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How Many Magazines is Enough?, by Cowboy
It's nice to know how many guns you have to
share amongst those mags, or better yet how many magazines do you have to share
amongst multiple like model rifles or pistols for that matter. That's how I
count them to see if I feel like I have enough or not. Plus, I like to count
in the possibility of adding another gun or two into that particular category
at a later date since buying extra mags is always cheaper than adding a new
gun. If nothing else, extra mags are a great investment for later sale or barter
especially if the current snake oil salesman in charge signs a new assault
weapons ban into law.
As an example, I got caught with just a couple of AK and AR mags when the Assault
weapons Ban (AWB) took effect in 1994. This was before the "preparedness
mindset" for
me
which
came later in 1996 when I found JWR's novel draft "The Gray Nineties" [--an
early draft edition of "Patriots"
].
I was not nearly so gun market savvy as I am today. I was the typical gun owner/collector
with one each of several guns without any thought to caliber consolidation or
commonality of magazines for logistics purposes. In the same vein I may have
had a couple 20 round boxes of 223 or 762x39 ammo laying around with really no
thought of having anymore than what I needed to go to the range one time for
about an
hour's worth of shooting. In hindsight it was absolutely shameful--like 99% of
the sleeping gun owning public.
Then the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 was signed into law and there was a run
on certain guns, ammunition, and magazines--much like we are seeing now--that
swept the country overnight. Back then, I was way behind the
curve on that
and
I got
caught off guard. At the time $6 for a nice but used USGI M16 magazine was common
and a new mag might set you back $10. Overnight if you could even find some for
sale you had to pay double or triple that. Same with Glock magazines as another
example. They went from +/- $15 for a new one to $40-$45. [JWR Adds: In
1999,
I saw
gun
show dealers asking and getting $75 each for 13 round Glock 21 magazines,
and
$150 each for 33 round Glock 17/18/19 magazines!] This
market
environment
went
on
for
the
10
year
life
span
of
the
AWB
until
it
"sunsetted"
in 2004.
Prices
went down and availability went back to normal until just before the 2008 election.
Since 2004 I have been eagerly buying all the magazines I needed, or thought
I
might
ever
need in a lifetime. I learned my lesson. In anticipation of the election
I was counting on the ignorance and gullibility of the general populace so I
made a last bulk purchase of magazines. Good thing too! Just this past summer
(2008), I bought a little over $1,000 worth of various magazines, and in particular
Glock 17 magazines from my favorite place. At that time they were $16.99 all
day long. The election came and now they are $24.99 from the same place, and
even so they are still the cheapest I can find among my many regular sources.
More recently, SIG magazines for have gone up at most places for instance. Pre-election
they usually went for right at $30. One of my regular places has gone up a little
bit to $33, but I've seen that most other places have jacked them
up to $40. It was and is the old "short supply and high demand" syndrome,
due
in part to all the panic buying that could have been avoided if done a little
bit
at
a time
like I've done over the past five years.
As bad as the prices got then, what's going on now is far worse in terms of availability.
Having lived and financially suffered through the '94 AWB, I still can say I've
never seen anything like this before. This is easily twice as bad as
the '94 AWB, and no legislation is even close to being signed into law yet. I
lived and
paid
dearly through the '94 AWB and I feel like I can speak on the topic of what's
happening in the gun market right now with some authority. In other words if
you find a deal where they haven't gouged the prices, then I recommend buying
extra beyond your immediate needs. Knowing what you know about your arsenal of
freedom,
I'd say stop buying guns and concentrate on ammunition and a few more magazines
as a priority. You can't drive a Corvette if you can't afford the gas, so to
speak. The mistake they made in 1994 was not going after the ammunition and they
realize
that now. If the majority of gun owning America is still anything like I was
back in 1994, any possible self defense in a civil unrest situation would be
short lived without adequate ammunition supplies already in place. And who's
got time to reload the one or two magazines they got with the rifle in the middle
of a fire fight? When it comes to magazines, more is better. I suspect this mood
has improved among gun owners in general and that the lesson of the '94 AWB still
smells fresh to some. As evidenced by my coworkers who come to me for 'gun advise",
I still believe the majority are gun rich, but magazine and ammunition poor so
to speak.
Now that I've gone on entirely too long you should have noticed the theme: Buy
more magazines where you need them and even if you don't as long as the prices
aren't gouge level. Buy more ammunition for your major battle rifle caliber at
every opportunity because it certainly isn't getting any cheaper and availability
is scarce. Look at Ammoman.com and AIMSurplus.com.
They are just plain out of all the common caliber ammunition. That is very telling,
but it also concerns
me the most. In case you feel overwhelmed at the very expense of it all, I give
the example of a co-worker who recently got on the same page via my Christmas
gift of JWR's novel "Patriots" ..
On pay day this coworker without fail goes to the local Horse Tack & Gun Shop
and buys two or three twenty round boxes of commercial
.223. Whatever he can afford that pay day. Although he was quite behind the 8
Ball in the beginning, he has over 500 rounds now and he just picked up three
extra M16 magazines. His little bit at a time strategy is working nicely, and
I have seen his overall mood improve as his supply grows along with his confidence.
He has also has been using the "copy can" method at the grocery store
and his progression in that department has really improved his state as well.
As a general recommendation I advise the following with the caveat that you add
the same minimum amount of used generic (cheaper) magazines for range use. I
know it's extra money but you can't go wrong by then adding a second batch of
new factory magazines as you can locate and afford them until you've doubled
that original minimum. I can assure you they will make a nice investment later
down the road. Keep those brand new magazines back in the "break glass in
case of emergency" box. That will be your long term storage box that you
don't touch until TSHTF.
Buy .50 caliber ammo cans for a
safe place to store magazines, with a bag of desiccant thrown in for good measure.
I've
actually
vacuum
packed
mine
for long term rust free storage. Keep the used but reliable generic mags about
for immediate availability and for range use. [Some snipped, for brevity.]
As a absolute minimum I recommend the following. Hopefully you are in or can
get into a position to consolidate caliber and like model firearms if for nothing
other than a logistics standpoint. Having to find, purchase, and store several
different calibers, and multiple types of magazines can make an already expensive
proposition downright discouraging.
(10) Ten brand new magazines per main battle rifle (This under most circumstances
should equate to basic load + spares)
(7) Seven brand new magazines per pistol (This also under most circumstances
should equate to basic load + spares)
and,
(1) Main Battle Rifle per adult or responsible teenager
(1) Main Sidearm per adult or responsible teenager
And of course, in my opinion one of the most often neglected items: professional
training, and appropriate web gear to carry those magazines and your sidearm.
