do you number you rmagazines

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

seemed like we have been a little light on polls lately Willco must be busy

do you number your magazines?

[Artful]

I have in the past - on tape on the bottom of the mag, back when I was shooting competition, or when working on a new project gun.

[Larry Gibson]

Never did for competition. Saw no beneficial reason to number magazines. When I shot a lot of IPSC I had more important things to track than which mag was which. I expected all magazines to work equally well. I they didn't they were gotten rid of. However, for mags that are left loaded and rotated periodically numbering them can be beneficial to tracking the rotation. I did that once but have since given up on it as I just grab an unloaded mag to use next. With quality mags I think this is an answer to an over thought "question". That' just my own opinion though and everyone is, of course, free to do what they will with their own mags and time.

Larry Gison

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I have before with tape mostly when I was working on something , but recently got a new gun for competition , I broke out the electric pencil and started numbering 01 02 03 04 I have more on the way

I sure was glad I had when I loaned a mag to anther shooter this week at league , I realized not only could I not see any difference in my mags without my markings I couldn't tell between mine and the others and unlike before I wasn't the only one with that type of mag any more , before I had mags that were not like anyone else with my old gun , now other people had identical mags , we were shooting stages right next to each other and as the stage was reset it wouldn't be that hard to have them get swapped , not the end of the world as long as you leave with the number you brought but I would like to keep mine mine

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I maintain 30 something club owned guns , numbering is the only way I can keep them strait , the electric pencil and the paint pen is my friend.

[M-Tecs]

I voted yes because I numbered my competition mags. for my M14's and AR15's. After almost thirty years I am still using the same five mags each. While I have had issues with mags it has always been from day one. Those mags get tossed. On my 1911 mags they will crack at the top back of the mag and they will get pulled from service. Other than the mags on my High Standards and S&W 41's I have never had a good mag. go bad. On these the feed lips get retuned.

[Scharfschuetze]

The team captain of the first military rifle team that I shot on had us number our magazines and then segregate them for slow fire and rapid fire stages. While I understood his reasoning for that, I only did it rarely afterwards and never had my riflemen do it when I was a team captain. If I suspect that a rifle magazine is troublesome, I mark it with tape or a paint marker and then monitor its reliability in practice.

Once upon a time when Uncle Sam gave me all the magazines that I could possibly use, throwing a magazine away was never an issue. Now days I work on a recalcitrant mag a bit before giving it the toss, especially my old 20 round M16/AR15 mags (VN era issue) that I prefer for competition. Fortunately that's a rare occurance, although I tossed two just a couple of years ago.

[Petrol & Powder]

Some of my magazines are numbered but not all of them.

[bedbugbilly]

I've always been a "revolver guy" but I do have a SR9 with a number of mags . . . and just purchased a 9mm Shield that I know I'll be getting more spare mags for over time. I can see where it might be helpful in case you end up with a problem along the way such as feeding issues, etc. . . would be helpful to narrow it down if it is a mag issue. At least to me . . it makes sense . . . maybe not to those who have a number of mags but seldom or never have a feeding issue, etc.?

[Markbo]

You forgot one option: "No. I see no useful purpose for it whatsoever"

[alamogunr]

No! Usually only 2 but for a couple of Para Ordinance commander size I've got several that interchange. So far all work in both pistols.

[wrench man]

You forgot one option: "No. I see no useful purpose for it whatsoever"

Agreed!
I've never had one fail?, now I've had a hand full that were junk! right out of the package, you'd think that I'd get it thru my thick skull that the cheap mags are indeed just junk!??

[Mike Kerr]

It really is a good idea. Many useful reasons including finding out if one particular magazine is giving you intermittent failures. If it fails frequently you will notice it any way but the one that only fails to feed on an intermittent basis is a more vexing problem. Of course if a big range session is 100 rounds it may not make any difference but if you shoot 250-400 rounds a couple of times a week it can help you track down problems.

[tygar]

On any mags in self defense, carry guns I number to keep track for rotating. For "just shooting" mags - no.

[garym1a2]

No, I can't count that high. But I do mark ones that are not that good, also Glock mags that don't drop free. Those are used for practice.

[Omega]

No, I can't count that high. But I do mark ones that are not that good, also Glock mags that don't drop free. Those are used for practice.
^^^This.

I only mark the ones known to give me issues. If they are to spec then I see no reason to mark them, but I do not compete and I make sure my SD mags are checked once a week.

[Lefty Red]

I keep five magazines for range and training use for my Glock and Shield. The Glocks have an orange base plate and I marked the Shields as well. I keep three new magazines for each for self defense and carry use. And then the rest are in storage.

