Magazines

NakedDex

This may well start a row (a light hearted one mind).

What the hell is with everyone and their mother wanting drum mags for their carbines and assault rifles lately? Surely I'm not the only one to notice it? M4's with 3000 round capacity? SCAR-L's with saddle-mags? MP5's with boxes???
Since when did qualifying for the FSG position mean buying a box mag?

Seriously though, I don't see the point. I'm clearly missing something here. Where's the fun in walking around with one rifle all day and one mag and just spraying at random. Walking the bbs onto the target rather than actually aiming. Someone (I can't remember who) tried to justify one to me recently saying it was a good tactical choice. A good tactical choice would be mid-caps because they don't rattle, combined with some fire discipline and considered aiming.

I understand why people might want to be FSG for a day, they see people walking around with M249's and the like. But a carbine with a c-mag is not an FSG. And I really don't care how many people argue that it is. It's not. It's also not tactical. It's not practical. It's not realistic (I genuinely have heard that one). And just because you saw it happening on TV or in a movie, doesn't mean that it's neccessarily a done thing. Also, just because they exist in airsoft, doesn't mean they exist anywhere else or that they're used.

And don't say "He's just saying that because he uses mid-caps" or "He's just jealous of all our ammo" (yet again, I genuinely have heard this). I'm not. Far from it. I have a c-mag. I bought it with my G36k about a year ago. I've used it twice. I'll probably never use it again unless I convert the rifle into an MG36, which IS an FSG, but requires more money than I'm willing to spend to complete.

This is all just my opinion. I'm writing it here because I genuinely want to know yours. I'm baffled by the sudden uptake in them. Personally, I don't even like hi-caps, but again, that's personal choice. So enlighten me please. Why have a drum mag on a rifle/carbine of any type instead of just getting an LMG/LSW?

o1s1n

I can understand people with awkward/expensive to buy magazines using high caps. I have one myself for that reason as my low caps are 25 quid a pop.

But using high caps with a Stanag compatible rifle? Low/midcaps are ridiculously cheap! Worth buying just to get rid of the baby rattle.

C mags on SMGs? People don't actually do that do they?



*shudder*

kdouglas

Midcaps all the way for me, the one exception I make to that rule is my p90, but they don't rattle, so it's ok

(and my m249 of course )

NakedDex

I've seen it on an MP5 once and, as I mentioned, someone else metioned doing one the other day. It baffles me as to why.

I can understand people using hi-caps starting out as they're a handy way of bringing a game or twos worth of ammo in one mag if they only have one mag. But as you said, STANAG mid-caps are dirt cheap. The average STANAG hi-cap holds about 300 rounds. Eirsoft has a pair of STANAG mid-caps for 12 euro that hold 240 between them. A hi-cap would cost you at least 25-30 and you'd have to put up with the rattling and constant winding.
Plus having to change mags makes you think about your shots and makes you far more aware of using your ammo effectively.

o1s1n

NakedDex wrote: »

Eirsoft has a pair of STANAG mid-caps for 12 euro that hold 240 between them.

So for the price of one FAL 90 round low cap, you can get 4 STANAG mid caps? :eek: I knew they were cheap but that's crazy.

I think I may have to change over to that Type 89 sooner than I thought.

Dar

Type-89 ftw. The mag that comes with it is ****e though. Kept misfeeding for me and the spring was borked completely within a week. ACM stanag mags to the rescue!

NakedDex

Yeah, it's for nothing. I actually bought two to carry incase the guy beside me with an armalite or what-have-you runs out during a skirmish. Since I'm using a DMR, I have to rely on the carbine/assault users to be able to keep the rates of fire up while I pick targets off. So keeping spare mags at that price is a sensible option.

I just did a price check there. €12 for two 120 round magazines. €28 for one 300 round magazine. That means for €24 you can have 480 rounds across for mags and still have change left from the price of the hi-cap for a pint. (Or a fizzy drink, depending on your age).

Evolute

o1s1n wrote: »

Oh good god that would be bloody amazing to dual weild a pair of them hahahaha it would be brilliant seeing someone running around with two of them.

As for running around with a drum/box mag not neccessarily a good tactical choice but good choice for ease because i hate filling mags so much although i will be honest i would not use it all the time because to be honest it would be incredibly boring:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Crave

I agree with the whole drum mag thing ( I don't like it ) but I just ordered one! :eek: Why you might ask? I just couldn't see the point in going out with my 200rds (4 low caps) and trying to match the noob pinning me down with 20 hi-caps etc. so to enjoy my game more, i decided to join them! I would prefer to use my low or mid caps as i do with my mp5k 8 90rd mid caps but from a game point of view I may as well use a drum mage, just because i have to conserve ammo and pick my target carefully doesn't mean the drum mag player has to! so I said screw it. I would love to see a few millsim games with ammo restrictions runs at hrta! MIL SIM FTW!!!!

