Separate magazines for home / range

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I've been unloading my 3 magazines for trips to the range, and then reloading home-defense ammo for the trip home.

But I just picked up a few more magazines and I was wondering what you guys do - Do you have separate magazines for home and for the range? Unload and reload?

Thanks,
Tony P.
 
As long as you exercise the magazines to ensure they function properly, it shouldn't really matter.
 
I recomend completely separate mags for carry/home and practice. Practice mags get dropped and they get dirty, banged up and can have damaged feed lips. Carry/home mags should be pristine at all times. They should be run a few times a year (don't drop) and should have the springs changed every year for maximum reliability. Carry ammo should be switched out annually as well.

Damaged range magazines should be kept in rotation as they offer excellent opportunity for unplanned stoppage drills!
 
I recomend completely separate mags for carry/home and practice. Practice mags get dropped and they get dirty, banged up and can have damaged feed lips. Carry/home mags should be pristine at all times. They should be run a few times a year (don't drop) and should have the springs changed every year for maximum reliability. Carry ammo should be switched out annually as well.

Damaged range magazines should be kept in rotation as they offer excellent opportunity for unplanned stoppage drills!

Excellent advice!
 
Personally, I fire the mag full of HP ammo in m EDC every range trip, which takes care of the rotation issue. Put the second mag in place when I leave, reload the first, which becomes the spare.

I also keep my 'best' mags for EDC and backup. Extra careful about wear and dropping them. Try to put at least 5 mags down range on my EDC every range trip. It's a chore. (BG380)
 
I normally have a few magazines that I only use at the range, these are ones that have been banged around a bit, or are known to have problems. The magazines that I use for carry, I do keep separately, but ensure that they are functioning by firing them at least several times per year. It is always good to inspect your mags and to ensure that you are getting the right spring compression. There was a time when I would swap out defense mags to allow the springs to rest and avoid taking a "set" however after investigating that practice, it appears that any fears are not well founded, at least as has been explained to me by several people well versed in metallurgy.

Davidk has given excellent advice, although I do not change the springs annually YMMV.
 
I recomend completely separate mags for carry/home and practice. Practice mags get dropped and they get dirty, banged up and can have damaged feed lips. Carry/home mags should be pristine at all times. They should be run a few times a year (don't drop) and should have the springs changed every year for maximum reliability. Carry ammo should be switched out annually as well.

Damaged range magazines should be kept in rotation as they offer excellent opportunity for unplanned stoppage drills!

Sound advice, but not every guy can afford to have lots of mags to separate for range/ carry. With something like a single stack 1911 it's a non-issue. Cheap, plentiful (and not ban state price gouged) magazines can be found. What about a MA resident with a Glock 19 though? Those preban 15 round mags are damn pricey! [wink]

I think I have around 25 1911 mags. More than half of those are cheap milsurp and I don't care if they get banged up. Figure $10 each for those. Higher end 1911 mags, maybe $20-$30 each (like say Wilson 47D's).

Try finding a nice G19 preban 15 round mag for under $30. I don't think I've ever paid more than $35 for one (preban square notch FML) but I've seen some going for $55-$60. Ridiculous!

At least 10 magazines for a handgun you carry and practice a lot with... That's a lot of money if your carry gun is something that takes pricey mags.

ETA: You could always buy 10-rounders for the G19 to practice with, but those aren't very cheap either, plus neutered mags just piss me off.
 
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springs changed every year for maximum reliability???

I agree with the recommendation to keep separate practice magazines versus "home" magazines.

Magazines for "home", I test a couple of times for function and reliability, then store loaded. Messing about with unloading magazines, changing springs, etc is more likely to cause a problem than prevent one, IMHO.
 
I only have 2 mags for my edc so I run both every time I go the range whether I'm there to run rifles, shotguns or whatever. I used to fire the HP, then switch to FMJ, then reload HP at the end, but that was too tedious so now I just run FMJ exclusively. Obviously overpenetration can happen, but at least I will have the ability to penetrate heavy clothing and intermediate barriers if necessary. Everything is a tradeoff.
 
