Double column magazine

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A double column 9x19mm pistol magazine.

A double column magazine (sometimes also referred to as "double stack") is a magazine in which cartridges are stored in two side by side stacks, offset by one half cartridge height and resting against one another.

Older firearms used the simpler single column magazine where only a single stack or column of cartridges is stored in the magazine box.

Double column magazines roughly double the number of rounds which can be stored in the same vertical height of magazine space. They also roughly double the width of the magazine. For semi-automatic pistols, this means that the handgrip with the magazine inside it is significantly wider as well. These larger handgrips are a factor in user comfort, and ability to safely hold and properly operate larger double column magazine handguns.

Double column magazines also are more prone to jam than single column magazines. More force is exerted outwards against the magazine wall by ammunition cartridges in the two-column geometry.

Double column magazines for semi-automatic pistols typically transition from single column at the top of the magazine, having a single feed position for ammunition, into double column further down the magazine's height. This transition can also cause additional jamming.

Double column magazines for rifles and submachine guns typically have two feed positions and are double column throughout their height.

A double double stack, four column magazine- 50 round box magazine- in available in the Spectre M4.

Double column magazine

See also