Using Full-Size Magazines as a Reload for a Subcompact?

[revchuck38]

I recently bought my first subcompact autoloader, a Walther P99c in 9x19, for times when my full-size PX4 is too big to conveniently conceal. The standard mags hold ten rounds and are available, if somewhat pricey. I'm thinking about getting a couple of 15-round mags for the full-size version and using the sleeves available from Walther, similar to the setups available for the PX4 subcompact and the M&P compact, and using them for my reload mag. The obvious advantage is that it gives me an additional five rounds on board vs. the standard mag. Cost-wise it's a wash because I can get a full-size SW99 mag and the sleeve for about the same price as a P99c mag.

Is there a downside to this, or am I looking at a free lunch?

[43Under]

In my experience, the main downside is if you utilize on of those grip adapters on the spare mag, the type that fits on the bottom portion of the magazine and makes the grip feel more like the pistol's full-size cousin. These are generally the cause of painful blood blisters!

You also will want to be sure that your particular pistol functions well with the extended magazine especially when you apply pressure to them (I.e. using them to grip when firing).

[einherjarvalk]

I think if you're carrying one at all, you may as well go full size on the reload. I know one of the interesting bits John from Active Self Protection has taken away from doing his channel is that a reload has never once come into play in any of the CCW-involved gunfights he's seen.

However, I think there's definitely a case to be made for having one on you for malfunction clearing or to top off while you wait for police to arrive in the immediate aftermath of a DGU where you may not know if the person you just stopped has backup of his own coming. If you're going to have a mag for those reasons, there doesn't seem to be much downside to having as much ammo as you can. Statistics may say it's unnecessary but I personally don't like the idea of being an outlier here.

[TGS]

Personally I find it much easier to reload with a full size mag compared to a subcompact mag.

I don't think you're missing anything. One thing I would add is to consider not using the sleeve on the spare reload. They work great on a mag that is already seated in the gun, not so much on a reload because they have a tendency to shift position. The X-Grip I use for P30 mags in my P2000 does this, at least. If I were wearing one as a reload, it will have shifted somewhere down the mag body when I go to grab it, resulting in a fumbled reload to some degree.

The gun will work without using an adapter sleeve, so just ditch it for an EDC reload.

[1slow]

Reloading full size mags without sleeves helps prevent blood blisters. I found this out about 1998 when I went from GL21s to GL30s.

Short mags and big hands + fast reloads = blood blister. Plus if i need a reload, I need MORE ammo. Full sized mags for my big hands seem to handle better in a reload.

[willie]

I admit that I don't carry spare mags on my person. I keep a couple 33 rd stick mags in my vehicle when traveling with a Glock.

[03RN]

I carry 10rd Wilson mags when I carry a 1911, g17 mags with my g19, and 18 rd MEC gar mags with my m9A1 Compact.

I don't use the grip adapters either for the latter 2. Between getting skin caught and them shifting to induce a malfunction I'd rather go without.

[Duelist]

I think if you're carrying one at all, you may as well go full size on the reload. I know one of the interesting bits John from Active Self Protection has taken away from doing his channel is that a reload has never once come into play in any of the CCW-involved gunfights he's seen.

However, I think there's definitely a case to be made for having one on you for malfunction clearing or to top off while you wait for police to arrive in the immediate aftermath of a DGU where you may not know if the person you just stopped has backup of his own coming. If you're going to have a mag for those reasons, there doesn't seem to be much downside to having as much ammo as you can. Statistics may say it's unnecessary but I personally don't like the idea of being an outlier here.

I like John C and his work. I met him at a class we were both taking.

I don't care whether a reload has played a role in any of the videos he's found. I agree that the odds are against needing one, but the odds are against needing a gun, too. Most agree that you're more likely to run out of time than bullets. Again, I don't care. A reload isn't a huge burden, so when I carry a gun, whatever I'm carrying, I carry at least one reload for it. At the very least, I can have a full gun again after the fight is over.

In the past year, the vast majority of my carrying has been a G26.3 with a flat base plate 10rd magazine. The spare, most of the time, has been a 15rd G19 magazine with no sleeve. I have a couple of factory 12rd magazines with the extension, and one 10 with the +0 pinky extension. Blood blisters waiting to happen. The long G19 or G17 magazine sans sleeve slide right into the stubby little grip and cause no problems whatsoever. My pinky grabs onto that mag tube just fine, even without a sleeve on it.

[Balisong]

+1 on not bothering with a sleeve on a reload. When I carry my glock 27 I have a G22 mag as a reload. When I'm practicing with my USPc (transitioning it to my EDC) I have a P30 mag as a reload, although that's only 1 more round (in .40), but it's easier to grab in a hurry. The sleeves just add unnecessary bulk and as others have said can brutally pinch you. I think they're fine though as an option say on a dedicated nightstand magazine, if you need to use a compact/subcompact in a dual role where you slap in the sleeved magazine when you get home until you're ready to CCW it again

[David C.]

In the case of the P99c, the magazine adapter sleeve for the fullsize magazine acts as a magazine stop to prevent over-insertion with the shortened grip. Walther says to use the adapter to avoid damage to the ejector. See Section 4.2.1 of the P99 manual. Take the slide off the frame and insert a fullsize magazine and you will understand the issue.

For carry use, I would not sweat it and would carry the spare however I liked. For range use, I use the adapter.