20 Round Confusion!?! > Magazines

Posted: 1/18/2005 7:07:52 PM EDT

I swear I've read a ton or archives and can't figure this out.

I really want to go with straight 20 rounders as my main mag type for my new Bushy.
(Are straight 20-rounders a bad idea?)

Forgetting about price, where can I get quality straight 20 rounders, and what should they be (steel, alum), what followers to get (black, green, alum), and who actually sells them today?

Thanks a bunch for helping me on this hug.gif

Posted: 1/18/2005 11:54:15 PM EDT

[#1]

From what i understand you should only load the straight 20's to 18 rds. or they may not feed right. Apparently the curved 20's are more reliable.

Posted: 1/19/2005 12:01:05 AM EDT

[#2]

20 round straight USGI mags, should be loaded with 20 rounds. They are generally the most reliable mags made. They are made of aluminum, like all USGI mags

I purchased ALL of my 20's off of the equipment exchange on THIS site.

My 30's do nothing but collect dust.

These are the only mags that I use. They work better than 30's when shootin from a bench or prone. Hell, They are the mags that was originally desingned for use in the the AR.

I have them with ALLOY, and Plastic followers(Black, green and aluminum). All of my mags run 100%. If you replace the original followers, use plastic ones made specificALLY FOR 20'S TO AVOID problems....(damn Caps Lock)

Cheap, used mags with no finish on them are the way to go. Get you a can of Permaslik and refinish them, put new springs in 'em and you're ready to go. Follow FALARAKS Directions on how to refinish the mags. HIS post is Tacked at the top of the magazine forum.

Posted: 1/19/2005 12:08:32 AM EDT

[#3]

Buy GI 20 rounders and you'll have some of the most reliable mags made for the gun.

Posted: 1/19/2005 4:27:36 AM EDT

[#4]

Danner,

I like 20s for range work and hunting, gives me a lower profile on the bench and are 100% realible. Save the 30s for drills.

I've got some USGI 20s I'll be willing to part with if your interested, IM me.

CD

Posted: 1/19/2005 4:42:04 AM EDT

[#5]

I have more 20 rounders than I do 30 rounders and am always looking for more. At the last gun show I attended good condition used USGI 20-rounders could be found for $10 each. They can be fully loaded to 20 rounds. They do not require the green anti-tilt follower. They don't suffer from the problems 30-rounders SOMETIMES encounter. As mentioned, they have a lower profile than the 30s, so they're real nice for bench and prone shooting (unless you have a long vertical grip).

Posted: 1/19/2005 6:10:10 AM EDT

[#6]

20 round GI mags are the Cat's Ass!!
I have to buy some more of them

Posted: 1/19/2005 7:09:08 AM EDT

[#7]

Thanks all, I ordered some new NHMTG straight 20's from Eagle. Should be good to go. hug.gif

Posted: 1/19/2005 7:46:08 AM EDT

[#8]

There should be NO confusion regarding 20 rounders.

Buy USGI 20 rounders (all USGI 20 rounders are straight). Load 20 rounds in them. Simple.

Posted: 1/19/2005 7:57:17 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
From what i understand you should only load the straight 20's to 18 rds. or they may not feed right. Apparently the curved 20's are more reliable.

Hey

you should think twice before giving mis-information to others.

Around here you'll just look foolish.......

Mike

ps - ditto USGI 20 round mag comments above, no mods necessary to followers on them

Posted: 1/19/2005 8:37:02 AM EDT

[#10]

Posted: 1/19/2005 8:41:58 AM EDT

[#11]

Holy Long Post From Hell, Batman!

Suck that bandwidth, boy!

Posted: 1/19/2005 8:42:26 AM EDT

[#12]

Is there a point somewhere in your post above Q3131A?

Mike

ps - no kidding Bookhound, how in the heck did he get that all in one post?

Posted: 1/19/2005 9:26:05 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Is there a point somewhere in your post above Q3131A?

Mike

ps - no kidding Bookhound, how in the heck did he get that all in one post?

Thanks for pointing that out. Guess that after 5 years on AR15.com, I still suck at this internet thing.

Posted: 1/19/2005 9:27:48 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Quoted:
From what i understand you should only load the straight 20's to 18 rds. or they may not feed right. Apparently the curved 20's are more reliable.

Hey you should think twice before giving mis-information to others.

Around here you'll just look foolish.......

Mike

ps - ditto USGI 20 round mag comments above, no mods necessary to followers on them

Let me try this again. Mr. Wilson is correct.

