Some of you guys have quite a few mags per platform. I guess it has to do with which road you go down though for variety, or how much money you have...if I had just a few guns, then it would seem easy to me to have say 10 mags per handgun and 20 per rifle. Once you start getting up there in the quantity though, I think it becomes a bit harder, if money is not an issue.
For me, I have stopped at three mags for the least used handguns (Makarov, Tokarevs, Sig P220, HP-P, etc., especially if their standard capacity is ten or less or crazy expensive). For more common handguns that can use hicaps, I have at least five/gun (KP-95D, P-228, SP2022, HP, etc.). For my carry guns though, ten is the minimum (G-19, G-23, 92FS, MK-25, CZ-75, etc.).
As for rifles, I try to have ten per gun, minimum (G3, FAL, ARs). I ran into a problem with AKs though; my goal there was to have at least three to match the country of origin plus quite a few of some reliable variety that was common with all my AKs, but went on to include more variety like materials, styles, capacities, and colors from the countries. In the end, I wound up with 39 AK mags (10AKs), 19 AK74 mags (2 AK74s), and 3 STG2003 (1 STG) mags.
All told, 215 magazines. Storage becomes a challenge.

This is what I have for mine..................backup guns have 6 per gun

exactly, repeating some content from a post I made last year:

several things from investment and usage perspectives which assume a future ban at some point:

You can buy a ton, but if there is a future ban without a transfer ban, will everyone else have also bought a ton of them making any upside limited? Will there be a lot of new entrants into the market needing mags with newly purchased "assault" rifles assuming they are still legal or will this hobby become less popular with bans and negative media coverage? If there is a transfer ban, there are always other ways (unless serial numbered like CT), but doubt prices will be very high either.

Durability, 10 mags per rifle is fine if the mags are durable, but AR mags are not. 10 steel combloc mags for an AK is basically a supply for 3-4 lifetimes. For an AR hardly not, esp. depending on the usage which is my next point.

Usage, how much will you use them, will they just sit in the closet. Or will you run training classes and matches with them where you will be dropping them on the ground. If banned, will matches even allow 20 or 30 round mags or make them all 10 to even the field. Will there even be matches as people will just give up on the idea of training and competition with long guns, 10-20 years ago 90% of all training and matches were solely pistol based. Is this your SHTF rifle, how many mags make out a full battle load and more importantly, if SHTF comes 20 years from now how what percentage of your current mags will have survived up to that point?

Storage, will you store mags in multiple locations to eliminate losing 100% of your supply in case of fire or theft, having lived through the ban I was always uneasy with my preban mags being in one place. Never got around to it, but thought about storing some at my parent's place although that will have meant splitting up a pretty small number of mags at the time. 5-6 preban AR mags for example.

Finally how old are you and how many kids you have that might be interested in shooting. If you are 25 or 65, its definitely relevant to your future mag needs. Also, assuming you can still transfer mags, do you want to leave mags behind for your kids. If you are 80 living in Texas or Arizona, I doubt you will be alive to see a nationwide ban unless you have yourself cryogenically frozen.

Figure this all out and that is correct answer of how many mags you need. Your age, durability and storage I think are the primary considerations.

For an AR magazine, I have been telling buddies, take your current age to the age you will probably stop shooting much, at least for competitions and training say 70, and subtract the two and add 10. From this number assume the loss of one magazine per year and you still have a buffer of 10 once you stop running them hard. This is the number independent of storage/loss concerns. If you are more than 2 or 3x that number to guard against losing your entire hoard, you are overdoing it unless you think there is upside from an investment perspective.

30 per rifle and 10 NIW for spares per rifle.
10 pistol and 10 spares.


Having lived through 94 never will I pay $125 for a G21 mag.

My own rule is 10 mags for a pistol or bolt rifle, 25 for a semi rifle.

As much as you feel that is necessary is the only right answer. And there is no wrong answer, not everyone thinks the same.

For me, handguns the minimum is 6, max is 10. For rifles. at least five per rifle...or at least five per ammunition type at least if you have a bunch of rifles that shoot the same ammunition.

When you have a footlocker full of NIW mags, you have a good start.  I have 20+ per AR and about 100 FAL mags.  I have 10+ mags per Glock.  I'm still buying AR and Glock mags.  

Mags are cheap right now.  Just keep buying them.

25 per rifle
10 per pistol

Based upon the politics of the country and the possible future of magazine fed guns I say as many as you can reasonably afford for each type of gun.

I even am buying magazines for guns I don't have yet i.e. AK47 mags.

As far as magazines goes my personal opinion is:

Bare minimum is 6 mags per pistol that will be used for anything other than range time.

Bare minimum for rifle mags is 10 per gun that will be used for anything other than range time.

Keep all spare parts from old magazines or just keep all old magazines to canabalize later.

This ^^^

While I typically have more than that for most firearms, this is a good starting point.  If I was to issue out every rifle and service handgun, this is likely what it would be.  

