‘Gun guys’ are acutely aware of the history and politics of firearms. I am probably a gun guy, but I am too young for some of the most pivotal moments in recent history. I will summarize in layman’s terms what I am talking about.

The Gun Control Act of 1968.

  • Firearms required a serial number on each unit
  • New firearms could only be sold through a dealer network although private party (used) sales were permitted
  • An official prohibited persons criteria was created
  • Imported firearms are prohibited, they must be assembled in the USA

The Gun Control Act of 1993

  • All new firearms have a mandatory background check
  • Five day minimum waiting period on new firearm purchases
  • All new manufacture of detachable magazines were limited to 10 round capacity
  • Stocks could not have a pistol grip

There has been lots of activity before during and after those two landmark points. But, today I don’t want to talk about laws so much as I want to talk about magazines. Magazines are arguably the most vulnerable part of a firearm from a legislation change as well as a functional point. In other words, the firearm is nearly worthless without a magazine (when designed to use one).

There are states today that limit magazine capacity. Fortunately, my state is not one of them (yet). However, I am convinced that it is a matter of time. There is an extreme left leaning agenda in today’s state government. There has already been talk of introducing such bills but the walk out prevented it this session.

My angle today is to buy magazines if you can. Many are available and reasonably priced. I try to have 5-10 magazines per firearm and I will give you some practical reasons why, not just hiding from the boogie man.

  1. Magazines are mechanical. They foul, break and jam. They can be imperfect and cause functioning problems. If you don’t have more than one or two then you may not be able to determine malfunction issues. Without a magazine, the firearm is a single shot.
  2. I like to have enough magazines to at least load a box of ammunition. That way I can spend time on the range shooting rather than loading magazines.
  3. As I have stated above, laws can change regarding capacity or availability. There is nothing saying that new legislation will grandfather the ‘standard capacity magazine’ but why not have the option.
$10 magazine

I think that when you consider the investment in the cost of additional magazines, it also makes me want to be able to justify owning the firearm. So, for instance magazines for one firearm is $35 ea. I have more into the magazines than I actually do in the firearm itself. Since that one is used often, so I think it is justifiable.

Not all magazines are created equal. I really lean toward OEM manufacture even though considerable savings can be made buying aftermarket. The one exception is in the Military Specification (mil-spec) realm. Mil-spec means that things are made to a minimum specification and to work across platform or brand. In those cases, aftermarket may be considerably better than OEM. They can offer additional features like dust caps or sight windows or just better construction.

So, maybe Dad’s a shooter and you are not or you are one of the millions of new gun owners that has decided to take a step in your own wellbeing. These are the reasons I believe in having extra magazines around. I am looking forward to not working seven days a week and twelve hours a day so that I can get out to the range again.