High err Regular Capacity Magazines
Mark tells us that the ban on regular capacity magazines signed into law as part of the misnamed Assault Weapons Ban is having a detrimental effect on troops. The article Mark links says:
Existing magazines being used by U.S. troops are also faulty.
“A police officer and friend, just deployed to Iraq, is serving there now as a Marine officer,” Jeff Chudwin, an associate of Farnam’s, wrote.
“He is in the thick of the fighting. He has only two Beretta M9 magazines, and both have weak springs. Pistol magazines are in short supply there. Ones that actually work are in even shorter supply,” Chudwin said.
In an attempt to get better magazines, the police officer/Marine attempted to procure some from his home department, but was unable to do so “due to the ban on purchasing high capacity (normal capacity) magazines,” said Chudwin.
He said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms [BATF] was asked to intervene, to approve the sale, but “they arrogantly told us, ‘The military must take care of their own.'”
The result, Chudwin told Farnam, is that “the Marine officer cannot obtain additional magazines through the military, and we cannot support him from our end unless we send him ‘Clinton clips'” – 10-round magazines (instead of the normal capacity 15-16 round magazines originally made for the M9) or magazines that were manufactured before the law banning them was signed by President Clinton.
Since the civilian market is bigger than the military/law enforcement market, that manufacturers just aren’t making them since they can’t sell them to the public. They aren’t interested.
May 25th, 2004 at 4:49 pm
When it comes to helping military friends get something that will work in the M9, you can get Wolff replacement springs for the mags they already have. It doesn’t solve the supply problem, but will restore existing mags to functional condition.
May 25th, 2004 at 10:30 pm
Last September I sent a ten pack to a friend of mine who was in Iraq with the 101st.
Here’s a link to the Wolff page on M9 springs. (Civilian equivalent model is the Beretta 92.)
http://www.gunsprings.com/SemiAuto/BerettaNF.html#Beretta92Magazine
Be sure to get the +10% (10% higher spring force) springs.
I had to call Wolff directly to have the order shipped to an APO AE address since their web ordering process couldn’t handle the full military address.
(FWIW — My buddy came back in Feb/March and he reported that the springs worked well and solved the problem that he and several of his fellow officers were facing.)
May 27th, 2004 at 6:38 am
RTB Tailgate Party XXIX
Hello, race fans, and welcome to the Twenty-Ninth running of the internationally famous Rocky Top Brigade Tailgate Party, where the proud citizens of the greatest State of the Republic share thoughts and ideas with the less fortunate individuals spread…
August 6th, 2004 at 1:57 am
[…] egular capacity AR15 magazines is continuing. I mentioned how the assault weapons ban had dried up the supply of M9 magazines for our troops a while back […]
December 2nd, 2004 at 1:52 pm
[…] agazines; and the US military had a difficult time getting its hands on quality magazines (since there was no civilian market, companies stopped making them
March 28th, 2005 at 5:41 pm
[…] zines and springs because there was no civilian market for regular capacity magazines (see here and here). Also, there were reports that AR15 regular cap […]