AR-15 magazines

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As I mentioned in post #22 I dug out my 40 round Bushmaster magazine that had sat loaded with Wolf ammo in the bottom of a storage box for several years and took it out with me today.

Fed all 40 rounds in my Ruger SR556, but it didn't lock back on the last shot. This was only the fourth mag run thru the gun. I shot four more different mags afterwards and one of these four also failed to lock back. Don't know what to make of it at this point.

So I know my 40 round Bushmaster AR mag has fed all 40 at least twice in two different ARs.

--wally.
 
I own and have run USGI aluminum/teflon mags by Bravo, D&H, Brownells, DI, and Colt surplus (usually steel body).

I popped in magpul enhanced followers and never had another mag problem since.
 
Has anyone tried the 40rd bushmaster mags?
Click to expand...

I have one and have never had any issues with it...only shot maybe 4 times with it though..it is ofcourse a lot longer, kinda makes it look like an AK:D
 
I just bought 10 P-mags new for $95, free shipping. Do a Google search of P-Mag and see how they torture them. They drive over them with a pickup, and they still work. I'm sold.
 
Follow-up:

Took the Bushmaster 40 round mag out shooting again today loaded with 40 rounds of Wolf 55gr FMJ. Shot the Ruger SR-556 again and all forty rounds fed fine and the mag locked back on the last shot this time. I've had no more failures to lock back with the SR-556 since its got past about 200 rounds.

I'm really liking how clean this SR-556 is staying, a bit over 500 rounds now and its still in no danger of needing cleaning despite having shot only Wolf and Monarch steel cased ammo.

So I'd say the Bushmaster 40 round mag is probably OK if you really want such a thing. I don't care for the way the gun handles with it, so that's why I have only one.

--wally.
 
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pmags are hard to beat! i've got a good many c-products mags and i've never had a issue with them....and i have a BUNCH of old colt mags i rebuilt with brownells rebuild kits they work great also
 
And yet another vote for PMags.

Avoid the HK steel mags. They definitely don't say anything positive about "German engineering," managing to be both heavier and less durable than USGI aluminum mags (and not much improvement in terms of reliability, even before the feed lips bend and the magazine starts misfeeding constantly). For the civilian shooter, they're ridiculously overpriced, to boot.
 
If you have to have a steel magazine, these seem to be good and only $13:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catal...less-maritime-30rd-mag/cName/ar15-accessories

I picked up one a while back and it worked just fine.

Not sure I'd say that USGI are better than the H&K mags. Per the videos I posted above, the H&K is at least slightly better in the durability department. And I've had more than one new USGI mag not fit in my AR-15. But they are certainly heavier.

It doesn't hurt to have a mix of magazines and to try out a few different types, just make sure they work in your AR.


That said, I've never had an issue with a PMAG and they are the majority of what I use and buy extra of. And as I recall, the PMAGs were the hardest to find several months ago during the "stockpiling" rush.
 
Own a couple dozen (and have a fair amount of experience with about 75) AR Stoners from Midway at right at $10. per.. 20s & 30s
Haven't had a FTF or FTE in any of them, do own one ("handed off to me") that doesn't drop as it should, but all have worked.
All of these were purchased over a year ago,and the "mill" has it they're no longer made by the same supplier?
Might be worth a look though.
 
Read David Fortier's AR mag "Torture Test" article in the Nov 20 2009 Shotgun news. Pmags didn't do as well as the aluminum GI type mags from Brownells.

--wally.
 
Pmags and Lancers...the GI mags are fine but in my opinion they are "2nd tier" now that we have Pmag and Lancer.
 
Read David Fortier's AR mag "Torture Test" article in the Nov 20 2009 Shotgun news. Pmags didn't do as well as the aluminum GI type mags from Brownells.
Click to expand...

I'll take real world use with PMAGs vs. torture tests.
 
pmags are good stuff, but they're not magic. i've broken several of them.
 
I say Pmags are probably the best for the money. They aren't THAT much more than USGI mags unless you've found a really good source of them.

If you want higher capacity than 30 rounds, you're going to quickly run low on options. Tripp Research magazines come in 42 and 52 round varieties, and they have a REALLY good reputation, but you can have 10 USGI 30 rounders for the price of one Tripp magazine.
 
No mag is perfect, but some are more perfect than others.


How did you manage to break your PMAGs taliv? Just normal use or something catastrophic like barbecuing them?

Actually, that is a test I'm pretty sure the PMAG wouldn't pass. The steel and aluminum mags would probably survive better in a fire than the PMAGs would.
 
Yep. I just bought 30 more pmags today from palmetto and I buy all my aluminum mags from bravo. I try to keep a 50/50 mix of d&h and pmags.


I mostly wish magpul would get off their butts and sell me some sr25 mags. Much as I love sending hard earned money to kac, I'm tired of paying >$100 for quality 308 mags
 
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