Personally, I fire the mag full of HP ammo in m EDC every range trip, which takes care of the rotation issue. Put the second mag in place when I leave, reload the first, which becomes the spare.

I also keep my 'best' mags for EDC and backup. Extra careful about wear and dropping them. Try to put at least 5 mags down range on my EDC every range trip. It's a chore. (BG380)


I do basicaly the same thing
 
Sound advice, but not every guy can afford to have lots of mags to separate for range/ carry. With something like a single stack 1911 it's a non-issue. Cheap, plentiful (and not ban state price gouged) magazines can be found. What about a MA resident with a Glock 19 though? Those preban 15 round mags are damn pricey! [wink]

Simple actually: Stick with 10-rounder for practice and carry the pre bans :)

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I only have 2 mags for my edc so I run both every time I go the range whether I'm there to run rifles, shotguns or whatever. I used to fire the HP, then switch to FMJ, then reload HP at the end, but that was too tedious so now I just run FMJ exclusively. Obviously overpenetration can happen, but at least I will have the ability to penetrate heavy clothing and intermediate barriers if necessary. Everything is a tradeoff.

Not only can FMJ over penetrate, they do far less damage to the body and therefore have far less stopping power compared to HPs. HPs are highly recommended for all defensive purposes.
 
They should be run a few times a year (don't drop) and should have the springs changed every year for maximum reliability.

Springs don't need to be changed annually.

If you're only unloading a few times a year, the springs will be fine.

Wear on springs is caused by repeated increases and decreases in tension, not sitting under load.
 
Thanks guys. I purchased a couple of used mags from a member moving out of state, and I'll save those for the range.

Cheers,
Tony P.
 
Yup, I have different mags for EDC/HD and for training. The EDC/HD mags get tested with several cycles of their specific carry ammo, then marked and then left loaded.
 
Springs don't need to be changed annually.

If you're only unloading a few times a year, the springs will be fine.

Wear on springs is caused by repeated increases and decreases in tension, not sitting under load.

Regardless of what the experts say, I have personally seen springs weaken. I change them annually to be sure.
 
Simple actually: Stick with 10-rounder for practice and carry the pre bans :)

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Not only can FMJ over penetrate, they do far less damage to the body and therefore have far less stopping power compared to HPs. HPs are highly recommended for all defensive purposes.

Yes, I am aware of the "less stopping power" perspective. Like I said, everything is a tradeoff. In winter apparel, it is far more likely for HP ammo to under penetrate so in that case would actually have LESS stopping power. I just figure that punching several 9mm holes should slow most situations down. I'm not a ballistics expert, but that makes sense to me logically. I also feel that even 1 9mm hole is still going to be far more effective than either not having a gun at all, or a .380 round of any type. Obviously shot placement plays a HUGE factor in all of this as well.
 
Yes, I am aware of the "less stopping power" perspective. Like I said, everything is a tradeoff. In winter apparel, it is far more likely for HP ammo to under penetrate so in that case would actually have LESS stopping power. I just figure that punching several 9mm holes should slow most situations down. I'm not a ballistics expert, but that makes sense to me logically. I also feel that even 1 9mm hole is still going to be far more effective than either not having a gun at all, or a .380 round of any type. Obviously shot placement plays a HUGE factor in all of this as well.

Although I do carry 38 spl, 40 and 9mm, I almost exclusively carry .45 ACP in the winter months for the very reason you cite. Even if a .45 hollow point fails to expand and becomes clogged with material, it is still a .45 in terms of making an entry wound. Personally I would never rely on 9mm hardball, even with follow-up shots, but that's me. Again YMMV, but I want to leave the biggest hole possible if I cannot rely on an expanding bullet. Even .45 hardball is questionable and the old saying that "they always fall with hardball (meaning 230gr .45 ACP) just isn't supported by actual reports, but the bigger the hole, the more potential for damage.
 
