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Posted: 2/12/2006 6:00:57 AM EDT
Let's see if anyone makes me a believer...
100-round mag that can be had for about $200 vs. 4 x 30-round mags that can be had for $12 each = $48 Oh! And with 4 x 30-rounders you have an extra 20 rounds! Why would anyone want to spend 4 times the money to "put all the eggs in one basket"? With individual mags, you can dump a mag after a malfunction and pop a new one in. With a beta mag, if you have a malfunction, you dump the entire 100 rounds. Do you know anyone that would carry more than one of these bulky bastards??? OK, so there is full-auto. But how much of a market is there for these folks? I see beta mags on semi-auto ARs all the time. What's the point? |
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I think most people buy them just for the fun factor. Some buy them just because they "can". Ten years of the AWB telling them what they couldn't have made lots of people want to buy tons of stuff now that they couldn't have then.
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But do your friends say.OOOHHHH! when you walk out with a 30rder in your ar and 3 in your pocket? hock.gif
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What's there to get? If you don't "get it", don't "buy it".
They were designed for the military, not civilians, who sometimes want to have 100 rounds of uninterruptable fire. BTW, I don't get it either which is why I have never bought one but if others like them, so be it. |
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I wish there were such a thing for the ruger 10/22. THAT I would buy.
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+1. This is why I bought 1. I used it once. Fired 100 rounds with a second or 2 between each shot. The barrel was so hot I couldn't see my target from the disipating heat. But I have 1 anyways, and won't get rid of it any time soon. I think they could be a useful backup drum for a SAW and can be used in an M16 too, so you can have SAW-like fire power if needed. I think it's a last resort mag... Cover all ends, that's what I say... |
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....who time and time again "test" a few samples of a product that hasn't changed much since it's introduction and almost universally reject their use in the field. Tom |
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If you ever dumped a Beta mag on full auto,you wouldn't ask this question ...Nothing like spending 25 bucks in less than 10 seconds :)
Fun factor is all. |
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all it is, but if you shoot a AR I think you should have at least one |
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I thought they made a tear drop 100 rd mag for the 10/22. |
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Its a cheap accessory by Full Auto standards, and certainly much cheaper (and available) than a beltfed or Shrike. For a semi, its too fragile and heavy/bulky for serious life-safety applications, but can be useful is some very large 3-gun/IPSC competitive situations.
Me, I stick with 30s for the reasons mentioned, plus I have a coupld of 40 round mags for bigger 3 gun stages. If the price of a Beta C came down to around $100 then I might look again, but $200 plus for something I'll rarely use does not make sense to me. |
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i really want one..but it;s banned in my state of kali |
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Two reasons for me:
- Because I can. And I picked mine up for less than $170. - For certain competitions, it eliminates 2 mag changes allowing more speed. I plan on using it for those "special situations" I need it. Otherwise, for the weight and bulk, I'd rather just use the regular 30 rounders. |
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Having lived in NY most of my life,...if they made a 400 round beta, I'd buy that too.
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Yah, Beta C's aint for me but I would'nt bad mouth them. I've bought a lot of stuff that some people think I'm stupid for buying. My bumpomatic MPA 10 comes to mind.
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I agree, I have had a lot of fun with mine. even if it is only semi |
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Ummm, I guess I am one of those guys who need to compensate.
I also got one for my PD varmint hunt this year. When the PD are thick and they start to charge.....that is not the time you want to prcatice mag drills!!! But all jokes aside, we shoot of the roof of the truck, and 30rnders scratch the rental truck, and 20s don't. The beta is a plus because it is short, and hold 5x more than 20rnders. Win - Win situation...no damage to the truck and 5 time the dead PD |
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My reloads happen so fast you can't tell the difference between a Beta and 4 30's.
J/K...IMHO it's just a novelty item. |
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Same here |
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wy is there a market for full auto's? i mean, why woudl you want to put all your eggs in one basket when you can bump fire just as fast. It's just not the same. and until you try it, you won't know. Go ahead, take the red pill. |
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Novelty Item thats all I am getting one this year. Why because when I was a kid I always wanted one, then I couldnt buy one, now they are legal and I will buy one incase they are ever not legal again in the future near or distant.
