G-MAG

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

I did this write-up on a different forum, but figured I’d share it here as well.

As some of you may know, there is a product called G-MAG available in Europe. G-MAG, as far as I know, stands for “German Magazine.” The G-MAG:s are made by Cerberus GmbH, which is a subsidiary to Oberland Defence GmbH - and not to be confused with Cerberus Capital Management, LP.

This is what Oberland says about the G-MAG:s:

The G-Mag is not a Magpul-Product, nor is it licensed by Magpul Ind. in any way or did Magpul Ind. provide any help and assistance in developing this magazine. The G-Mag will only be distributed to civilian customers in Germany and Europe. Worldwide distribution is limited as an OEM product, only together with an Oberland Arms rifle.

I picked up an Oberland Arms OA-15 Black Label 20" before X-mas, and a G-MAG 30-rounder was included with it. I’ve also purchased some PMAG’s (M-revision with maglevel), so I snapped some side-by-side shots. As far as I can tell the G-MAG:s are still being made in accordance with Magpul PMAG gen1.

PMAG on the left, G-MAG loaded with 5 dummies:

Close-up of level markings on PMAG, and lack thereof on G-MAG:

Date stamp on PMAG:

Date stamp on G-MAG:

Impact Cover notch on bottom of PMAG - lacking on G-MAG

Front straps; PMAG on left:

Rear straps; PMAG on right:

Impact Covers; PMAG on left:

Inside of Impact Covers; PMAG on left:

Close-up of PMAG Impact Cover inside markings:

Close-up of G-MAG Impact Cover - no inside markings:

Feed lips and carriers; PMAG on the right:

Floor plates; PMAG on the left:

2

I guess you wouldn’t need Magpul’s help or assistance in design if you’re just going to copy-paste and sell it as your own…

-B

3

B,

I doubt that that is the case. The West Germans were stockpiling pre-loaded plastic G3 magazines during the Cold War. One might better ask where Magpul got their idea from.

Regardless, I love my Magpul mags…

4

I dunno. There’s a difference between, “let’s make a polymer mag” and “let’s make a polymer mag exactly like theirs”. Pmags and those old G3 mags have extremely little in common. The Pmag and Gmag, on the other hand, look like the same design with different branding.

-B

5

I would say the G-MAG is straight copy for the international market. Magpul, for whatever reason, has decided not to pursue this matter. Either way; I’m buying Magpul.

6

It does indeed appear to be almost a direct copy. I imagine it’s well made though.

7

Looks like an early gen 1 or gen 2 pmag. Maybe Magpul sold then a license to produce them.

8

Ether way, Magpul just came out with a new design.

9

I’ve had one for a few years

10

And how do you like it? Pros? Cons?

11

It appears not to be an exact copy. where did you get it?

12

It’s a straight copy of the first generation PMAG - not current generation.

13

FYI; I’ve never heard of one of these failing, but then again AR:s haven’t been very common here until the past two years - and we don’t run them as hard as you do in the U.S. (ammo pricing - $0.45-0.60 per cartridge - and range suitability are the two main factors).

14

per findings on another “AR” forum someone (supposively from Magpul and/or related to, posted the following)

Magpul [Industry Partner]6/16/2009 1:44:42 AM
In short the Oberland Arms’ GMAG magazine is a German reversed engineered version of the PMag.

That said Oberland Arms did inform us of their intent to copy the PMag and we expressed no interest in taking the matter to court so long as GMags we not imported into the US and/or there was no confusion in the marketplace.

Magpul did not license the design nor did we give any technical information on how to build the PMag . As such we do not receive any funds from GMAG sales.

So our “approval” comes from being inactive on the issue in Germany.

Because Oberland received no technical information they were unaware of the newer M rev PMag until it was publicly released at SHOT show. This is why their version is based on the earlier PMag design.

They also had to estimate what materials were used and how the entire molding process was put together. We will not comment on their results because that might be seen as giving information, but needless to say there are notable differences in materials and final geometry between the PMag and GMag.

This is not the first time elements of the PMag have been copied and so long as the GMag is serving only the German market we wish them the best.

15

Don’t they make a translucent version as well? Damn I wish Magpul would release the T-Mag…

16

They do.

Image courtesy of and linked to Oberland Arms

17

Meanwhile, stateside…

Promag makes a 30 and 42rd “Pmag” of their own that’s extremely similar (at least cosmetically) to Magpul’s.

18

I’d buy a couple to put through their paces if they were a little less than a Pmag, or whatever, but it’s 100% pointless to spend more than I would on a Pmag. Where can I buy a couple on the cheap?

19

Don’t know if there are any European vendors who will ship them to the U.S.

Sent using Tapatalk

20

Magpul gave Oberland the OK for the production of those mags