Thoughts on AR Magazines

[Dead Roman]

I run pmags and I shove rounds in till i cant get any more in. Leave em loaded at all times.


The fact that flamethrowers exist is proof that someone thought “I want to set those people on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done”.

 

[zackmars]

Lancer. Followed by USGI aluminum. Stay away from steel.

Pmags vary in size quite a bit, and its not uncommon for them to not play well with perdectly in-spec guns. While they are very reliable, they don't hold up well to long term loaded storage. Even a MCT m3 mag had a large amount of spread, and won't drop free any more after just one year

With a padded baseplate, and good follower, USGI is hard to beat

 

[DoubleDuty]

The dust covers keep dust out and protect the feed lips from getting dinged up in your range bag. They don't fix the long term storage problems. Get Lancers if you want to keep that from happening.

 

[smittyb]

I will third L5’s, if you don’t mind paying $20 a mag.

 

[subseashooter]

Welcome back SSS! I was actually just recently wondering where you had been.
No worries if you use the snap on p-mag covers. Problem is, most places started selling the MOE version, because they are cheaper, that don’t come with the cover.

Thank you Sir!! Life has been a bit crazy....got a family now!! Young'uns keeping me hopping!!

Out of curiosity, do you under load, or fill your mags to capacity?

Capacity.

It was my understanding that keeping the springs compressed would cause no issue, but that cycling them.....unloading and reloading....would eventually weaken the spring.


Then I read about the lips spreading, and that set my mind on fire. V

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[subseashooter]

I will third L5’s, if you don’t mind paying $20 a mag.

For $20 per, I can buy almost 3 times the PMAGs and throw them away every 18 months, LOL!!

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[subseashooter]

No, I'm not frugal.


I'm doggone CHEAP.

LOL!!

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[smittyb]

Thank you Sir!! Life has been a bit crazy....got a family now!! Young'uns keeping me hopping!!Tapatalk

Awesome!!
I knew you got married, but don’t think I knew you had Little ones!!!
We need to go shooting!!

 

[candcallen]

Awesome!!
I knew you got married, but don’t think I knew you had Little ones!!!
We need to go shooting!!

First comes love then comes marriage then comes the baby.....

 

[subseashooter]

Awesome!!
I knew you got married, but don’t think I knew you had Little ones!!!
We need to go shooting!!

Yes sir!! I'm up to 2 now!!

Definitely need to get some range time in!

Drop me a line and let's get together!

First comes love then comes marriage then comes the baby.....

So many horrid jokes I wanna make....

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[candcallen]

All mags have pros n cons. I find, like in so many things, people go thru a common evolution of learning and understanding.

It wasnt that long ago that mags wernt cheap. Even after the ban sunset it took a few years to get production ramped up. Cheap mags were cheap crap and people learned the hard way that you dont scrimp on mags.

With CNC machines and robotic welding and the explosion of ARs we have USGI mags that can be found in the 5 to 7 dollar range, if you buy them right, because the demand has drawn former military suppliers into the private market. C-products and D&H both trace roots back to mil spec suppliers tooling manufacturing and QC.

Thanks to magpul and their follower there is no reason for usgi mags not to be perfect function wise. The tilting followers on usgi mags are something most folks nowadays never heard of. They also didnt know the round and gun, unlike AKs, were designed to feed from a straight mag which is why they had these issues when they went to 30 round mags with the curve and origional followers. It's why people used to only use 20rd usgi mags and even those had spring issues.

None of these problems exist today. Magpul followers and upgraded springs make usgi mags bullet proof. They also dont split open or spontaneously unload if dropped on a hard surface like origional magpul mags did, and many plastic mags still do. Yes I know magpul fixed this and lancer with their metal feed lips never had this problem. Still without reinforcement by way of metal feed lips and or liners we can get spreading issues. Rare but it happens and is why glock added a liner and everyone else still uses metal mags or mag liners.