Like others, I went back to the wheelguns and single shots. I keep those two pistols for CCW.

Jerry

[Rustyleee]

A silver Sharpie type marker is cheap and numbering them helps down the road should a problem arise.

[Mk42gunner]

...Once upon a time when Uncle Sam gave me all the magazines that I could possibly use, throwing a magazine away was never an issue. Now days I work on a recalcitrant mag a bit before giving it the toss, especially my old 20 round M16/AR15 mags (VN era issue) that I prefer for competition. Fortunately that's a rare occurance, although I tossed two just a couple of years ago.
This matches my experience pretty well. I can only remember one issue with an M-14 magazine, and none with Beretta M-9 mags, a few with the no name M-9 replacement mags. I have thrown away a small truck load of magazines for the 1911 and M-16 (20 and 30 round).

As for my personal use, I buy a sufficient quantity that I think will last me a few years and make sure they work.

Robert

[gray wolf]

What's up with rotating pistol mags ?

Some of my mags stay loaded for over a year, Can't be for the sake of the springs,
They are expansion contraction springs and sitting still and loaded does not weaken them.

Using them weakens them.

As for numbering them ? I have read some legitimate reasons as stated by some of the competition shooters.

I don't shoot competition anymore, I had 9 mags for my 45 1911, two came with the gun and 7 were a mix match of different brands
( as in here you can have these ).

They all work, all the time.
One gave me some problems and became erratic, I couldn't get it back in service so it was trashed.

Now I have 8 they all work all the time. If they don't in any way that can't be fixed they get gone.

No such thing as this one is only for range use

Just the way I am with my stuff

[wonderwolf]

I do not number mags for all my guns but there are a few I do number, esp ones that get loaned out for club events like out "Women on target" I want to make sure I get all MY mags back....not somebody else's aftermarket ****. Like others I number match magazines as well. Its helpful when you have a one off jam and you need to make sure its not the mag. Its not necessary of course but it can be helpful. I should mark my speed loaders with my emblem as well but havn't gotten around to it yet. There are times a loader doesn't get recovered till 4 or 5 shooters have gone and used the same ones....gets found in the tall grass or in the mulch....who's is who's?? Heck I've found mags from a match held over a month ago, not marked. Some have been returned as we know who shoots what but a few have zero markings and we have no clue whos it is even after questioning. Ah well.

[Green Frog]

I do number the mags to my 45 bullseye gun and my 45 Para-Ord double stack. I used to also number those for my High Standard bullseye gun, but stopped doing it as unnecessary. The only rifles for which I have multiple mags are my ARs and I don't find it necessary to match mags to those guns, just "plug and play." :mrgreen: I had to vote "other" in the poll.

Froggie

[jeepyj]

I'm mainly a revolver shooter however this thread has got me thinking for a couple autos the get used occasionally for some of the reasons listed in other posts.
jeepyj

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I had someone mention they used silver sharpie to mark magazines ,that it eventually wore off but was easy to write back on when it was getting faded

I had never used a silver sharpie before , I picked up a silver while doing the grocery shopping today , I have to say it is very visible and easy , it really writes well on black mags

I had been using the eclectic pencil , very permanent but it worked

[JWNathan]

Yes, but only my AR and FAL mags. Just in case I get a hiccup that can't be instantly identifiable, that way I can go back and try to recreate it later on. Oh I do initial ALL of my mags, I shoot with folks that use the same stuff, don't wanna mix them up is all.
-Jesse

[Minerat]

I voted other, cause I just don't care how many I have its over 10 and I never use them all at the same time anyway so have never even thought of it.:shock:

[luvtn]

I voted other, because I have more than 2 magazines, and I see absolutely no benefit to numbering them.
luvtn

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

had a shooter at league the other night have a feed issue , he had a feed issue previously also, the mag was numbered and identifying that it was the same mag that had a feed issue earlier was easy, I have seen several of the top name brand guns have mag issues , everything breaks eventually, while never having had one myself , just the number of people , the guns and the frequency they are used , you get to see a lot more failures than one could experience on their own.

[TXGunNut]

I'll mark a suspect mag so if the problem presents itself again with the same mag I'll take a closer look at it. When I shot PPC we'd take leftover target labels from nationals and wrap them around the body of the speedloader. Some folks used paint but that wore off in a few months.
My 1911 mags have different color bump pads. When shooting PD matches I'd use the mags with pink or bright green pads, nobody ever accidentally picked them up, lol. Good distraction tactic as well, irritated the heck out of a certain instructor as well. ;-)