These are my go-to plastic mags. I have some "pre-ban" AR's that won't drop Magpuls, but the Arcs drop free every time.Originally Posted by SLG
These are my go-to plastic mags. I have some "pre-ban" AR's that won't drop Magpuls, but the Arcs drop free every time.
This happens consistently with a few of my Magpul mags. I've had no similar problems with GI mags.Here's another reason PMags aren't my first choice: the second round can tip up, causing very tough insertion:
Several years ago, we were troubleshooting our frankenguns at work. The problem was basically a lot of tolerance stacking enhanced by bullet shape. I spent a lot of time with micrometers and different magazines, trying to figure out the problem. I found that the Magpuls presented the top round a bit higher by a few thousandths and that difference made them 100% reliable versus the others we tried including GI aluminium magazines.
Last edited by John Hearne; 06-02-2016 at 08:23 PM.
- It's not the odds, it's the stakes.
- If you aren't dry practicing every week, you're not serious.....
- "Tache-Psyche Effect - a polite way of saying 'You suck.' " - GG
I have about 15 BCM brand D&H magazines with magpul followers that I used for shooting matches and just shooting.
I have about 60+ PSA brand D&H Magazines with magpul followers that I haven't used (but I only had the 15 above BCM brand D&H magazines when Sandy Hook happened and I realized I needed to continually buy more as long as I was able to).
After hearing complaints about PSA D&H magazines not being quality; I picked (at the time) a newly manufactured one and said I'd test it until destruction. That means it'll be the first magazine used and dropped on the ground in a match, and that means it'll be the only magazine shot at the range when I go.
I have approximately 330 rounds through that magazine now including Independence 55gr 5.56x45mm (20), Federal American Eagle XM193 55 gr 5.56x45mm (225), PMC X-Tac XM193 55 gr 5.56x45mm (40), and Federal Lake City Marked XM193 (Crimped Primer) (40) rounds, and 77 gr Black Hills TMK 5.56x45mm (5) through a 12.5'' SBR Carbine length with H2 buffer, 16'' BCM Midlength upper on a lower with an A5H2 buffer (I had one FTE I believe caused by the A5 extension; I re-inserted the round into the magazine after ejecting and fired), and a 16'' BCM Midlength upper with a BCM lower with an H buffer.
Other than the lone above failure to extract which I think is attributable to the midlength gas and heavier H2 A5 (5.33 ounce) buffer for reference BCM's standard A5 buffer is an H0 (3.8 ounce). I have not experienced any other types of failure with D&H magazines with Magpul Followers (had a few issues with out the gate with green followers that was immediately remedied by magpul followers), and there's probably around 10,000 rounds through that magazine type in my hands over about 7 years. I also use predominantly wolf .223 Remington.
Some guys swear by NHTMG, I personally haven't used them. I've seen people load 31 rounds into magpul Pmags and stop the magazine cold along with other issues; I personally won't be buying anymore (I have 2 M2's). I would try the other magazines cited here (the ARC) magazines, but they're double the cost and if I have a known good, why bother?
They're currently on sale for $7. http://palmettostatearmory.com/d-h-5...zine-8416.html
God Bless,
Brandon
ETA: I forgot to mention the FTE was when using Independence Ammo which is known for being spotty velocity/quality wise; I fired the rest of the magazine through that same upper/lower with no issue.
ETA 2: Here's an article detailing (surprise) Independence's highly variable velocity speeds. http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...-independence/. Seems as high as 69 fps difference between rounds; I bought it years ago and just wanted to get rid of it.
Last edited by BWT; 06-02-2016 at 09:09 PM.
The gen 2 versions ?
The Gen 1s were hit or miss - worked great in my S&W AR but would not run in my personal or work issued Colts.
At the CBP armory we switched to gen 3 Pmags for test firing about a year ago. Over that time each mag has average over 1100 rounds with no mag related failures. So I’m kind of sold on Pmags.
What amount suppressed? I'm thinking the PMAG issues may largely be related to suppressed DI SBRs/SMGs. I think the material "soaks up" unburnt powder/gunk. Also, do you follow a magazine maintenance schedule?
No suppressor use.
We don’t do any cleaning or maintenance. The idea was to use them until they stopped working.
I believe they only make the gen 2's now. I never used the gen 1's, so I only have experience with the current ones. I really like them.
We issue the steel version of these. They are junk. They are needlessly heavy and the feed lips are prone to spreading just from being kept loaded 24/7—not to the point where they're causing double feeds, but enough that they won't reliably drop free. The followers are not anti-tilt, and on several occasions I have personally witnessed the followers binding up inside the magazines, preventing feeding. We have probably 2000+ magazines in use at the site, so it's a decent sample size.
We have been evaluation the M3 PMAG for almost two years now at our range, and we have had zero—as in not one—magazine-related malfunction during live-fire training since switching to those. We have probably 50 of them in use, and we shoot a combined total of around 70,000 rounds per year of .223. That's not a lot at roughly 1,400 rounds per magazine per year, but it's not nothing.
Personally, I've been using D&H magazines with Magpul followers for training (either DSG or BCM-branded). I prefer them to the PMAGs, as they are subjectively easier to seat in my rifles. I also find that they are much easier to pull out of a mag pouch compared to the PMAGs with their ribbed sides and over-insertion stops.
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