Sam Fisher

I agree with Nakedex. I have two CAs and they both came with hi-cap mags, metal good, rattle bad. So got myself 8 x 90rds mp5 mags for $41 and 8 x 100rds M4 mags for the same price. Handy as hell. My only problem is with the G36c. Mags can't fit in vest pockets, so have to use hi-cap.... By the way, anyone know where I can get vest or drop-leg pouch that can fit the G36c mags?

Genghiz Cohen

mid/low caps, lows are preferred, I have 1 high cap as a backup.

Drum mag are for poop heads.

Masada

im the oposite to you lot it seems, i use 2 450round hicaps in my M4 and have a load of midcaps incase of emergancy., same with the G36, i usually have 2-3 hicaps on that.,

Sod'o swords

Admit it thought, there's nothing cooler than shoving a mag into your gun during a round.
Coolest click ever.

kevteljeur

I have an SL-8, and on Saturday (first time using it, mind) I realised that the 20-rnd low-caps that it comes with don't really cut it for anything other than very low-frequency sniping. And the other G36 mags I have are hi-caps, which are indeed like baby-rattles, and need to be continually wound. But I only need to carry an extra two and refill between every 4-5 games.

I think I'll get more accurate and then I think I'll become a lot more tight about using my bbs (especially when I get into bio-degradable bbs, which are pricey), and the knock on is that I can use mid-caps or back to the low-caps.

Having a drum-mag for regular play and blasting out hundreds of rounds is a replacement for accuracy, I reckon, if it's not for a specific 'support' role. I'm not convinced that people creating plastic rain is good game-play, and at some point people might not see it as a good thing generally.

ambro25

I found out how to remove the rattling in hicaps.

I've already got one proof of concept, as I was fed up of lugging a bottle of 4000 BBs or so downfield at HRTA and leave it in a base or one of the containers, but still wanted something of an ammo reserve in addition to the clips.

So I made a 'DIY' ammo bottle for my tacvest, which is based on a bog-standard plastic bottle about the size and volume of a cylindrical grenade (about the volume of a STANAG hicap) and contains 500 BBs or so. There's no rattling whatsoever, however many are in it :cool:

Got to try it with a hicap yet, but no reason for it not to work... it involves an old sock, glue, minutiae and patience

EDIT - anyone got a hicap dismantling tutorial (or a link to one) handy?

Stercus Accidit

I concur.

In reality, no assault rifle could keep up with the amount of fire a support gun is expected to lay down.

This is just in reality due to a lighter barrel, that will heat up excessively, rather than a thicker lmg barrel, which may even be a quick changer.

Obviously this has no effect in airsoft but I'm just one of those people that dont like unrealistic airsoft replicas, in any way. I'm joining the mid-cap brigade myself now.

C-mag is one thing but just using it as a hose, I dunno, aint realistic.

m249's etc are heavier and bulkier, giving a disadvantage over an m4, but make up for this with their box mags, using an m4 for the same purpose takes something away from the proper support guns.

I'm going to have a drum mag autowinder on my up coming rpk, but that is an lmg, and who knows, I may not like it at all.

Gran Hermano

The 1 joule rule and similar ROF blurs the different squad roles in airsoft
compared to their real counterparts.

As mentioned above there is not only little to worry about with regards
to overheating but recoil and accuracy are not an issue. I see it akin to how
an airsoft sniper only has similar range to not only an airsoft assault rifle
but the same as some airsoft SMGs. The fact we're all using the same 6 or
8 mm BBs is also a factor.

I was actually tempted to pick up a drum mag myself, they're dirt cheap
on ebaybanned but I think I'll most likely avail of his 10 AEG mags for 60 odd
euro offer instead and grab a selection of mid-caps.

Some mil-sim games would make it more realistic.

[--SC(+)PE--]

The 1 joule rule and similar ROF blurs the different squad roles in airsoft
compared to their real counterparts.

An annoying fact but fact nonetheless .

gandalf

I love my mid caps, you can pick up 8 M4 MAG ones for next to nothing. As already stated really do not see the point of a 3000 round mag on something that in real life takes 30 round mags?

Would love a rule in place at skirmishes where the max size mags for general assault AEG's would be mid caps?

[--SC(+)PE--]

Would love a rule in place at skirmishes where the max size mags for general assault AEG's would be mid caps?

As would i, *Nudges Maxforce*

The Master

gandalf wrote: »

Would love a rule in place at skirmishes where the max size mags for general assault AEG's would be mid caps?

