Ammunition and magazines are worthless unless they're ready for use

 

Following my article last week on the imperative need to move out of "blue" big cities right away, I had several e-mail exchanges with readers.  Some said they were planning to move as soon as it was practicable for them.  Others said they couldn't move, for one reason or another, but they were buying more ammunition and supplies in preparation for whatever might be coming.

I asked a number of them how they stored their ammunition, thinking more in terms of how to keep it secure from thieves and looters.  Some of my correspondents said they were stashing it in odd corners, or hiding it in the bottom of boxes filled with other contents and labeled as such (e.g. "bedding" or "books"), in the hope that anyone looking for it would glance inside, but not waste time looking more deeply.  That's all well and good.  However, most of them also said they stored their ammunition in the boxes in which it came.

Friends, that's entirely the wrong perspective.  If you want to store ammunition, it's because you think you might need it one day.  If you need it in a hurry, you won't have time to load it into magazines before use.  Mobs, looters or home invaders won't give you that opportunity.  You need to have it ready for use right away, just in case.  Nobody ever survived a criminal encounter and thought, "Darn - I had way too much ammunition!"

Look at it this way.  You plan to use that ammunition sooner or later, right?  Then why not keep it ready for use?  You can grab a few boxes of ammo to go to the shooting range, or you can grab a number of loaded magazines and do the same.  The latter has the advantage that you won't have to waste so much time at the range reloading magazines before continuing your shooting session.  (When you're paying by the hour, range time can get very expensive, so why waste it by reloading mags?)

Some argue that you'll end up with a lot of empty magazines that'll have to be reloaded anyway.  Well, yes, you will;  but you can do that at your leisure, in your own free time.  I can watch a TV show while thumbing rounds into magazines without even looking at them, or use an Maglula loader to do the same thing.  The motions become automatic.  If I take several evenings to reload my magazines, a couple at a time, I've lost nothing that way, and I've used all my expensive time at the range for the reason I paid for it - shooting.

There's another reason to keep your magazines loaded.  If we hit a true SHTF situation and you have to evacuate, it's much easier to pack loaded magazines that are ready for any emergency.  Similarly, if you may need to arm your family and friends to deal with the situation, you can simply hand out loaded mags.  Saving that much time might save your life one day.

As we've discussed in the past, I recommend minimum magazine levels for every firearm.  For every defensive pistol, I suggest at least 5 loaded magazines;  for every defensive rifle, at least 5, and preferably the same as an infantryman's basic load.  In the US Army, infantrymen using the M4/M16 carry 7 magazines on their body plus 1 in the gun, for a total of 8 30-round magazines, or 240 ready-to-use cartridges.  That's a reasonable minimum figure for civilians too, IMHO.  Important note:  test every magazine, just in case.  Fill it, take it to the range, and shoot with it.  If any problems are encountered, fix or replace it - don't trust your life to it.

For longer-term storage, I download my magazines to reduce stress on the spring (a habit I acquired in the military back in the 1970's, one which I see no reason to change, despite all the discussion about it not being necessary).  In a 20- or 30-round magazine, I load 18 or 28 rounds;  in a magazine with fewer than 20, I download by one or two rounds, depending on the magazine in question.  In my experience, quality magazines can stay loaded for years like that without the spring losing its tension and "taking a set".  Cheaper springs may not be as flexible, so I tend to avoid them.  I also make sure to keep spare springs on hand, so that if any magazine has issues during loading, I can replace the spring to see if that fixes the problem.

Another recommendation:  if you rely on military surplus magazines for your AR-15, as some shooters do, bear in mind that they were supplied by the lowest bidder.  That supplier may not have used the best or most reliable components.  Therefore, it's a good idea to rebuild such magazines using higher-quality components.  The shell is usually OK, provided the lips haven't been bent.  Check them using a gauge, and if they don't pass muster, repair them or throw away that magazine.  If they pass, good, but the magazine's innards could still stand some improvement.  For example, I replace the follower with a Magpul anti-tilt unit (in yellow, so my magazines can easily be identified from a distance), plus a new, more powerful spring and (if necessary) a better-fitting floor plate.  I have dozens of such magazines, and so far they've never given me a problem.  I think the upgrades are worthwhile.

You can do the same for some pistol magazines.  Glock, for instance, has been through several generations of follower design.  Find out the latest generation number for your magazines, and replace the followers when you replace the springs.

Finally, check your magazines.  I recommend at least once per year;  others prefer more or less often.  I disassemble it, blow out any dirt or debris that's gotten inside, and (if necessary) use a silicon lubricant, applied sparingly, to reduce internal friction, before I reassemble and reload it.

Peter