Serious: How Many Mags Per Rifle?

I generally feel adequate with 200 rds "loaded" for the rifle(in this case, that's a bandoleer for the SKS), 25-50 for the long range gun(strippers for the Mosin), and 30 or so for handgun(full cylinder plus 4 speedloaders). Not optimal, per se, in some huge gunfight, but in all seriousness, if I can't handle any trouble with 200 rds of 7.62x39, 50 of x54R, 30 of .38spl/.38+p hps, and a coupla boxes of slugs and #4 magnums, more mags aren't going to save me. as simply means I've bitten off more than I can chew.

And in all honest, could probalby replace that number with 20 or so rounds for the SKS, as anything beyond that is again, too big a situation to handle.

That being said, I still keep ammo ready on mags/speed loaders/stripper clips, and keep a good supply of ammo in boxes/ammo cans/coffee cans/ammo crates/etc too. Hrmm, I have ammo all over the place, hadn't quite thought about that in a while. :)
 
Well, that answers a fixed position ammo question....

>>>>>>

A better question for the new age might be; 'what erases a heat signature of a human?"




munk
 
Well, Munk, you may not like my answer, but.............

If you were to die, your body would at some point reach room temperture, and "BINGO".......... no more heat signature! LOL!!! ;)
 
My wife's favorite rifle. Flintlock Afghan Jezail Camel rider's rifle. Rifled bore, MOP inlay, about .52 / 14mm caliber. 46" long. Anne's Kitchen Gallery Collection.

No clips.
 
I have some very capable pistols (Sig-Sauer P226, Glock 23, Kahr PM40 and Kel-Tec K3AT) with a pretty good set of high capacity magazines for the Sig and the Glock. But I have never bought a survival oriented rifle. When my thoughts run in that direction they turn to the Ruger Mini 14 in .223.

One reason for this preferrence is that the M14 is compact and one of the least militaristic looking of the various options; seems like a good low profile choice. It would also be useful for the predator calling I do (coyotes and an occasional bobcat).

However, I don't see the M14 mentioned often in survival oriented discussions. Any comments on this and other options would be appreciated.:)
 
etp777 said:
Turn up the thermostat to 100F. :)
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I think Munk will like your idea better than mine ;)

I actually wonder if something like that would actually somewhat work, with your bodies own temperture hovering at just under 99 degrees, or would then your body shape then stick out as something being a bit colder than the suroundings? Maybe you better set that thermostat at 98.6, just in case ;)
 
Bwray wrote:
"However, I don't see the M14 mentioned often in survival oriented discussions. Any comments on this and other options would be appreciated."

I love the M14 rifle (being available to most civilians in form of guns like the M-1A from Springfield Armory).
But, though it's a great battle rifle, it's usually a bit too long, and may keep it from being the all purpose gun that may be desired (as in needing and using it in confined spaces). The .223/5.56 nato and 7.62x39 caliber rounds are "usually" packaged in somewhat smaller and lighter weapons. Their recoil is usually significantly lighter as well, and would be easier to hand over to a less experienced person (should that need be there) without having the gun intimidate them too much.

I know the word "assault rifle" is not the proper term for semi auto military style civilian weapons (since they do not have select fire capability), but that sort of weapon (mis-named as it may be) makes a lot of sense to me for a "bug out" weapon. Even better, for those trained to do so and that are in States that allow their legal ownership, a real select fire assault weapon would be ideal..... IMO :)
 
JimmyJimenez said:
I love the M14 rifle (being available to most civilians in form of guns like the M-1A from Springfield Armory).
But, though it's a great battle rifle, it's usually a bit too long, and may keep it from being the all purpose gun that may be desired (as in needing and using it in confined spaces). The .223/5.56 nato and 7.62x39 caliber rounds are "usually" packaged in somewhat smaller and lighter weapons. Their recoil is usually significantly lighter as well, and would be easier to hand over to a less experienced person (should that need be there) without having the gun intimidate them too much.
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Hi Jimmy. I think I really confused the issue here by thoughtlessly abreviating the Ruger Mini 14 as M14, which is an entirely different animal. Any thoughts on the Mini 14? Thanks in advance.:o
 
I have a Springfield Armory M1A Socom 16. It would likely be my primary choice as a long-term, out in the western woods survival rifle. The cartridge is what puts it out front of my AR's, Garand, or M1 Carbine. .308 will do the trick on most subsistance game in the US, at reasonable ranges. The 16 in barrel makes it well suited as a "brush gun", but doesnt give up that much in ballistics. 5.56mm is a bit puny for Elk, bear, or even deer, unless you get multiple hits. The AR's would do well at perimeter defense, and varminting.

DaddyDett
 
I know a lot of folks don't care for the Ruger Mini-14, but I think it's a nice little rifle.

But,........ for the same kind of money, if not less, one can buy a better, more reliable, and more durable weapon............ an AKM/AK-47/AK-74 variant.

Ruger went politically correct many years ago trying to appease the anti's (like that really worked). They took it upon themselves to take their factory standard 20 and 30 round high capacity Mini-14 mags off the market (at least for civilians). Some aftermarket stuff works ok, but with the Mini-14 (.223) or Mini-30 (7.62x39) the magazine can be a major sticking point. Factory stuff is almost always best in firearms, and maybe even more so with the Mini-14/30.
The standard 5 round mags are pretty plentiful and usually work great, but the original Ruger factory high capacity mags are getting harder and harder to find, and cost a ton of money when they are found.