I recomend completely separate mags for carry/home and practice. Practice mags get dropped and they get dirty, banged up and can have damaged feed lips. Carry/home mags should be pristine at all times. They should be run a few times a year (don't drop) and should have the springs changed every year for maximum reliability. Carry ammo should be switched out annually as well.

Damaged range magazines should be kept in rotation as they offer excellent opportunity for unplanned stoppage drills!
While that sounds great in an ideal world, I admit to doing none of that. Although, I also don't toss my mags around at the range and can't remember the last time I dropped one. I certainly don't change my springs every year. While I'm far from an expert, I've never even heard that one before. Is there any actual evidence for springs wearing out or even becoming less reliable within a year? How about in any amount of time for that matter? I'm not picking a fight, I'd just like to know if there are any data to back that up.
 
Define "springs weakening." Do you actually mean when a mag feels broken in, as in the last few rounds go in easier?

A spring will "break in". This break in shoul dnot be confused with it "wearing out". I have a couple mags that have thousands of rounds through them. I have yet to have a failure to feed or a spring break.

I think if you're replacing springs yearly, you're wasting your money.
 
While that sounds great in an ideal world, I admit to doing none of that. Although, I also don't toss my mags around at the range and can't remember the last time I dropped one. I certainly don't change my springs every year. While I'm far from an expert, I've never even heard that one before. Is there any actual evidence for springs wearing out or even becoming less reliable within a year? How about in any amount of time for that matter? I'm not picking a fight, I'd just like to know if there are any data to back that up.

If you do anything like action pistol comp, training classes, or really anything other than sitting on a bench at the square range, your mags are eventually going to wear out and/or get damaged. Probably not within a year, but it will happen. Carry/duty mags should always be separate from range mags. Shoot enough rounds to verify that your carry/duty mags are reliable, then go use and abuse your range mags.
 
While that sounds great in an ideal world, I admit to doing none of that. Although, I also don't toss my mags around at the range and can't remember the last time I dropped one. I certainly don't change my springs every year. While I'm far from an expert, I've never even heard that one before. Is there any actual evidence for springs wearing out or even becoming less reliable within a year? How about in any amount of time for that matter? I'm not picking a fight, I'd just like to know if there are any data to back that up.

If you're not dropping mags you're not training properly for real world situations. My two cents.
 
If you're not dropping mags you're not training properly for real world situations. My two cents.

This. Standing at a range and carefully removing a mag and setting it on the table is not useful if your goal is self defense/real world training.
 
That's not to say in some actual situations you can't or shouldn't retain mags, I'm just saying the time you take retaining an empty one could be the few seconds the other guy needed to kill you. Empty mags get dropped. If you win the fire fight you can get them after it's over.
 
This. Standing at a range and carefully removing a mag and setting it on the table is not useful if your goal is self defense/real world training.

While I sort of agree in principle, do you really think it would be THAT hard to transition to dropping mags if you were in an actual firefight? I don't, and feel that it takes much more effort to to speed reload if you AREN'T dropping them so if you can do that rapidly then dropping should be that much faster and easier. I choose to keep my equipment in the best possible condition, so that it will function when I really need it. Banging up mags by dropping them does not foster ultimate reliability.
 
That's not to say in some actual situations you can't or shouldn't retain mags, I'm just saying the time you take retaining an empty one could be the few seconds the other guy needed to kill you. Empty mags get dropped. If you win the fire fight you can get them after it's over.

I agree with this if you are in an actual firefight, but like I said, actually dropping them on reload is a no-brainer in that situation.
 
While I sort of agree in principle, do you really think it would be THAT hard to transition to dropping mags if you were in an actual firefight? I don't, and feel that it takes much more effort to to speed reload if you AREN'T dropping them so if you can do that rapidly then dropping should be that much faster and easier. I choose to keep my equipment in the best possible condition, so that it will function when I really need it. Banging up mags by dropping them does not foster ultimate reliability.

There are documented incidents of police officers in shootings retaining empty mags and moon clips. You will respond in an emergency how you train yourself to.
 
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