Usgi is both a noun and adjective nowadays. You have the origional usgi suppliers and the mil spec construction methods. As long as you know what your looking for you can avoid the millions of cheap crapy mags with no names or counterfeit floor plates. Learn how feed lips are supposed to be formed especially at the corners and welding is supposed to be and you will never buy a bad mag again.

Even magpuls followers are counterfeit now days so buy from trusted sellers. Though it's hard to screw the form up the function and formulation of the material used in counterfeit followers can cause drag and ftf issues. Again rare. I did buy what turned out to be counterfeit magpul followers from an ebay seller. So I only buy followers and springs from the big companies now. They are cheap and you should always keep a supply on hand.

Finally I only leave usgi mags loaded and if I didnt purchase them new I always buy new modern springs. I have no compunction about magpul mags and wouldnt think twice about their quality but unless and until they add some sort of metal liner or feed lips like lancer the chance that they will streach or split is not one to take. After all that's why we go thru this dance about mag quality to begin with. To limit the shit that could kill you for lack of shooting back if the time comes. You want to be found dead on a pile of steaming brass and empty mags not with half empty jammed mags and in the middle of a clearance drill.

There is no reason nowadays to experience any issues from the AR. A Good BCG and good mags will last you a lifetime and be sewing machine like in its operation.

We are spoiled today as shooters. The finished are nearly care free. Rifles all come from the factory shooting better than most of us can and 1911s dont require a trip to a gun smith to be both reliable and accurate. I love it.

Oh and people spend years trying to find away to make a glock undependable or damaged to the point of needing repair.

 

[candcallen]

Yes sir!! I'm up to 2 now!!

Definitely need to get some range time in!

Drop me a line and let's get together!So many horrid jokes I wanna make....

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Go ahead, swing away. Lol

 

[Mowingmaniac 24/7]

I understand the philosophy of 'you can never have enough magazines' but at some point there's a point of diminishing returns if you run out of storage room or go ahead and admit you're a hoarder of the kind an intervention is called for......?

When do you say I finally have enough to hold me?

 

[smittyb]

I understand the philosophy of 'you can never have enough magazines' but at some point there's a point of diminishing returns if you run out of storage room or go ahead and admit you're a hoarder of the kind an intervention is called for......?

When do you say I finally have enough to hold me?

I might be there. It would take a hell of a deal to get me interested in more AR mags.

 

[baboon]

I have a box of 20 Colt marked 30 round mags new in the wrapper that were $8.00 each when I bought them.

 

[Bozz10mm]

I understand the philosophy of 'you can never have enough magazines' but at some point there's a point of diminishing returns if you run out of storage room or go ahead and admit you're a hoarder of the kind an intervention is called for......?

When do you say I finally have enough to hold me?

I have way more than I'll ever use, somewhere around 40. Various brands, Pmag Gen 2 and 3, windowed and windowless, Lancer, Brownell, D&H. 20 and 30 round. I still think about buying more when I see a sale. The range I go to doesn't allow off hand shooting on the rifle range, bench rest only, so the 20 round mags get the most use. I keep a few 30 rounders loaded at home for whatever. Those are the Lancers. No worries about deformed lips. The clear smoked plastic allows a quick check of remaining ammo.

 

[Dawico]

Wait, you guys own more than one AR magazine?

When did that become a thing.......

 

[Whistler]

Wierd how it goes. Know a guy with one AR, has at least 2 cases of mags, I own... let's just say more than one and have maybe a dozen mags? Do not like pmags, plastic mags 'feel' cheap and flimsy to me. FWIW I usually leave them loaded.

 

[zackmars]

I will third L5’s, if you don’t mind paying $20 a mag.

For the clear ones, maybe. Solid colors are easy to find for 15$ or less

 

[smittyb]

For the clear ones, maybe. Solid colors are easy to find for 15$ or less

Apparently it has been a while since I shopped for any. I didn't totally believe you, so I checked for myself.

WWW.Midwayusa.com has black L5's for 11.99 each, plus free shipping over $49.
@subseashooter here is your answer. I would jump on this if I didn't just find a box of 10 unopened pmags in my closet this morning looking for ammo.