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Don't own one, so can't comment on performance, but I live in the People's Republic of Maryland where no matter how hard we fight, our freedoms are being stripped away. Can't buy high cap mags in MD, BUT, they are not illegal to own. I wouldn't drop over two hundred bucks for one just to slowly plink 100 rounds down range ( my range doesn't allow "rapid fire"). If I had an M16 or a range where I could do some good old fashioned "blasting" I might consider one. I also have the mentality that I would want one just because the .gov doesn't want me to have one.
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It's great for fixed position defensive use.
I have mine under the front door lamp table, can remove the letter mail flap in the front door, it's now a gun slit, put in the Beta mag and I have 100 rounds at the ready for the Jehovah's Witnesses when they won't leave... |
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I remember seeing them for $550.00. In fact, the gun store I use to work p/t sold a few of them for that price. Then of coarse the price came down on them.
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Oh, BTW, does anybody need parts for one of these. I think I have a tower, last round link and a few other odds and ends. Email/IM me if you might need something like these.
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Like the others have said, its an attention getter, besides being awkward and heavy...
I don't own one for an AR but have a few 100 rounders for my AK... When ever I take them the the range, people gather around to comment and ask questions... They don't seem to do it as often when I'm just using normal 30 round mags though... |
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Riding a 100 round mag dump on an M16 is one of the funner things to do in life.
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With all the reliability issues that get discussed (rules out all the tin foil hat peoples' reasoning), this is the only reason (other than fun) that I've heard. I've always thought the Beta-C was a stupid idea, until now. It's big, heavy, wide...being able to shoot from a bipod for extended time seems like a great reason...if I ever start PD hunting I might have to try one. |
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Who cares! |
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I asked my Father, said he used beta mags while in El Salvador with Force Recon. So I guess they have been used at one time or another. |
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It's a mag. .... that holds 100 rounds. What is there to get? Would I buy one? No. But regardless of its reliability or cost effectiveness, you have to admit that blasting 100 rounds downrange is more fun than blasting 30 rounds downrange. If not, then it's time to hand in your man card. |
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if they come down to like $100 ill get one but at the current price i have other stuff i would rather buy for the money.
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I want one, but at this point in my life, $200 is a lot of money to drop on a single magazine.
It's the cool factor.. it's like, why have a 75rd drum for your AK? |
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mgw offers the teardrop mag but they dont work well or not 100% at least. all hi-caps are not reliable for the 10/22. eta: think the beta is only cool if you have full auto |
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please pardon my ignorance, but don't that have to be sent back and rebuilt by the factory after a very short number of unloadings? short lifespan or something like that?
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Good thing then that if you had one before they were banned you can still own it then huh? Hey, question for the Nevada Crew...you guys can still buy Beta C mags and 20 and 30 round mags at gun stores there right? |
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A Beta mag would have occupied the same spot my 75 rd Chinese AK drum did for over 10 years. A shelf down in the basement.
Ammo's to expensive and precious to just blow downrange just to do it .... It's why I never was interested. But I know everyone has to have fun in a different way. It's a Range toy..period, If you think it's anything else, your fooling yourself.................... |
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I had a "pre-ban"....sold it due to it being unreliable Don't plan on buying another.
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You bet it's a fun toy. I have a car that can go 175MPH+ and people ask me why I bought it. Because I can, I want to, I like it, always wanted one and it's way cool. |
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What I don't get is why some people feel the need to worry about what other people are doing with their money. If you want one buy one. If you don't want one don't buy one. Different people like different things.
And no I don't own one. |
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We were actually issued them for a while but we eventually turned them back due to the malfunction problem of loosing an ass load of ammo in one shot, then we switched to ready mags... (made more sense tacticly)
Also the Beta-C's were actually breaking in the middle when we would dive into the prone....but I think they reenforced them since then. |
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BTW SD, is that your I saw in this month's SOF? Just curious. |
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havent seen this months yet, wouldnt doubt it, I have been in some previous issues, no articles just pics.....I'll have to check it out!
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I think i wouldnt mind having one, to utilize on a bipod equipped AR as a "semi" light machinegun
of course with a 1 1/2 lb trigger for rapid firing |
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