Thats what Mil-Sim games are for.

For general skirmishing ,there should be no limit or rules regarding what ammo you want to carry or how you choose to play

Tigger

[--SC(+)PE--] wrote: »

As would i, *Nudges Maxforce*

i agree in some ways its like i said to you last week the 36c has a longer range and with the high caps the same fire power as my saw

TheFlatulator

I can see the use of drum fed, if you have a teama nd no one had a Light Support etc and the other team does then having some one with a drum would even up the sides...

I think a lot of it what he person likes, the question is what kind of skirmish would it be suitable for. Does that mean you if a side ha sa guy or gal with a drum fed that you take one man from there team and add it to yours to balance the side due to ability of suppressing fire.

[--SC(+)PE--]

I think im going to have to get my Saw [when i get one] firing 22-23 rps just to give it something over the standard highcap/boxmag AEG'r. Is that the stock battery you were using in your's Rbd?

Tigger

[--SC(+)PE--] wrote: »

I think im going to have to get my Saw [when i get one] firing 22-23 rps just to give it something over the standard highcap/boxmag AEG'r. Is that the stock battery you were using in your's Rbd?

yup but i'm working on it at the mo
i've fived the hop and i'm making up some better batteries

kdouglas

[--SC(+)PE--] wrote: »

I think im going to have to get my Saw [when i get one] firing 22-23 rps just to give it something over the standard highcap/boxmag AEG'r.

exactly why i upgrade my saw, otherwise it'd just be an oversized aeg with a box mag, at least with a higher rof it has something over a normal aeg

[--SC(+)PE--]

What would ya suggest as the most cost effective way to get it firing 20-25 rps reliably?

Tigger

[--SC(+)PE--] wrote: »

What would ya suggest as the most cost effective way to get it firing 20-25 rps reliably?

car battery?

[--SC(+)PE--]

10.8 volt? on an otherwise stock setup? {downgraded ofcourse}

Fallschirmjager

i have a lot of mid caps and normally carry 1 or 2 hi caps but dont tend to use them.

i would like one of the box mags but more for a laugh then to actually use..where do you put a box mag in game when you want a change?

and i will admit sod o swords is right...that click is cool...

i too would love a game with mid caps only or indeed a game with midcaps with saw 35 bb in them (as some mags dont throw out the last few). it would be very interesting to see people playing with only 120 or so rounds on their person...you would be more particular about firing..might actually make a game far more strategic..of course it could be as boring as hell also LOL...

i will bow to lemming for the best idea ever tho...

you fire, you are empty, take mag out of vest, tap it on your helmet..reload


now admit it...that is uber cool...

Necron99

Unless your playing a specific Mil-Sim game I think this should be left up to personal preference on the use of Drum Mags / Hi caps or whatever. Just like you people spend their money on a hobby and have differant ideas how they want their load out.

This is all just my opinion. I'm writing it here because I genuinely want to know yours. I'm baffled by the sudden uptake in them. Personally, I don't even like hi-caps, but again, that's personal choice. So enlighten me please. Why have a drum mag on a rifle/carbine of any type instead of just getting an LMG/LSW?

I personaly like my Hi/caps as I don't have to carry around more mags and spend longer reloading them or the gun while in combat.
It the base principal of why Magazines were invented. "The less time a soldier takes to reload his gun the more of the enemy he can shoot".
The main reason why most armies don't have drum mags on assault rifles is due to a few factors.
1# Weapon stress
2# Weight
3# Magazine jamming

Seriously though, I don't see the point. I'm clearly missing something here. Where's the fun in walking around with one rifle all day and one mag and just spraying at random.

:pac: Not everyone thinks the same "Shock Horror!!" hehe

AirsoftEire.com

Mid-caps all the way for me.
Hope to have a total of 5x100 rd MP5 mags and 2x50rd ones in a few weeks. Must get a dual clamp too.

Somewhat nonsensical when you're going up against even 300rd M4 magazine users, let alone 600rd+ users, but it makes a kill even more satisfying knowing you took one of them out.

Steve

Fallschirmjager

AirsoftEire.com wrote: »

Mid-caps all the way for me.
Hope to have a total of 5x100 rd MP5 mags and 2x50rd ones in a few weeks. Must get a dual clamp too.

Somewhat nonsensical when you're going up against even 300rd M4 magazine users, let alone 600rd+ users, but it makes a kill even more satisfying knowing you took one of them out.

