Hi-cap mags

Baltrux

Hi all, I've just been reading the "Take aim" interview with the Band of hawks and am wondering what hi-cap mags are exactaly, my understanding was that they are the mags that you wind up. They also say they frown upon them can anyone tell me why and is this common, should I get rid of mine?

evilrobotshane

You're right about them being the wind-up ones. What (I hope) The Hawks were on about is that, like computer games where you put in the cheat for infinite ammo, airsoft gets kind of boring if you're not having to manage your resources, like watching your ammo - if you've thousands of rounds in high capacity magazines you've effectively got nigh-infinite ammo. If you're limited to 30 rounds per magazine, like in real life, you have to pick your shots, be more careful, tactical, stealthy, all that. High-caps (and, further, box mags, C-mags, drum mags etc.) tend to encourage a situation where technology trumps skill.

Unfortunately, there's some amount of snobbery in airsoft that simplifies it to "high-caps bad, mid-caps good". Mid-caps are spring-powered magazines (like real ones, so) that don't require winding but do require more tedious loading. The fallacy that some people operate under is that having a hundred rounds in one of these before reloading makes you an elite badass, and people who have a hundred rounds in a high-cap before rewinding are spray-and-pray newbies.

At the end of the day, if you're having fun with what you've got, then go with it. Anybody who says different isn't worth listening to.

That said, you may find you enjoy the challenge of more limited ammo, having to reload under fire and all that. See if you can try out some limited-ammo games where you play and see what you think.

Leftyflip

The Band Of Hawks, don't use highcaps because they are a team who use tactics quite a bit and high caps make silly noises. Shane hit the nail on the head there, plus having to take out a mag and reload under fire is damned fun.

Keep your high caps if you want, I don't care, loads of others won't, box mags are a slightly different story, unlesso n support guns.

Spetzcong

Just because the Hawks do something doesn't mean you have to. It's your sport too, play how you want to play. Try both out and see what suits you. Box mags on assault rifles/smgs are frowned upon to a degree but there's no rules that say that you can't have them, unless you're playing a Milsim or limited ammo game.

Masada

While i dont speak for the whole team, I am a member and my own preference is to use Mids, its more realistic and thats something the team aim for.

there is as shane pointed out, a sort of snobbery among some people who dont agree with hicaps. I think new people often find themselves catagorised unfairly here simply because their shiney new gun comes as standard, with a high cap.
It the people/teams out there who are more experienced and use very high amounts of ammo to get an advantage that deserve this rep more.

By all means, decide what you prefer and stick with it. its your own choice.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both of them too. Hicaps can take on average 300rds per mag and are quick and easy to load. simply pour BBs in it and wind. Downside is its unrealistic to carry 300rds in a single magzine and it also sounds like a baby rattle and they are delicate if dropped.
The mids are more realistic, feed better, are much more durable but they need a speed loader to fill them and it takes longer than hicaps.

In my opinion, the game is much more immersive and intense with semi-realistic loads and i find ducking for cover and reload adds a lot to the game

Spetzcong

I'm of the opinion that most people graduate towards midcaps eventually. I know I did, I had my fun with hi-caps (and still use them when I couldn't be bothered loading up midcaps) I even had some fun with box mags on assault rifles back in the day :eek:, I don't think more experienced players should be passing judgement on newer players and not allowing them to develop their own style of play naturally (not saying anyone on this thread is, just refering to the midcap snobbery).

I presonally hate the whole stubby killer + boxmag idea and think it kills the sport, but that's my own opinion, and I wouldn't discourage someone from giving it a go to see if they like it. I firmly believe that most people will try it a few times and then decide that actually reloading under fire, having to think before shooting and being a bit more tactical is actually more fun. My gripe about box mags comes from being a support gunner though mostly, if I have to lug an 8kg shooty stick around the place to have that kinda firepower it galls me to have my effort mocked by some fleetfooted stubby wielding bb hoser.

That's box mags though, 90% of players I see every weekend still use hi-caps, so they're perfectly acceptible. I find mids more fun with an assault rifle, but that doesn't make me a better player, more leet or anything else, it's just how I prefer to play.

Baltrux

Hi Guys, as Masada pointed out my aeg came with a hi-cap so I thought that was the norm I bought a second one when I had to reload the same mag under fire and yes they are delicate as it didn't last to long, i had to replace it a week or two later. I'm definatly going to get the mid's I've found that the last few days out I'm not using half as many bb's as I think I'm warming to a kind of sniper role sneaking around and picking my shots a lot more carefully, so it looks like I'm progressing nicely, lol. Thanks Guys!

Firekitten

Baltrux wrote: »

Hi all, I've just been reading the "Take aim" interview with the Band of hawks and am wondering what hi-cap mags are exactaly, my understanding was that they are the mags that you wind up. They also say they frown upon them can anyone tell me why and is this common, should I get rid of mine?

Heh... If someone said that they thought breathing was silly, would you stop?

Hicap magazines are a different style of play. The Band of Hawks bill themselves as a milsim team. And as such, prefer a more realistic magazine capacity. Fair play... I do too... Frankly, in my view, hicaps are noisy, (cringeworthily so) excessive, and the winding is annoying. The stealth factors of midcaps and lowcaps are much higher, BUT at times, i do use hicaps... for a sunday game, i may take out a gun and two hicaps, with the ak74 thats 1200 rounds... a whole day's ammo... it means less reloading when i cant be bothered and when stealth is not an issue. Although, HAVING that amount of ammunition isn't going to make you spray the whole lot in one go.

Common misconception with a freind at an old site... 'rar rar I use midcaps only me, im milsim' Said Joe blogs... Joe blogs had a 50 inch waist, and used up every spare inch of molle real estate for mag pouches... an carried somewhere in the region of 20 midcaps, which he went through like a todler goes through crayons. Just because the mags hold less doesnt make it more milsim. You can use one hicap for a day (600 rounds,) or 6 100 round mags... hell 20 realcaps! How heavy your trigger is, and your mentality is the key to milsim. But the guys are right, the buggers are noisy... I wont use them in any serious game frankly. Battle Maracas!!


Edit: Hicaps are delicate? replaced within a week.... umm, what did you do to it?

Baltrux

I hit it off a rock I didn't think I hit it that hard though!!!!

Firekitten

Not sure i want to know... but WHY did you hit it on a rock? And why do you feel you didnt hit it hard enough?

Baltrux

I was in the quarry part of the Drogheda site and its very rocky on one side, as I was getting into a position after running I must have hit when I lay down, I didn't think I hit it hard enough to have broken it but when I took it apart that night I had broken a bit of the plastic that keeps the spring in place

Firekitten

Uh... right... the spring inside the winding wheel? Because theres no spring inside the feed tube of a hicap.... (Just incase) Odd really... you must have really wacked it some... It generally takes a lot to break it, but frankly if you hit it that hard, no mag would survive. Midcaps can burst open (plastic) Metal ones can Jam or crack inside... No mag is indistructable...

Stonewolf

Firekitten wrote: »

Not sure i want to know... but WHY did you hit it on a rock? And why do you feel you didnt hit it hard enough?

If you didn't hit it hard enough then the solution is clearly to hit it again. Hi-caps, it's a way of life

Firekitten

*sigh* lol. Airsofters are like squaddies... Give them something... and they will go out of thier way to find new inventive ways to break it. :rolleyes: