Just that....What's the opinion of the forum? We have had conversation about how much ammo to stockpile. We have discussed the required number of mags to have per gun. Now they are sitting there together.....
If you have 10 AR/AK/SCAR/SHTF type rifle mags, do you load them all? What if you have 20? What if you realize Pmags are cheap and you have a 100? Then what?
What about your your go to pistol? Do you keep 10 Sig/Glock/Beretta loaded?

Just curious what you guys do?

All of them.

Saves on storage space. You can store mags and ammo in half the space.

What Rogue said. Why have empty mags sitting around? Not only does it save on space - as suggested - it also cuts way down on wasted time at the range. Especially during extreme hot or cold weather, when I do go out to the range, I'm there to shoot, not to practice loading mags. I can do that from the heated/air-conditioned comfort of home.

And if you don't have enough ammo to fill all your mags, you need more ammo or less mags, one or the other. (I usually side with more ammo.)



But if you need a hard number for defensive arms, I consider ten for a rifle or carbine, and five per pistol the bare minimum. If it's just a range fun gun or rare/expensive piece, I might have three (like my Browning Buckmark) or only one (like my K31).

Another vote for all.
I dont have a lot, but they're all topped up.

Follow-on question would be: Do you keep a loaded mag in everything?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
All of them.

Saves on storage space. You can store mags and ammo in half the space.

This. What good is an unloaded mag? Also, who wants to go to the range and spend all their time reloading magazines? Bring enough loaded mags to shoot as much as you want, and do the cleaning and reloading at home.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Follow-on question would be: Do you keep a loaded mag in everything?

Absolutely. To follow up on my "what good is an unloaded mag" comment, what good is a magazine fed weapon that doesn't have a loaded magazine in it? Remove from the safe, and throw the bolt on it, good to go. My only exception is I don't keep a loaded enbloc in my M1. But every clip is fully loaded and they're quickly at hand, so there's that.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Bring enough loaded mags to shoot as much as you want, and do the cleaning and reloading at home.

Yep. That's exactly what I do.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Follow-on question would be: Do you keep a loaded mag in everything?

Yes, except my hunting guns and milsurp collection, which are stored unloaded.

Another vote for all of them.

All my handgun and rifle mags are all fully loaded.

I have a healthy inventory of magazines, for both long guns and handguns. I have a healthy inventory of firearms, in various calibers.

I keep a handful of mags loaded -- those for HD. All other mags are stored unloaded; all other ammo is segregated by caliber, brand, and bullet type.

I don't get too excited about FMJ practice ammo for pistols. I don't generally mix brands of ammo, but I know that it doesn't really matter for the distances (generally up 25-30 yards, but occasionally up to 50 yards) and the targets that I use.

Rifles & carbines are a whole different animal. Most of my long guns shoot one or two types of ammo with the greatest accuracy. Between training and competition, I bounce among rifles/carbines quite regularly. Keeping given magazines loaded at all times will eventually result in ammo clusterfucks during competition. The mags would all have to be labeled in some manner or another. Furthermore, I bounce between 20 and 30 round mags in AR competitions and training, depending on the needs of stages.

And then there's that whole thing about factory ammo lot numbers, and the potential for different muzzle velocities from different lots. In a recent ELR match I found out how much that can affect long range ballistics -- it's not a pretty thing when target are on the line.

Loading mags isn't a big deal at the range. I load between "stages", just as I do in competition. A more measured shooting cadence more closely conforms to how matches are shot.

Letting the rifle barrels cool a bit between shot strings helps with barrel lives. This is a natural time for loading mags. I've shot out 4 barrels in the last 3 years, with 2 of those barrel changes occurring within the last 2 months. I have another bolt action barrel that could die anytime now. It's quite likely that another AR-15 barrel will go tits up next year. I see no need to prematurely wear out Wilson, Bartlein, or Krieger match barrels prematurely.

Enough that if you break into my house that not having air superiority will likely complicate your adventure.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Enough that if you break into my house that not having air superiority will likely complicate your adventure.

That’s gotta be the best comment ever.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Enough that if you break into my house that not having air superiority will likely complicate your adventure.

You win the Internet today, sir.

Treat every gun as if it were loaded. Because it is.

all of them.

For AR and Mini 14: Three 30 rounders but down loaded to 28.
If I expend all 3 mags, the time has come to exfil.

The HD guns are of course all loaded. The piles and piles of extra mags are not. If needed, there's plenty of "New York reloads" at hand.
I don't need to waste time loading mags at the range. I load them before I go or if it's a really early start, mandatory this time of year, load them the night before.
If I loaded all my mags, I wouldn't have a clue what bullet weight was in them without a label and the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze for me.

All of them that are in use. Some mags are still in original packaging. Those stay that way.

I have 8 AR mags loaded up with the good stuff and 2 mags each for every centerfire handgun I own loaded with either Gold Dots or HSTs.
The rest are for backup and range use.

I keep a lot of AR15 and Glock 9MM magazines loaded. Probably have double that number stored away, unloaded and new, as spares. I also have dedicated training magazines which are the only ones regularly used.

Mags for other guns are typically unloaded and only loaded a couple days before going to the range.

1 in the rifle
3 in my belt rig
4 in an active shooter shoulder rig
6 in the go bag
10 in a “non disclosed” alternate location.

Thanks all, I appreciate your input!