags land on the feed lips? I would think they would more likely land on the base plate (especially with ranger plates attached).
Reliability - if straight 20's are more reliable than the original 30's, is this still true today? How about an old, used 20 (in good shape) vs a new 30 with Magpul follower, or vs a Pmag?
Straight vs curved - if it was the design of the mag more than the alloy follower which made the original 20 round mags so reliable, is the straight Pmag-20 more reliable then the Pmag-30?
Going prone - makes some sense, but unless one only carries 20's, what are the odds that the 20 will be the mag in the gun when you have to hit the floor? If you've got a 30 in your rifle, are you going to remove it and load up a 20?
Vehicle ops - not a factor for us Non-military and non-LEO types. But even is one is, wouldn't a SBR be even more useful?
I can see having a few. It can't hurt, and they can be useful. I just wonder if there usefulness is overrated.
I have three 20 round PMags. One for the flap shellholder of a TacVest. It's designed for shotguns shells, but I don't use it for that purpose - a 20 round mags fits there, whereas a 30 rounder won't.
The other two are in my AR's, as they sit in Condor bags. With an EOTech mounted, the zipper won't close on a 30 rounder in the rifle, but it will with a 20. So if I have to grab 'em, they're good to go.
Otherwise, it's 30 rounders all the way. And a couple of Beta C-Mags.![]()
- Either you're part of the problem or you're part of the solution or you're just part of the landscape - Sam (Robert DeNiro) in, "Ronin" -
20 rounders were handy during the SPR course I went to in October since we were shooting in the prone using bipods and packs. Otherwise I really don't have a use for them.
On a side note. Can anyone tell me about some the more rare 20 rounders out there? I recently found a box here with some oldies in it, most of the names don't ring a bell.
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i dont have any old school 20 rounders. the closest i have to that are the Brownell's 20 round mags, which i like a lot. also have the PMag 20s which are nice
anyone else looking forward to the Lancer 20s? when are those coming out? i thought we'd be seeing them by now.
Last edited by Parabellum9x19mm; 05-16-09 at 16:39.
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