A high-capacity magazine (or large-capacity magazine) is a

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

capable of holding a higher than normal number of

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

rounds for a particular

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

(i.e. more than in a standard magazine for that firearm). A magazine may also be defined as high-capacity in a legal sense, based on the number of rounds that are allowed by law in a particular jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, the now-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 restricted magazines that could hold more than ten cartridges.

Types, characteristics, and manufacturers

Drum magazine A drum magazine is a type of high-capacity magazine for firearms. Cylindrical in shape (similar to a drum), drum magazines store rounds in a spiral around the center of the magazine, facing the direction of the barrel. Drum magazines are contra ...

s are high-capacity magazines that are in a cylindrical shape; they once had a reputation for unreliability, but technological improvements resulted in better performance and cheaper cost.Ben Kesling & Zusha Elinson
Mass Shootings Draw Attention to 'Drum Magazines'
''Wall Street Journal'' (August 16, 2019). As a result, drum magazines became more common in the civilian market in the United States, although they are far less common than standard, lower-capacity, typically 30 round, box magazines. As of 2019, about six manufacturers produced drum magazine in the United States, retailing for about $100 each. Manufacturers include KCI USA and Magpul Industries; the latter produces the same drum magazines for both civilian and military use. Magazines larger than standard capacity have been reported to malfunction more often.

Legal status

Canada

In Canada, magazines designed for use in semi-automatic centrefire rifles and semi-automatic shotguns are limited to 5 rounds, and magazines designed for use in handguns are limited to 10 rounds. Magazines designed for use in semi-automatic rimfire rifles, as well as manually operated long guns, are exempt from the magazine capacity restrictions.

Australia

In Australia, handgun magazines holding more than ten rounds as well as rifle magazines holding more than 15 rounds are heavily restricted.

United States

Federal law

Between 1994 and 2004, the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which included a ban on high-capacity magazines, was in effect. It prohibited new magazines over 10 rounds in the United States. After the expiration of the ban, there is no nationwide prohibition against the possession of high-capacity magazines, which are considered an unregulated firearm accessory. Legislation to restore a federal high-capacity magazine ban has been repeatedly introduced by Democrats in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

since the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, especially in the wake of

mass shootings in the United States Mass shootings are incidents involving multiple victims of Gun violence in the United States, firearm related violence. Definitions vary, with no single, broadly accepted definition. One definition is an act of public firearm violence—exclud ...

in which high-capacity magazines were used, including the Tucson shooting (2011), the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting (2012), and the Harvest music festival shooting (2017). These efforts have been thus far unsuccessful. The federal Keep Americans Safe Act, which would restore the ban on new magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, passed the House Judiciary Committee in September 2019.

State laws

As of 2019, nine states and the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

set a maximum limit on the capacity of magazines for at least some firearms.Griff Witte
As mass shootings rise, experts say high-capacity magazines should be the focus
''Washington Post'' (August 18, 2019).Large Capacity Magazines
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The nine states with high-capacity-magazine limitations are

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

( Proposition 63, passed in 2016),

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, New York, and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Hawaii's magazine-size limitation only applies to handguns; the laws in the other eight states and D.C. apply to all types of guns. All of the ten jurisdictions with magazine-size limits set the maximum at 10 rounds, except for Colorado (which sets a maximum of 15 rounds) and Vermont (which sets a maximum of 15 rounds for handguns and 10 rounds for long-guns). The types of acts prohibited vary among the ten jurisdictions; most prohibit manufacturer, sale, or possession, but some states' laws are narrower (Maryland law does not ban possession of high-capacity magazines) while other states' laws are broader (some states also ban the transfer, transportation, or acquisition of high-capacity magazines). Some states' laws include "grandfather" pre-ban high-capacity magazines, exempting these from their law, while other states' laws do not. The constitutionality of high-capacity magazine bans has been repeatedly upheld by United States courts of appeal courts, including the courts of appeals for the First Circuit, Second Circuit, Third Circuit,

Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

, Seventh Circuit, Ninth Circuit, and D.C. Circuit. The

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

has issued grant, vacate, and remand orders for the active cases in the Third, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits to be reconsidered in light of '' New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen''.