[HT] Empty Magazine Weight (M1A, 10 Rounds)

[Blood Legend]

Since the 20 round mag for M14 weighs 1.6lb, can I safely assume a 10 round magazine would weigh .8lb?

Also, using the Quick-Reload perk, reloading a Swing-Out Revolver is a free action. What about break-open revolvers which take one less second? The Perk says it takes one second for 'every other' specialty which as written, includes break-open revolvers. I know what common sense might dictate but I like having a judgement I can point to on the forums.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Blood Legend

Since the 20 round mag for M14 weighs 1.6lb, can I safely assume a 10 round magazine would weigh .8lb?

Well, not really. The 1.6 lbs. weight for a 20-rd .308 Win magagazine is for a full magazine, not an empty one.

If you're lucky, you can get someone who owns an M1A to weight an empty 10-rd magazine for you. I know they ship at 0.3 lbs. weight, but I have no idea what kind of packaging that includes.

Originally Posted by Blood Legend

Also, using the Quick-Reload perk, reloading a Swing-Out Revolver is a free action. What about break-open revolvers which take one less second? The Perk says it takes one second for 'every other' specialty which as written, includes break-open revolvers. I know what common sense might dictate but I like having a judgement I can point to on the forums.

Sure, point away.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Well, not really. The 1.6 lbs. weight for a 20-rd .308 Win magagazine is for a full magazine, not an empty one.

Well, applying the weight-per-shot from High-Tech p176 says those 20 rounds weigh 1.12lb, leaving the 20-round magazine as 0.48lb.

A 10-round magazine will be a bit more than half that, say 0.3lb? Then 0.56 lb for 10 rounds, makes 0.86lb total.

[gruundehn]

I take it you are talking about the M1 Carbine, not the M1 Garand rifle. The US Army has a stupid designation system. Each type of equipment is given a model number and the series starts from M1 for each type of equipment. Thus the M1 armored vehicle, the M1 rifle, the M1 carbine, etc.
From my memory of using the M1 rifle, it had a five-round clip that fed into the action not a 10-round magazine that hung out the bottom like on the M14 rifle. Also, the M1 rifle and the M14 rifle, IIRC, used slightly different ammunition that was not interchangeble. The M1 rifle used the 30-06 caliber and the M14 rifle used a NATO round which was just ever so slightly larger and heavier.
The M1 carbine used the same ammo as the M1 rifle.

[Sam Cade]

Originally Posted by gruundehn

From my memory of using the M1 rifle, it had a five-round clip that fed into the action not a 10-round magazine that hung out the bottom like on the M14 rifle.

Eight round enbloc clip.

Originally Posted by gruundehn

The M1 rifle used the 30-06 caliber and the M14 rifle used a NATO round which was just ever so slightly larger and heavier.
The M1 carbine used the same ammo as the M1 rifle.

No.

M1 Garand is .30-'06.

The M14 rifle is chambered in 7.62x51, a .30 caliber cartridge that replicates later military .30-'06 performance in a shorter more efficient package.

The M1 carbine uses .30 carbine, a short straight walled case and a light 110gr bullet.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by gruundehn

I take it you are talking about the M1 Carbine, not the M1 Garand rifle.

Originally Posted by Sam Cade

M1 Garand is .30-'06.

The M14 rifle is chambered in 7.62x51, a .30 caliber cartridge that replicates later military .30-'06 performance in a shorter more efficient package.

The M1 carbine uses .30 carbine, a short straight walled case and a light 110gr bullet.

And the OP was asking about the M1A Rifle.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by gruundehn

I take it you are talking about the M1 Carbine, not the M1 Garand rifle. The US Army has a stupid designation system. Each type of equipment is given a model number and the series starts from M1 for each type of equipment. Thus the M1 armored vehicle, the M1 rifle, the M1 carbine, etc.

That ended (mostly) during WWII. There weren't 112 armored personnel carriers before the M113, for instance. The Bradley and Abrams seem to have reset the counting back to low numbers, presumably because they saw no need to keep the unique numbering given the time since M1 et al had been used for anything.

However, the M1A (a marketing name, not a military designation) is the civilian verion of the M14, not a model of either Rifle, Caliber .30 M1 or Carbine, Caliber .30 M1.

[Curmudgeon]

Generally, it isn't safe to assume that cutting a magazine's capacity in half would result in halving the weight. I'll be using a FN magazine as the example but most box magazines have similar construction.

Let's strip the magazine and see what the components are. First, we depress the detent on the base of the magazine and slide the magazine's baseplate off, then remove the magazine spring. The magazine spring has two metal plates attached to it by tabs. The upper plate is the magazine platform, with a raised portion that staggers the rounds as they are loaded between the magazine lips. The bottom plate is a flat piece of metal with the detent molded into it. The spring and baseplate weigh roughly as much as the magazine shell (walls). The baseplate is slightly heavier than either the platform plate or the bottom plate. The bottom plate and platform plate certainly weigh as much together as the magazine spring and, if my memory serves me correctly, either plate individually, weighs roughly as much as the spring itself.

At a rough estimate, if the empty magazine weighs 0.48 lb., the magazine shell weighs 0.24 lb., the baseplate 0.06 lb., the spring either 0.06 lb and the top and bottom plates 0.06 lb. each or the spring weighs 0.08 lb. and the top and bottom plates 0.04 lb. each.

The only weight savings with the reduced capacity will be in the magazine shell and the spring proper, both of which will be close to halved. The reduced capacity weights would be: magazine shell 0.12 lb, baseplate 0.06 lb., magazine spring 0.03 lb. and platform and bottom plate 0.06 lb. or magazine spring 0.04 lb. and top and bottom plate 0.08 lb.

The total weight of the empty half-capacity magazine would be 0.27-0.30 lb.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Blood Legend

Since the 20 round mag for M14 weighs 1.6lb, can I safely assume a 10 round magazine would weigh .8lb?

Note the rule for calculating the weight and cost of custom magazines on HT p. 155. It is just a rule of thumb but may be easier than measuring a real example.

[Sam Cade]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

The upper plate is the magazine platform, with a raised portion that staggers the rounds as they are loaded between the magazine lips.

Follower.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/231...r-package-of-3

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

magazine shell

Usually just "body".
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/153...tainless-steel