What is this fascination with high cap mags?

[Meplat]

No matter if you have a 10 round mag or a 50, at some point you are going to run out. Running dry at the worst possible moment is the real nightmare. A 30 rounder only reduces that possibility to 1/3 that of a 10. How about reducing that to zero by building a system that can be topped off like the tube mag shotguns and lever guns, only more efficiently and with more cartridges at a time?

[REH]

I think the big deal is, the choice between a hi cap or a ten round mag is taken away by the all knowing goverment.

I was taking to a lady at CMP in Alabama. She could not understand why they could not ship belted ammo to California. "It's just a piece of cloth" She said.

[joedogboy]

I am "fascinated" by high capacity magazines because they are more readily available (nationally) and frequently cost a lot less than 10 round mags.

Detachable magazines also provide a means to store a weapon unloaded, yet rapidly load the weapon. The fewer times you need to stop and reload, the better.

[Full Clip]

We always want what our Nanny State masters won't let us have.

[Meplat]

I am probably out of touch because I am an old fart and am up to my ears in pre-ban high caps.

I am "fascinated" by high capacity magazines because they are more readily available (nationally) and frequently cost a lot less than 10 round mags.

[Bigtwin]

Post #'s 2 and 3
Thats what!

[yellowfin]

More available, usually better designs (e.g. PMag), more convenient for drills, for pistols it's convenient for carry (fewer spare mags, possibly adequate with zero spares), it's what the gun was designed to run with, and in the case of AK mags ammo comes 30 to a bundle which stuffs the mags perfectly.

Seriously, the availability and convenience factor is HUGE. Let's be honest here, going on websites to order stuff and seeing magazines where at least 2/3 of them are over 10 rounds and then having to pick the ones that aren't is ANNOYING and HUMILIATING. Seriously! If it doesn't make you mad to have to order the "Rated G: for kids" 10 round magazines and nothing else, when 2/3 of the store is "For Grownups" you're not fully experiencing the normal thought process of a human being. Not so much as the "Oh, it's forbidden fruit, I must have!" but "Get out of my way, ***hole, who asked you what I can and can't have?!" The nannyism is unacceptable and repugnant; the "Not for sale TO YOU" is insulting.

"Government won't allow us"...who the hell asked them what the hell they think you or I should or shouldn't have??? I don't recall asking them to open their beak to spout a single opinion out of their microscopic little brain.

[ElkHunterSL]

We want what we can't have or at least what our Gov't won't allow us to legally.

[Sinixstar]

I don't think it's necessarily a fascination with "hi-cap" (standard really in a lot of cases) so much as it's a case of "wanting what you can't have".

When I lived in NV - most of the time I never loaded my mags to capacity at the range. Just burns through ammo faster, and doesn't get you much. I found it more productive to load 5, shoot, evaluate, and repeat.

Defensive situations, it would be nice to have the extra rounds 'just in case'. I would hope that if it came down to it - anything I needed to accomplish I could get done in less than 10 rounds. If not, I imagine i'd be in a pretty bad spot regardless of how many more I had in the mag.

[dragonbait1a]

the Johnson rifle of WWII had a good system like that, but with an internal magazine. Stripper clips or individual rounds could be pushed into the mag during lulls in firing. 10 rd internal rotary magazine. Too bad there are so few of them. Adapting the concept to a detachable magazine would be interesting.

I think the fascination is partly that it is forbidden, partly appearance (10/30s), and partly practicality. Yes, if you are in a fight you are going to run dry, but 3 10 round mags take longer to load and take up more space on a belt then 1 30rd mag. More ammo is always better.

RGB

[Doheny]

Well, if you need 11 shots in a gun fight, the extra one would be nice to have .

[Bobula]

You mean reduces 3/1? Since 10 is 1/3 of 30.....

[Roadrunner]

No matter if you have a 10 round mag or a 50, at some point you are going to run out. Running dry at the worst possible moment is the real nightmare. A 30 rounder only reduces that possibility to 1/3 that of a 10. How about reducing that to zero by building a system that can be topped off like the tube mag shotguns and lever guns, only more efficiently and with more cartridges at a time?

Well, for me, it's a matter of logistics. I have a Smith & Wesson 459 9mm that I've had for about 25 years, and I have four 15 rnd mags to go with it. When I travel, I carry this gun with me because I have 60 rounds loaded in 4 mags ready to use if necessary as opposed to only 40 rnds with 10 rnd mags. So, while it is only a minor 5 rnd difference with one mag, it is a 20 round difference with four mags. That is a big difference to me and an advantage I don't mind having if it ever comes down to a serious situation. I think it's appropriate to say that it is always better to have and not need, than need and not have.

[M. Sage]

No matter if you have a 10 round mag or a 50, at some point you are going to run out. Running dry at the worst possible moment is the real nightmare. A 30 rounder only reduces that possibility to 1/3 that of a 10. How about reducing that to zero by building a system that can be topped off like the tube mag shotguns and lever guns, only more efficiently and with more cartridges at a time?

If some is good, more is better.

Ever tried keeping a tube topped off under pressure? Not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot more dexterity to load and reload a tubular magazine than it does to push a button and insert a new magazine. Box magazines are a lot faster to reload and (can) hold far more ammo. If you want to test your abilities, I can film a mag dump, reload and repeat with two 42 round magazines from an AUG clone. Feel free to try and match the rate of fire with whatever tube-fed firearm you choose.

[yellowfin]

^ Ugh, agreed. .30-30's are fun but the sore thumb or index finger decidedly isn't.