Steve

its the constant winding of hi caps that gets me...but having said that i still carry a few just in case it gets like a bb convention out there...

and obviously no rattle...i suppose you could stick the furry side of velcro on the inside of a hi cap to dampen it a bit..

zero19

I hate the rattling sound of hi caps...Which is why i got a P90 and some noiseless hi caps I wouldn't use hi caps on anything else unless i had to, for my next AEG (hopefully an AKS74U) it's mids all the way

NakedDex

I'm not a fan of hi-caps either, but I can forgive their use. Personally I think they're a bad tactical move out there. Think about it, between the noise of you moving with that baby rattle and you constantly having to wind it, you'll always be heard coming.

Someone mentioned that you don't have to reload as much so it's better in that regard. Well it takes a lot longer to wind the hi-cap to full lock again than it does to change a mag. And you usually have to do it in far more incovenient places. If you're in cover and you run out of ammo with a midcap, you drop the empty mag, grab a new one, stick it in and continue firing. It's a 3-8 second affair depending on how practiced you are with them. If you run out with a hi-cap, you're on your ass in cover for at least 30 seconds until you get it to full lock again. In that space of time you could be flanked and hit.

Having said this, I understand that novices will use hi-caps while they find their feet. An all mid-cap game would be nice though, now and again. And while, for this reason, I don't neccessarily believe banning hi-caps should be an option, maybe discouraging box-mags and ultra-hi-caps could be something to do. I've had plenty of games where I've been pinned or unable to advance past a point because of soom loon with a box-mag who's just standing on his own lobbing bbs at everyone. That kind of thing ruins a game.

Mark_Sc

I think midcaps are the way, the main reason I dropped paintball and took up airsoft was for the realism, using hicaps takes alot away from that. Having to wind them, for me, is the biggest thing. It's a lot of hassle and you never have to worry about stuff like that on real steel(Yes misfeeds happen, but god forbid). The best part of mags is slamming one onto the reciever and using descreminite(for want of a better word) fire untill you have to do it again, sometimes I even give the charging handle a tug afterwards

Fallschirmjager

of course there is one downside to midcaps...you need a vest to hold them all, so there i have justified another purchase for everyone!

ED E

Hopefully I'll be using a Drum soon, but not on an SMG but an AUG-HBAR:D Have to mod the drum though from an MP5/M16 one, aswell as the HBAR itself. It'll be worth the effort though.

iceage

mid-caps are the only way to go, and a Hi-cap as a last resort, if it's an Alamo situation or a last stand, anything goes!

NakedDex

Last stands become even more fun with mid-caps because you have a genuine panic about how much ammo you're chewing up. Particularly if you're defeding against a larger force. There's no greater panic in airsoft than knowing you have to survive another 5 frantic minutes when you've just loaded your last mag that I've found.

Fallschirmjager

hahaha...jesus dex i got a shiver in my spine even reading that..LOL

iceage

NakedDex wrote: »

Last stands become even more fun with mid-caps because you have a genuine panic about how much ammo you're chewing up. Particularly if you're defeding against a larger force. There's no greater panic in airsoft than knowing you have to survive another 5 frantic minutes when you've just loaded your last mag that I've found.

Imagine it, last mag, rock n roll, their still coming! click, click, :eek: then start throwing AEG's and boots at em!!! Laugh I nearly wet myself...;)

ED E

NakedDex wrote: »

Last stands become even more fun with mid-caps because you have a genuine panic about how much ammo you're chewing up. Particularly if you're defeding against a larger force. There's no greater panic in airsoft than knowing you have to survive another 5 frantic minutes when you've just loaded your last mag that I've found.

Try removing your mag slightly and holding it with your off hand. Then put short bursts down range. The enemy will be to busy ducking to notice that no bbs are leaving the barrel and if you need to actually shoot just click the mag into place:D

NakedDex

I ran out completely last time out defending the Ghost base right flank and pulled the M203 off my rifle and just wielded it as a pistol. I managed to hold off 3 people who didn't want to cross the mound incase I let it off for enough time for back up to arrive. You know you've had a good game when your last two offensive capabilities lie in a single M203 round and a single preset claymore, while all your other guns lay in a pile beside you. THAT's an experience you don't get with hi-caps.

ED E

NakedDex wrote: »

I ran out completely last time out defending the Ghost base right flank and pulled the M203 off my rifle and just wielded it as a pistol. I managed to hold off 3 people who didn't want to cross the mound incase I let it off for enough time for back up to arrive. You know you've had a good game when your last two offensive capabilities lie in a single M203 round and a single preset claymore, while all your other guns lay in a pile beside you. THAT's an experience you don't get with hi-caps.

Hmm...should gonna kamikaze and strapped the claymore to your chest:p

TheFlatulator

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

Hmm...should gonna kamikaze and strapped the claymore to your chest:p

Just make sure to have it the right side out... lol