What is the Best Magazine for Shooting Prone?

[Dr. Bullseye]

I don't know what section to post this, there would probably be at least three possibilities.


There is a court injunction from enforcement of "high capacity" magazines in California where I am. So for the moment at least, we are free. All I have are 10 round magazines. A 30 round magazine looks too long to shoot prone. Would a 20 round magazine be better? Better than a 10 or a 30? In a related question, is it OK or not to support the rifle on the magazine?

[Coal Dragger]

30 round magazine works fine. Jam it into the deck like a mono-pod.

[noonesshowmonkey]

A loaded one.

[556BlackRifle]

If I'm shooting from a bipod I like Magpul 10 rounders. If I'm not using a bipod I'll use a 30 or 40 round Magpul magazine as a pivot point.

[MistWolf]

Get yourself a couple of each- 20, 30 and 40 rounders and try them out to see which you like best.

[wanderson]

I shoot from a table top a lot with a bipod on a QD mount or a sandbag rest.

The 10s are the easiest to change but if they don’t drop free they can be hard to grab. Overall I use 20s the most, twice the capacity, they don’t touch the table and easy to grab if they don’t drop without adding ranger plates. The GI straight 20s seem to be a bit shorter overall vs the curved 20s.

As for using the mag as a rest, depends on how loose the mag fit is. I have some gen 2 Pmags that I had to file to fit, very tight fit and don’t drop free but work well as a rest, never malfunction. But if they’re loose enough, a misfeed is possible.

There’s an aftermarket gizmo that goes on the bottom of a Pmag that acts kinda like a bipod/rest, can’t remember who it was. Was only a few inches wide but I think it replaced the floor plate.

I also run Elander stainless steel mags, they run fine in my BCM & Anderson AR and PSA .300bo. Might be worth it to try one if using as a rest, they’re heavier than the aluminum mags but sturdy with a snug fit that still drops free.

[thegreyman]

What's Prone done? Couldn't resist; like Chief Inspector Clouseau, the the croquet mallet was unavoidable. Apologies.

[mlberry]

I found that it depends on how close you want to get to the ground and present the smallest target. 20 rds were no problem but the 30 rds bottomed out. I would suggest 10 and 20 rds. Remember we fought the Vietnam War with 20 rd magazines and those were ample to waste tons of ammunition.

[BrigandTwoFour]

What’s the goal? Are you trying to use the mag as monopod to stabilize the rifle? Or are you trying to get as low as possible and use only your arms/body to stabilize?

If the former, a quality 30 rounder is the way.

If the latter, a quality 20 rounder.

[jackblack73]

Does it really matter how it shoots when prone? If I could suddenly buy standard capacity mags I’d buy a bunch of 20s and 30s regardless.