It seems like over the last few years, the consensus on what types of AR mags (for 5.56) were the most reliable has shifted around somewhat. Maybe that’s not the case, but anyway that’s been my impression. For a while, it seemed like a lot of folks were leaning toward stainless (like those expensive HK mags) due to their overall strength, but then that fad went away, I think mostly due to the expense and weight of the HK mags. Then the rage was polymer mags, esp Magpul (of which I have a good supply). And they do seem like solid mags to me, I’ve never had any problems with them. But lately it appears that some have questioned the long term reliability of polymer mags, even Magpul’s, so you see a lot of folks returning to “classic” type milspec aluminum mags.
So, IS there any consensus lately on what types of mags are the most all-around reliable? If I want to stock up my long-term supply of mags, is the Magpul Pmag (or some similar polymer) still the all-around most reliable choice, or would I be better advised to balance my supply a bit, and return to a classic aluminum mag. Im talking about something like the milspec DSG/D&H/NHMTG mags, or an improved milspec mag like the Brownells versions.
In my shooting sessions I have yet to experience any malfunctions with PMAG’s. And of course as we have debated and discusses here 100 x people need to leave behind their love affair with their magazines.
I haven’t really seen a trend of people going back to USGI mags. I don’t see a reason they would. As far as long term reliability, I have 5 PMAGS that I have been having shooters at work use for the past year or so, these mags have app. 100,000 through the 5 of them and I’ve seen 0 strictly magazine related malfs.
As Iraqgunz said, you can’t be in love with your mags, they are a dispossable part of your kit, as soon as one gives you problems, you try rebuilding it and if that doesn’t work you toss it
+1
I used to try and refinish and rebuild magazines as if I had some sort of personal attachment to the mags.Well that was back during the AWB when high capacity mags were hard to come by for the most part.Those days gone,I generally treat mags as disposable items.Inspect,test and replace when no longer reliable.At the current price of aluminum mags today its not affordable to try and rebuild a magazine much less suffer with reliability issues that goes along with worn or damaged mags.
I generally just buy ten packs of aluminum USGI magazines from Bravo or DSG whenever I place an order.Rarely have I seen a defective new USGI magazine that was from a quality supplier other than just blatant defects.
For years I hated any of the polymer magazines due to past experiences with thermolds.But recently I broke down and tried a few PMAG’s and my initial gut feeling is that they are not easily damaged.For example I have not seen one of the PMAG’s spread from being loaded for a long period,and if dropped, stepped or fallen on they do not dent or deform.The PMAGs durability in that area gives them a huge advantage over the thin aluminum mags as that has been my primary failure point with magazines well before they wear out.
Other than normal wear and tear the only thing that I could see affecting the PMAG’s in the very long term would be heat,chemicals and environmentals.Basically the same issues with any magazine and when that day comes the magazine just needs to be replaced.
So buy a bunch…when they wear out replace them.
Never had an issue with any of the USGI style magazines I have. All are made by Bushmaster, CProducts, AR Stoner and some genuine USGI mags. Replaced the old ones with new springs, bases and followers.
I’ve run them through numerous law enforcement schools, qualifications, training events and general shooting. Not one magazine failure. Guess I didn’t need to jump on the Pmag bandwagon.
I’ve had problems with USGI mags. I replaced the followers and never had problems. Pmag’s are fantastic but I like to keep a nice mix of usgi mags w/ magpul followers and pmags.
I’ve not had any functional issues with BCM mags with Magpul followers, Magpul mags, and TangoDown ARC mags. I’ve had one structural breakage with Magpul mag that didn’t affect function. I’ve had functional problems with CP and Lancer mags.
I like my PMags very much. New purchases are PMags, almost without exception. I like my TD ARC mags as well, and have about two dozen in use. There’s no reason to throw away GI mags. I don’t buy many though, so they’ll eventually be gone through attrition.
The one thing I like about GI mags is that they are a little more size efficient. I prefer them in certain aps where space is at a premium.
Generally speaking you are paying almost the same for a quality aluminum mag as you would for a PMAG. The average PMAG price is about 13.00 and the average aluminum mag is about 10.00.
My favorite mags are NHMTG/Colt straight body 20rders and PMAG’s.
For some reason Ive NEVER had a single feeding issue with the 20rd mags. Can’t recall any with PMAG’s either.
CProducts mags…even with Magpul followers cause me all kinds of grief. I just threw 2 of them away this weekend because they keep causing jams. They are range only for me, and I am going to be tossing any that cause issues and replaced with PMAG’s.
In general, you should treat mags as semi disposable. Yes, you always want to recover your mags, but you should not have a heart attack if you loose one while running and gunning.
I like the USGI mags because I have tons of them. If they are USGI mags, make sure to check that the feed ramps are correct. Not all USGI contract mags are created equal. I have reconditioned my old mags and you can buy some beater mags in bulk from time to time from various surplus outfits. The main thing is to check the feed ramps. Just sort out the good ones, give them a shot of SFL, and replace the follower with the Magpul followers. In most cases, you will not have to replace the springs. But, should you need to replace the spring I like Wolff Springs or the braided springs from CMMG.
Ditto. Even after rebuilding the 10 Cprods I bought a few years ago, had nothing but problems. I shitcanned them. I own a lot of DSG, BCM and NHMTG USGI mags with Magpul followers, and over 100 Magpul mags.
I’m assuming you mean the feed lips. The ones that are obvious FAILS are easy to discard, but I can tell you from frustrating experience that sometimes magazines that look fine and have solid feed lips can still cause malfunctions. I had several, about 3 years ago, that didn’t have any visible or movable flaws in the feed lips but were causing malfunctions left and right. The classic magazine-induced doublefeed. I finally weeded through them and figured out which ones were bad, by trial and error.
I just shitcanned them. No sense trying to perform diagnosis and surgery on a $8 part.
I prefer to have a magazine that is functionally robust. I don’t just want it to work, I want it keep working after taking a beating, and the only magazine so far in my experience that sits head and shoulders above the others in that regard are PMags.
Rebuilt GI Mags with magpul follower and a good spring are good, but will not stand up to the abuse that a PMag can.
HK mags are good until a bit of force collapses the tube or bends the feedlips, which are not problems with the PMag.
PMAGS are by far the best polymer mag out there. HK mags are what like 50 bucks each. Probly the reason I only have one. Just stay away from the tapco mags. I saw a guy shooting his mini 14 with a tapco mag and it wouldnt even get half full before it started spitting out rounds.
This is a big attraction point to me. Have you had any issues with overinsertion? Magpul kind of warns about it, but I don’t know if it is just theoretical or real.
