Magazine round retention?

How well do the magazines hold the rounds? I know that the mag spring is much lighter than a standard magazine (glock or whatever). How does that translate to how well the rounds stay in the magazine?

I can drop a Ruger LCP magazine in my pocket and feel pretty well assured that none of the rounds are going to pop out in my pocket. Is that true of the XR9S as well, or do I need some sort of sheath for my carry reload?

Thanks.

Tags: magazine

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on February 14, 2010 at 5:31pm

I just dropped a full mag into my pocket to carry around for a few days - I'll keep you posted. When putting in the 7th round, it takes some effort - kind of like the second round in a typical magazine, so it seems to be in there fairly tightly.

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on February 17, 2010 at 12:19pm

Okay, I have carried a full mag in my left pocket since the 14th (3 days).It was mixed with a Blistix and some coins. I was doing errands most of the time, walking, not running. . I checked the mag periodically and the top round did not move at all. I am speculating that the magazine lips flex a little, "energizing" (but not digging in) to the top round. This gives some resiliency for any jostling. It takes some physical effort to pull the round out of a full mag, so I don't expect being in the pocket will really budge it at all. If you guys know of a more realistic experiment, let me know. I think I will try one or two rounds in the mag.

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Permalink Reply by Sanford Walke on February 17, 2010 at 1:38pm

Arne Boberg said:

If you guys know of a more realistic experiment, let me know. I think I will try one or two rounds in the mag.

6 rounds would be a good test, too. I could see someone loading up, racking in their barney round, changing to a full mag for 7+1 in the gun, and dropping the mag with 6 rounds into their pocket.

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on February 17, 2010 at 7:01pm

Well, I started my one-round trial this morning. The mag shares the pocket with my keys. I just checked and that round is still in there.

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Permalink Reply by VMole8 on February 18, 2010 at 5:30am

My suggestion is to put it in some cargo shorts' pocket with keys and coins and go for a jog, do some up and downs, roll around on the ground a little. That should be a strong, reasonable test.
Arne Boberg said:

Well, I started my one-round trial this morning. The mag shares the pocket with my keys. I just checked and that round is still in there.

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on February 18, 2010 at 9:51am

We still have about a foot of snow on the ground, but I get the idea.

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Permalink Reply by Blueorison on March 26, 2010 at 1:42am

Arne Boberg said:

We still have about a foot of snow on the ground, but I get the idea.

I laughed pretty darn hard.

Hey Arne, while you're rolling around in the jungles of Guatemala to most realistically test the milspec level of your magazines, can you remember to get a couple elephants to trample them, also?

:D Just trying to add some levity.

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on March 26, 2010 at 1:40pm

I did get a chance to carry a mag with one round in it in my pocket for a couple of days - I checked it occasionally and the round did not move out at all. These mags are pretty strong - the front half is made of .040" thick high strength SS.

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Permalink Reply by VMole8 on March 27, 2010 at 7:21pm

You'd be surprised what objects will do in a pocket exposed to repetitive movement, stretching, getting mashed against your leg by surfaces. I'm trying to suggest an accelerated test that goes beyond sitting behind a desk for 10 hours and driving home. If you want to conduct the elephant test though just ask Arne to send you a sample, I'd be fascinated to know if a round comes out in your pocket. ;-)

Blueorison said:

Arne Boberg said:
We still have about a foot of snow on the ground, but I get the idea.

I laughed pretty darn hard.

Hey Arne, while you're rolling around in the jungles of Guatemala to most realistically test the milspec level of your magazines, can you remember to get a couple elephants to trample them, also?

:D Just trying to add some levity.

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Permalink Reply by Blueorison on March 27, 2010 at 11:05pm

Sometimes running and gunning in carbine matches and IPSC or IDPA makes me take uniquely vectored shots from uncomfortable muscular and body positioning; magazines get dropped, trampled, and a applied force by a plethora of verbiage. In the last match one of my mags unseated from its holder and found its way to the Texas dirt. I was able to recover quite sufficiently, and made sure the first round was positioned correctly to ensure proper feeding.

I do understand the importance of a seated round held there by unyielding mechanisms.

In short, I agree with ya .' ]