The AK system, when buying from a good source, is easy to find their mags for (the real com-bloc stuff). The mags are cheap, high capacity, and AK based guns probably have the highest rated reliability status in the world. They are usually best had in their traditional calibers (7.62x39 or 5.45x39) since their mags are usually easier to find than in other calibers (such as in .223). Even the psychological effect of having an AK styled weapon may have some benefits in a bug out situation.

Anyway, just some of the reasons why I would not choose the Mini-14, though I could make it work for me if I had no other choice :)
 
JimmyJimenez said:
Ruger went politically correct many years ago trying to appease the anti's (like that really worked). They took it upon themselves to take their factory standard 20 and 30 round high capacity Mini-14 mags off the market (at least for civilians).
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Thanks Jimmy. I was assuming factory 20/30s would be available now. Real bad choice if they're not.:thumbup:
 
I know, Bwray, it does kinda suck that they took the mags off the market for civilians on their own. It's that whole "trying to be politically correct" thing (so they won't see their Mini's as "so called" assault weapons).

If you get interested in checking out AK's, I have a few recommendations (and no, I don't get a kick back) ;)

Though they are all basically the same in design (AK's), there are some companies offering higher standard versions. These will cost you a bit more, but their attention to detail and quality of components can be far superior to that of the lower cost variants.

My top two recommendations are:

*Robinson Arms Molot Vepr's (Russian based guns)

*Arsenal Inc. "stamped" or "forged and milled receiver" variations (Bulgarian based weapons).
In fact, Arsenal Inc. of Las Vegas Nevada is the licensed U.S. branch of the world famous Arsenal Co. Ltd. of Bulgaria (which really makes all sorts of toys) ;).

Both of these companies offer what I consider to be the best current market offerings of AK variants in the U.S. :)

Look at their websites, impressive options are available :)

Arsenal Inc.
http://www.arsenalinc.com/

Robinson Arms
http://www.robarm.com/
 
Daddydett,
You can get AR mags from greenmountaingear.com for 12.35 if you buy 10. They have the military/police only stamp on them though. I'm not sure if that matters in VA or not. I have some of these mags and they work good. Hope this helps.
A friend of mine claims that a minimum of 6 mags per gun is recomended. Six is enough for serious work but not too much to carry. More if the mags are hard/expensive to find like the P7M8 so you can hide them away for later.
 
For day in, day out use.....My 1911 plus two mags. Were I to go calling, as in the old days, 1911 plus 6 spare mags. NONE of my rifles have detachable mags, as most of them are strictly hunting rifles (five are single shots). Were we invaded and heading for a place to hole up, either one of a matched pair of Weatherby Accumarks (one 270 Mag, the other 7mm Mag)with Leupold long range scopes on top...no preference, really......:cool:
 
malcolm47 said:
Daddydett,
You can get AR mags from greenmountaingear.com for 12.35 if you buy 10. They have the military/police only stamp on them though. I'm not sure if that matters in VA or not. I have some of these mags and they work good. Hope this helps.
A friend of mine claims that a minimum of 6 mags per gun is recomended. Six is enough for serious work but not too much to carry. More if the mags are hard/expensive to find like the P7M8 so you can hide them away for later.
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Like I told my friend once, The right number of magazines to have is one more than you manage to accumulate before you die.

There was a link I wanted to post earlier, but I might have failed. www.44mag.com $9.XX for current production mags. I just ordered 10.

Someplace else that escapes me was running a $8.XX a mag for 10pk deal earlier, something brigadeusa.com....

I have no connection with those companies, just want to get the power to the people!
 
munk said:
Well, that answers a fixed position ammo question....

>>>>>>

A better question for the new age might be; 'what erases a heat signature of a human?"




munk
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Being in fire alarms I know a little bit about detection and can say in theory that infrared detectors while detecting heat really only detect differences in potential . In other words if that which is around you is the same temperature or hotter than you they don,t work so well . That is where innovation comes in . Detection is a game of chess and no detector works for long without the competition learning how to bugger it up . Thieves learned to introduce cooling agents in front of the detectors and so had a small window in which they could work . Ha says we . We will couple them with motion detectors . In other words you move you lose . Wait a minute . What if there are pets ? so we introduced detectors that could detect the cadence of a dog walking and ignore that detection . Ha says they . I will learn to mimic the cadence of a dog . Some of the more gifted S:O:B:S actually learned to do it . Ha and double ha says we and so on ad nauseum .
When you see the police helicopters with infrared scanners they are usually cooled to as low a degree as possible so that the heat signatures will be as different in potential as possible . That makes them hard to beat unless someone out there has gone "Ha" again . You might try creating your own heat source . Through it you would change your difference in potential with your surroundings as opposed to the difference in potential with the detector . (Hey I think I just went "Ha" . Actually Arnold went the other route in "predator" where he cooled himself with mud and so came closer to the potential of his surroundings . The question of creating a heat source would be that it would pinpoint your position its ownself. It would have to blanket an area. Still they can,t shoot what they can,t see . I don,t know what reflective materials would do . Lets not get into refrigerated suits please ! Anyway we are very few years away from having flying drones that can home in on you or any specific target in a myriad of ways . They already have landbased robots that can patrol and actually interact in a hive kind of fashion . whats gonna stop them from being armed ?
 
Bill,

that's a funny story.

The limit in GA is now waaaaaaaaaay over two. I took six the 03/04 season (last time I really spent in the woods with a rifle).

John
 
Hi Munk:

You haven't defined what you want to be prepared for. That will determine how many mags you need.
 
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