Which AR-15 5.56 magazines are best?

[Appalachained]

I use Pmags and Brownell's GI mags with the Magpul followers. If I had to pick one it would be the Brownell's.

[Drang]

I might as well ask a silly n00b question* while I'm at it: 30 rounds vs 20 rounds. Any words of wisdom on the subject?

I keep finding 20 rounders that somehow followed me home from the Army.
I always liked the 20 rounders, it wasn't like I was expecting to fight the battle of Falujah (not that anyone was at the time, but you know what I mean.) For one thing, 20 round magazines never had the reliability issues that 30 rounder do/did.

[That Guy]

Are C-Products 30 round .223 magazines, either aluminium or steel, good quality?

[Josh Runkle]

I've personally had very bad experiences over the last few years with the Magpul 30 rounders. They've worn out very quickly, and I've had various feeding issues, despite the fact that I still only load to 28 rounds. These were shot in various guns, suppressed about 90% of the time.

I have had zero issues with metal magazines with Magpul followers. So, I've ended up just replacing the springs and followers in a lot of old mags, but nowadays, it's cheaper to buy a whole mag with a Magpul follower, than it is to replace the springs and followers. I've used various companies, and had zero issues with the metal mags, as long as they had Magpul followers.

*I'm not an expert in this area, this is just my subjective experience.

[GJM]

I have been using these:


http://www.44mag.com/product/nhmtg_m...ar15_magazines


Sent from my iPad

[Dave J]

Are C-Products 30 round .223 magazines, either aluminium or steel, good quality?

I've never used a C-products mag in 5.56mm, but I do have some in 6.8 that I use as range mags. They've worked OK so far, but for a 5.56mm gun I can't see any logical reason to choose them over USGI aluminum mags.

[Clusterfrack]

I've personally had very bad experiences over the last few years with the Magpul 30 rounders. They've worn out very quickly, and I've had various feeding issues, despite the fact that I still only load to 28 rounds. These were shot in various guns, suppressed about 90% of the time.

I have had zero issues with metal magazines with Magpul followers. So, I've ended up just replacing the springs and followers in a lot of old mags, but nowadays, it's cheaper to buy a whole mag with a Magpul follower, than it is to replace the springs and followers. I've used various companies, and had zero issues with the metal mags, as long as they had Magpul followers.

*I'm not an expert in this area, this is just my subjective experience.

Josh, how did they wear out?

I've also had problems with PMags while shooting suppressed. Suppressor crud seems to cause feed malfunctions and very stiff insertion, even when downloaded to 28. For this reason, I'm using mainly Lancer AWMs.

In my experience, the C-Products steel mags work fine, but the feed lips are super sharp and cut fingers.

[Josh Runkle]

Josh, how did they wear out?

I've also had problems with PMags while shooting suppressed. Suppressor crud seems to cause feed malfunctions and very stiff insertion, even when downloaded to 28. For this reason, I'm using mainly Lancer AWMs.

In my experience, the C-Products steel mags work fine, but the feed lips are super sharp and cut fingers.

Mine mirror yours. When suppressed, the front of the magazine (Pmag) seems to hold a lot of "grit" and slow down/catch the bullet as it is moving forward.

[Default.mp3]

Mine mirror yours. When suppressed, the front of the magazine (Pmag) seems to hold a lot of "grit" and slow down/catch the bullet as it is moving forward.

Which generation PMAG did you have these issues with?

[Josh Runkle]

Which generation PMAG did you have these issues with?

5 out of 6 pmags from gen 1, 8 out of 12 from gen 2, 11 out of 12 from gen 3.