From the Ammo Oracle:

Q. Shouldn't I be loading my mags with a few less rounds? If I load them to capacity doesn't that cause reliability problems?
There are three stories about how this got started:

1. If a 20 round magazine was disassembled and reassembled with the spring connected to the follower backwards, it wouldn't feed reliably when fully loaded due to the spring binding in the mag. Downloading the magazine to 18 became a habit in some circles "just in case," though eventually this problem was discovered, and solders were instructed never to separate the follower from the spring, which virtually eliminated this problem.

2. Many magazines can be loaded without obviously excessive force to 21 rounds, and because ammo was issued loose in boxes during the early Vietnam era, this happened frequently. The result was often that the first round wouldn't chamber because it was held too tightly in the magazine. This is not a good thing in a firefight, so early in the history of the M16 it became habit to teach shooters to load 18 in a 20 rounder just to be safe. Again, the root cause was eventually addressed, and ammo began to be issued on stripper clips, which eliminated the need to count individual rounds when loading mags.

3. Some tactical squads download their back-up magazines by one round to make a tactical reload (which is done with a round chambered and the bolt forward) easier. This is because of the reduced upward pressure on the rounds.

#3 is probably the only real reason to consider downloading your magazines, though it is generally not necessary.

20 rounds in a 20 rounder.

Posted: 1/19/2005 9:34:54 AM EDT

[#15]

Posted: 1/19/2005 11:01:08 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
From what i understand you should only load the straight 20's to 18 rds. or they may not feed right. Apparently the curved 20's are more reliable.

Thats a good one!!!

Posted: 1/19/2005 11:06:29 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
I have more 20 rounders than I do 30 rounders and am always looking for more. At the last gun show I attended good condition used USGI 20-rounders could be found for $10 each. They can be fully loaded to 20 rounds. They do not require the green anti-tilt follower. They don't suffer from the problems 30-rounders SOMETIMES encounter. As mentioned, they have a lower profile than the 30s, so they're real nice for bench and prone shooting (unless you have a long vertical grip).

Christ man, I can't even get guys to part with them for less than $30!!!! One of the shops has 18 mags, 4 20rds and the rest 30s All used. I figured I'd talk to the guy and get a price on all of them being they were marked rather high. He wouldn't budge on the $20 for the used 30s and $30 for the 20s. I told the guy hey man I can get these brand spanking new for $12.95 for a 30 and 20s I can get for around $15 or so. He just looks at me says, the price is the price, somone will buy them. That was back in October. it's 4 months later and guess what, no one has bought them. But I hear a lot of guys talking about the overpriced mags he's got sitting collecting dust.

Posted: 1/19/2005 11:54:23 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
From what i understand you should only load the straight 20's to 18 rds. or they may not feed right. Apparently the curved 20's are more reliable.

If that was correct wouldn't they be called 18 rounders insteado of 20 rounders????

Posted: 1/19/2005 2:09:13 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
20 round straight USGI mags, should be loaded with 20 rounds. They are generally the most reliable mags made. They are made of aluminum, like all USGI mags

I purchased ALL of my 20's off of the equipment exchange on THIS site.

My 30's do nothing but collect dust.

These are the only mags that I use. They work better than 30's when shootin from a bench or prone. Hell, They are the mags that was originally desingned for use in the the AR.

I have them with ALLOY, and Plastic followers(Black, green and aluminum). All of my mags run 100%. If you replace the original followers, use plastic ones made specificALLY FOR 20'S TO AVOID problems....(damn Caps Lock)

Cheap, used mags with no finish on them are the way to go. Get you a can of Permaslik and refinish them, put new springs in 'em and you're ready to go. Follow FALARAKS Directions on how to refinish the mags. HIS post is Tacked at the top of the magazine forum.

+1

Posted: 1/19/2005 2:23:24 PM EDT

[#20]

I like my 20 rounders, sending a MO for 3 more tomorrow. I'm so cheap I find it hard to justify putting a box and a half in one magazine. I like to limit my cost per mag to around $2.50 worth of ammo =D

Posted: 1/19/2005 2:38:00 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
From what i understand you should only load the straight 20's to 18 rds. or they may not feed right. Apparently the curved 20's are more reliable.

Absolute horseshit. This 18 rds crap is a myth (debunked last week as a matter of fact, or so I thought).

Straight 20s are bad motherfuckers. I have both USGI 20s & 30s & USGI is all I stick to. I can't say anything about curved 20s from exp but I wouldn't touch them, simply because I can find good condition 20s at fair prices. Get as meany as you like they're great.

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