1. If I press a different pistol's magazine up against another pistol's magwel and rack the slide back. Would it load? Assuming same caliber? For example. A 92FS magazine in a 320 magwell?

2. Why are handgun cartridges in box of 50 but rifle cartridges in box of 20?

I can answer #1 with...it depends. For some, yes. I believe Beretta 92 and P226 magazines are similar enough that you could pull this off, assuming you either kept the magazine release pushed in or removed it. The issue (if I remember right) was the position of the magazine catch cut-out in the magazine body itself.

If you want to play with it, get a box of Snap Caps and see if they feed. The aluminum of the Snap Cap should minimize the risk of damaging your extractor. However, I'd never try this with live ammo unless it's a truly last-resort sort of deal. And at that point I'd probably just opt to drop the round in the chamber and close the slide -- and hope the ejector doesn't break.

As for #2 -- no idea. Maybe due to 20 round magazines in M1As and early AR-15s? Shotgun shells are sold in boxes of 25 but that may be due to trap and skeet rules. I'm curious about this as well.

quote:

Originally posted by fallenangelhim:
1. If I press a different pistol's magazine up against another pistol's magwel and rack the slide back. Would it load?

Sometimes. It depends on the gun and magazine. When I attended a class when Army CID was switching from revolvers to the M11, the instructor said that if we picked up an M9 magazine from a dead MP, it could be used in the M11 if it was held in place in the magazine well. It wouldn’t, however, lock in and stay there.

P226 magazines can often be used in P229s, but not vice-versa.

There are enough small differences among magazines and guns to make it a matter of (unlikely) chance: tube length and width; feedlips; angles; and locations of the intercept notches all matter.

I would guess that the issue of ammunition packaging may have dated from the days when shooters tended to fire few rifle rounds as compared with handgun ammunition. And of course, premium defensive handgun ammo these days is packaged in 20-round boxes more often than not; I suspect that is a matter of perceived expense.

Rifle cartridges are just bigger (in length). The larger the item, the smaller the unit count in consumer packaging.

Regarding question 2: I can only think that most popular hunting rifles have been 5 round capacity for an awfully long time. Multiples of five.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
Rifle cartridges are just bigger (in length). The larger the item, the smaller the unit count in consumer packaging.

^^^
This.
Pretty easy to carry versus say 50, etc.

Interesting question about rounds. Makes me wonder why beer is typically sold in six packs. Interesting Friday night questions.

Aside from .223, you typically use less rifle cartridges at a time. For example most people go out and shoot 20 rounds to sight in a scope before hunting season and done. Pistols you tend to shoot more rounds. This is purely a guess. .22LR does typically come in boxes of 50 (or more in bricks) as they tend to think of a .22 as a plinking rifle you're going to run through more ammo with.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Interesting question about rounds. Makes me wonder why beer is typically sold in six packs. Interesting Friday night questions.

It's easier to make a handy six pack than a five or seven.

Besides, 'merca ain't yet metric, and still uses the dozen as a 'count of produce'. When was the last time you saw a ten-pack of eggs?

tac

Hot dogs vs hot dog buns. You'd have to cook 40 hotdogs do get them to match up.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Hot dogs vs hot dog buns. You'd have to cook 40 hotdogs do get them to match up.

Hebrew National totally skews the dog/bun math.

My rifle rounds come in boxes of 1,000 most of the time.

quote:

Originally posted by fallenangelhim:2. Why are handgun cartridges in box of 50 but rifle cartridges in box of 20?

Trust me, if you were not a reloader and had to pay just over $550 for a hundred .338Lapua Magnum cartridges you might well be asking why they didn't sell them in single packages.

Seriously, the cost of factory stuff ranges from a simple 'ouch' to an 'outrageous'. Most non-reloaders are happy that they can afford a box of twenty at a time.

tac

This is why i love this community. I was expecting you all to ask what I was smoking or laugh it off.

Thanks for humoring me.

Up here they don't mess around with six packs of beer, usually it's thirty packs...of the cheap stuff...