Almost all rifle owners, if not all of them, are proud of their guns and their equipment. Otherwise, why would they own any of it? Many care so deeply about their possessions that they could accurately (and endearingly!) be dubbed “neat freaks” regarding their treatment. They devote hours to cleaning everything each week or after each use. They purchase specialized accessories to protect their weapons from dust, rust, residue, grime, and other threats. If they do it right, then nothing leaves a mark for long.
Yet sometimes, marking certain pieces of equipment can actually come in handy. Professionals, long-time rifle fans, and suppliers like us would recommend that you mark your magazines. Certain neat freaks may balk at the idea of intentionally staining their state-of-the-art clips, even with a superficial scribble or coloration on the surface. No one has to do it, but we can think of three reasons for why you should mark your magazines anyway.
1. Knowing Which Magazines Are Yours
When you go out on the range or in the bush with a few friends, you might all end up firing many rounds. Naturally, this will result in all of you dropping a lot of empty magazines as you run and shoot. They will line the ground when the clips come off, and they may even bounce or otherwise scatter away from the shooter. It is a natural part of the revelry, not unlike when children toss toys around the house while playing.
Of course, when the revelry is over, clean-up must begin. Magazines can cost quite a lot, so you will want to retrace your steps and pick up your gear from the ground. That process can be enough of a hassle as is, but it can be more annoying if the magazines are practically identical in appearance. You can only ask or hear the question, “Is this one yours or mine?” so many times before you realize that things could be better.
You can save yourself a great deal of trouble simply by marking the magazines that you own. All you need is a marker — preferably a permanent one if you plan on keeping your clips. Writing your name is an easy way to distinguish the ones that belong to you, though you can totally personalize them with symbols or doodles. As long as they do not match any marks on your mates’ magazines, you should be good to go.
2. Knowing Which Magazines Are For Practice
Anyone who is still skeptical about marking may argue the previous point by noting that there are other ways to distinguish your magazines from others. This point rings true — here at My Southern Tactical, we sell custom p-mags for that very reason. With that said, we can think of at least a couple of reasons for why you might want to distinguish some of your clips from some of your other clips. One major reason is for knowing which ones you use for which purposes.
Many rifle owners who want to join competitions or simply want to be good at using their weapon use certain magazines specifically for practice. They work on how quickly they can replace empty clips with new ones, and they let those empty clips fall without catching them. A funny thing happens when a clip hits the ground too many times: it can become scratched, dented, or even damaged. They can still be useful, but just not at the range.
You may want to avoid using all your magazines while practicing your reloading for this very reason. No one with intentions of winning a contest would want to go out with defective equipment. You can separate the practice materials from the regular gear by marking them as such. Jot a little “P” for practice, or something else that will remind you not to bring the magazine with you.
3. Knowing Which Magazines Are Malfunctioning
On that note, magazines can become defective even without being used for reloading practice. Sadly, even the most exemplary and well-crafted of these devices only have so long a shelf life. Over time, they will stop working as well as they once did. After a few too many uses, they will start to malfunction in ways that make them unusable — or worse, dangerous to use at all. The manufacturers of rifle parts and accessories do their best to extend their longevity, but nothing lasts forever.
You should mark your magazines right away if you find that one of them is defective, or even starting to slip in quality. As we wrote before, you only want to take your best equipment into the field or the range. A failure to separate your malfunctioning magazines from your other gear could result in you accidentally taking the wrong stuff to the range or the field. Using that marker could stop you from making a tactical and potentially injurious mistake.
Some may ask why they cannot just replace it immediately. To that, we say that his precaution is important especially for that reason. Not everyone can drop everything and buy a new magazine from a store when an old one goes bust. People who order their equipment online will have to wait for their new purchase to arrive. In the meantime, they should still mark the stuff that needs replacing.
Order and Mark Your Magazines Today!
We at My Southern Tactical would recommend that you mark your magazines for these three reasons, among other good ones. Whether you distinguish them for practice, precautions, or personalization, you would save yourself some trouble in the long run. You would also spare your friends, colleagues, and competitors of unnecessary trouble. This one small deed that takes seconds to do can have big benefits to a lot of people.
We do not sell any markers here at My Southern Tactical — any Sharpie you have at home would suffice. We do, however, sell plenty of magazines, including ones with original and custom designs that will stand out from the crowd. Feel free to drop by today and get a glimpse of our clips, especially if you need a replacement.