A little while ago, I posted a new rule for purchasing normal capacity magazines that – I thought – quietly slid beneath the fold with hardly a ripple to mark its passing. Some people, however, take me more seriously than I originally believed.
I received this tweet from Ron Larimer, the proprietor of When the Balloon Goes Up!:
@linoge_wotc based on your new rule I thought you might enjoy seeing part of the 1st shipment from my supplier.
… Which included a link to this picture:
Now, I am pretty sure… well, kinda sure that pile is for Ron’s new store he is opening soon, but, still, I do not see a single low-capacity magazine in that mess (the S&W ones might be?).
Which is awesome.
“Why buy anything else?”
I can see a few niche reasons to buy low-capacity magazines for firearms that accept standard-capacity magazines:
* Hunting. Many states prohibit the use of standard-capacity magazines while hunting (until recently, for instance, Arizona prohibited the use or possession of centerfire rifle magazines that held more than five rounds), so having a couple of low-capacity magazines for hunting makes sense.
* Concealed Carry. Some pistols (the Ruger SR9c comes to mind), though capable of accepting standard-capacity magazines, are optimized to accept lower-capacity magazines to facilitate concealed carry. I own a pistol in this class; my short-term solution is to maintain a ratio of one standard-capacity magazine to three concealed-carry magazines. Long-term, I plan to buy at least one service pistol (probably a Beretta 92FS), without regard to concealed carry.
* Uncertain Reliability. So far, my (still very new) Ruger 10/22 Takedown rifle has had little success feeding from Butler Creek Steel Lips 25-round magazines. Prior to Ruger introducing the 10/22® BX-25® Magazine, I would have advised 10/22 owners to be wary of higher-capacity 10/22 magazines*. My intended magazine ratio for my 10/22 Takedown (for now, anyway) is 1:1 10-round 10/22® Black Plastic Magazines and 10/22® BX-25® Magazines.
FWIW, my Butler Creek Hot Lips/Steel Lips Loader does seem to work fairly well with my BX-25 magazines, so that wasn’t an entirely-wasted $30….
*Has anyone here tested a 50-round magazine for the 10/22? If so, what were your results?
You are correct on all accounts. None of those are CA legal and they only ones in the store that are, are CA legal because that is all the gun will hold. (Kahr, sub-compact 40, 1911 et cetera)
That reminds me, I need to pick up some clips for the Mauser.
I just ordered some of the Ruger BX-25′s, I’ll let you know how well they function as soon as they arrive.
If I buy any more standard capacity AR magazines I’ll have to put together a new storage cabinet *g*.
@ AuricTech: … I was being facetious more than anything else.
Although, speaking of, BX25s cycle just fine in Better Half’s Magnum Research 10/22 clone, but not at all in my homebuild. Wierd.
@ Ron Larimer: Your internets are in the mail, sir.
@ Jake: Which really uses actual clips!
@ Jon: I am not quite there yet, but I intend to be
.