For anyone new to airsoft, one question remains the same: How many mags do I need? Well, the answer will depend on a few factors, most notably the size of the magazines you use. Generally, if you use high-capacity magazines, you will not have to carry as many mags as you would with lower-capacity magazines. Your shooting habits, whether you like unloading a whole mag at once or shooting single pellets at a time, will also affect the answer.
To give you a more concrete, we will focus on high- and medium-capacity magazines and explain how many you can bring.
High-Capacity and Medium-Capacity Airsoft Magazines
As the name implies, a high-capacity magazine holds plenty of ammo and feeds them into the gun with a gearing mechanism. The mechanism operates a spring system that you need to turn to provide the tension that loads the pellets. While there is a limit to how many times you can wind it up, there is a safety mechanism that will stop you from overturning and potentially ruining it. In many cases, the mechanism will need to be wounded at least two to three times to empty the mag.
On the other hand, a medium-capacity magazine carries much fewer BB bullets. It utilizes a spring and plunger system, which is more traditional. To load this magazine, you will need to manually put in bullets until the spring does not depress anymore. It might seem then that this puts mid-cap magazines at a high disadvantage against high-cap magazines, but there is still a place for them. For example, because the bullets do not freely sit around in the magazine, it is a lot quieter. Also, the spring will last a lot longer.
How many should you bring?
Now that you know how high-cap and mid-cap magazines work, let us tell you how many high-cap magazines you will need. The answer will, once again, depend on your shooting habits. It will also depend on the venue itself, particularly whether you are playing with a few people or more.
For some people, two high-caps may be enough, while eight mid-caps will suffice for others. You can consider bringing two to four high-caps or around eight or more mid-caps to play it safe. Also, bring extra pellets if you can. That way, you can refill as you need.
Conclusion
Remember, your playstyle, the type of gun you have, and the venue will play a role in how much ammo you need. Think about it. If your playstyle is to wait for people to ambush, you will not be using as much ammo as someone who is more aggressive and attacks all the time.
As such, giving you a definitive answer might not be possible, but we can tell you to bring extra BB bullets in a container in case you run out. After your first few games, you can gauge exactly how much you need, ensuring that you carry just enough for your future games.
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