That said, I actually like double the above for my common-use rifles and handguns.  If you're running a few hundred rounds with mags loaded only with 5-6 rounds, it's nice to have those on standby to avoid wasting time.  I know many that keep their fighting mags loaded and ready, they have a duplicate number dedicated to training, and they keep another copy in brand new wrappings for when mags do fail.

I that that as well.  If you typically carry 7 mags, have 7 dedicated for training, and another 7 NIW...21.

ROCK6

For rifles like AR,AK, M1A etc minimum of 20 per rifle. Pistols 10 per gun. Rarely used firearms,  collectibles and fudd guns -3 each.

More is better.

All of these numbers for "how many mags" are just fine - as long as you are not taking them out of the house or have the family van to transport them in.  
BUT - What are you going to do with all of them when you also have to transport the family and camping gear in the same vehicle in a SHTF scenario???  
I will have 10+1 mags for the CAR 15 in the web gear and probably 8 +1 for the FN/FAL in a seperate set of web gear.  The pistol will have a mag in it and one is the spare mag pouch on the holster.  I will also have one (1) 30 cal ammo can full of ammo for each rifle packed in the vehicle.  IF I'm lucky enuf to be able to take 2 vehicles then what can be taken will increase greatly.  
But remember that you had better also include at least 5 or 6 GI 5 gal gas cans (full) with everything you are packing because one of the first things that will happen is the shysters will raise gas prices to at least $10+ per gal.  
Sarge

Minimum for me 10-rifle, 5-handgun. More never hurts.

My rule of thumb is at least 20 per rifle and 10 per handgun. I generally have more than that. But, that is my minimum standard.

50 AR-15 magazines per rifle
12 pistol magazines per handgun
6 speed loaders per revolver.

Speaking as a survivor of the 94-04 AWB, I say get as many you can get. It was disturbing to see magazines that were normally $15.00 each jump to $150.00 each with people standing in line to get them. Its sad to see that some of the states on the east coast that those bans still exist.

I buy mags because some day I may not be able to. I shoot quite a bit and some wear out or break. It’s always nice to be able to reach into the range bag and get another one.

F My priority is having a lifetime supply for myself and children in case of future bans not some " bug out" scenerio.

In the unlikely event that happened I'd just leave the excess behind.

I have more money then brains but do 50 per rifle (can get expensive for some of the oddball rifles) and 20 per pistol

My friends laugh at me when they see the pallet box full of mags for my ar's
Also store other mags in ammo cans in a set of wall lockers I picked up for cheap

The ammo cans for nicely in them but become a bitch to get when you need the one on the bottom lol

In my shtf bags and plate carriers I carry 7 or 8 mags

Minimum amounts:

Play guns:
3-4 per gun.

Guns I 'might ' have to count on:
pistol: 6
rifle: 10

The idea is to have an appropriate load out and some mags left for practice/damage/failure along the way.

I have seen $100 AR mags, hell I paid $150 a piece for Ceiner 30 round 22 mags for the AR platform.  I am currently looking at 30 mags per rifle platform, and 15 to 20 for pistols. Probably end up with 80 to 90 AR mags.

I have created a buy list to fill in the gaps, and I am working my way through it now.  Also been stocking up on spare parts, I want to have everything I may need by the next presidential election.

Jason

No kidding.

That's why we need to remember to eyeball  the political event horizon, i.e., the next presidential/congressional cycle, not some fantasy scenario, like a No.Korean "Red Dawn" event or mutant zombie apocalypse.

We lucked out getting the NRA-endorsed Trumpster in the Oval Office only because the Hill-Bitch was just too distasteful for the average boob to vote for ... Not to mention Repubs currently run both chambers on the Hill, although lately it seems they've been working real hard to ensure that Dems win the 2018 elections. That's why the Dems are laughing at them.

Thus, the best case is to act right now, plus we're still seeing something of a post-Trump-election benefit, in terms of a pricing glut and overstocked vendors in the AR-market.

Stock up on mags, ammo, spare parts, etc., while they're still available. 2020 ain't that far off ...

I was a gun owner before and after the ban period. It didn't change me. I think some of you want to have excuses to horde. And that's fine, you do you. But please stop trying to spread your thing onto others.

I commented based on my needs because man do I hate loading mags at the range. That's why I have a lot. I stop at a certain percentage. My life, my money, my rules, and none of them is anyone else's business to decree on what I should buy or start buying.

Right now I have 60-70 AR mags, 35 or so AK mags, and 10-ish mags per carry pistol.  For niche/target guns (like my .22 pistol) I have 2-3 mags.  Now I also have 15 or so clips for my milsurps (a Mosin and a Mauser, so they're cheap.)

When I was on a stricter budget than I am now, at the end of every month I would buy 1-2 mags and enough ammo to fill them twice over.  One 30-round mag and 3 boxes ammo, for example.

Over the course of the year, that adds up to a fair amount of mags and ammo.

At some point, mags become less of a concern than ammo.  And ammo is 'spensive-er.

Yeah, I see ammo as the main thing that I should be concerned about. I'm so comfortable right now. I shoot every week and at this point it would take years before I would be getting close to Winchester.

That's why I keep buying when I see the ammo deals. Even if it's just one box.

Same here.

Any odd or not cared firearms excluded. I have a sw 1006 that 10 mags would cost 2x what I paid for the gun.

Same here.

I paid that for a 15-rd G20 10mm mag back then and, having tried to dicker a bit, got told how I "was getting a deal  - take it or leave it."

Never again.

5 mags per rifle, 3 per pistol.

There are specific rifles and pistols that have more than that, but only for a specific purpose. And given that most of my rifles take either STANAG or AUG mags, there's greater than that number available for any one specific rifle should I need them.

Snippeed the center out.

When you start ammaaaing a large collection like some people here have, even if you hvve the financial means STORAGE really is an issue. Having Rubbermaid totes of mags stacked up in a spare room or garage takes up a lot of damned space!!!

Then its danwed on me. A few guns I only have 3 to 4 mags for. Its hard to want to obtain multiple mags for a pistol I can't remember why the hell I bought 10 years ago.

I made it a point to really only stock up on the fighting guns mags. I don't have 10 p22,  mosquito , P3AT, G29, sw1006 mags. They aren't guns I'd grab if shit gets sketchy. I'm grabbing the m1a or AR10/15 or something similar. Or the p220 / P226 / G17.

Stock up for what you're most likely to use.

If you ever decide to cull the herd a bit you're not stuck selling off stacks of mags for uncommon guns.

Genuine question here:

Some of you folk have handguns or rifles that use the same magazine. Are you stating five per each handgun or rifle, or in sum total per platform that uses that specific magazine?

Each rifle has that many. 10 ar's is not 20 mags. Its 200 mags.

Yes. ... And, hopefully, those 10 ARs and those 200 mags are not all stashed in the same place.

i try to have at least 12 per gun. but i just buy more casually when i can

All of mine were lost in a series of boating accidents at various lakes and rivers across the state. That week was a tragic week.

All of them!!  Seriously, if there is a sale...buy.  I don't buy for me, I buy for my children, too.   Never pass up a sale.  I probably have over 250 AR mags and still looking at sales.

ETA:  I just got into 6.5 Creedmoor and only have two 20 round Magpul mags.  Working that issue.

I remember when "high" capacity pistol magazines cost $100 each during the AWB. Some of us even paid that.

Now that you can find many of same mags for +/- $20 on sale, one would be remiss to not buy a whole bunch of them and sock them away. They are likely not going to get any cheaper or more plentiful.

My depression Era Dad had 3 calibers, no semi autos.

He had at least one box of. 22 (more like 5) of every brand from every store (some closed 40 years).

12 k of ammo, a couple boxes at a time - over years.

Ammo & mags - both expendable - are a marathon, not a race.

20 per gun. 10 per firearm with an additional 10 in reserve at the absolute minimum.

4 for handgun,  6 for rifle

not sure he got your sarcasm.

10-15+ for "duty" handguns.

AR - 40x30rd, 40x20rd.

FAL - about 40, I think.  Bought them cheap.

2-5+ for range toys.

Basically, expected lifetime supply x2 for stuff likely targeted for bans.

I try to look at mag buying as a what if situation.   Not buying for future investment.  I also look at as an average guy with average income what can I afford.
I want to have enough for a just in case scenario.   99% chance nothing will ever happen but its that 1%  that I am wanting to b ready for.
So with that in thought I wan to have plenty of mags for the guns that I know would bee used for a SHTF situation.
And just keep basic amount for the secondary:  Pistols that are just there for my collection I probably won't buy extra mags for.  Just what came with them.
But pistols that are my go too I would like to have at least 20.
Rifles, I would like to have about 40 for my go to guns.  I try to keep my semi auto buying to rifles that use the same type mag. STANAG.  Also got rid of a gun because I could not use all of my mags in that rifle.   IE: FS2000.  Due to the rubber dust seal in the mag well.  Sure, could have taken it out but then the mags would be sloppy.
Something else I look at is parts.  Easiest to work on is the AR and parts are plentiful.   I do have a spare firing pin and extractor for my Tavor.  Will get some spare parts for my CZ Bren.
Would like to get a few spare parts for thee ARX.

I have 10/handgun and 40/rifle

Completely dependent on what you like and what you shoot, as well as the deal(s) you find.

I have about 16 mags for the ps90, mostly because there was a 5 for $50 special not too long ago.  Otherwise, I'd have been more than happy with the 6 it came with.

I have about 50 mags for the AR, even though I own way more AR's than I should, and that drops my "gun to mag ratio" way below the 1:10 that seems the standard recommendation here.

That said, I have way more than 10 mags for my glock, because I shoot it regularly, have mags just for carry, and some just for competition/range use.

Then I have one-off guns that I don't think i'll ever need more than 1 mag for, like a Ruger .22 pistol.

I don't know exactly but I have a 18 gal rubbermaid roughneck full of AR mags I don't use. Three dozen loaded and a dozen for the range.

I remember the Clinton dark years....