AR Mags - USGI Mags

[BobTheTomato]

I have what might sound like a dumb question about AR mags. I have traditionally bought Pmags but have heard a lot of people mention USGI mags which are said to be very reliable. What exactly constitutes a USGI mag? When I get the CDNN email they have c products mags which are metal. Some are Asian MFG (I assume Korean). So what does one look for to get a good metal AR-15 30 round mag?

 

[spazzymcgee]

USGI mags are just the magazines that are issued to the military. Sometimes you can find them surplus, or you can buy those magazines new from the manufacturers. Okay Industries, C Products, and Magpul are all contractors for US issue AR platform magazines. I've seen C Products and Magpul on the commercial market.

What you're looking for in a metal AR mag is reliability, fit, and finish. A lot of it is just preference. For metal magazines I think ASC are pretty nice, as I like the smoother finishes. So it really comes down to you trying a lot of different styles and brands. I personally like Lancer and Magpul, but have a few metal magazines from when I've found deals on them.

 

[AlexanderA]

For GI 30-round magazines, you should pay attention to the followers. The very first followers were dark green plastic, with a drawing number printed on them in white letters. These are now considered collectors' items, and can bring good money.

Then came black plastic followers, then light green ones, and finally tan. The black followers should be replaced because they are liable to kink. The light green and tan ones are good, although the military only uses the tan ones for combat, and allows the green ones only for range use.

There is also a newer anti-tilt system that involves both a special follower and a special spring. These have to be installed together.

Brownell's sells a good GI 30-round magazine with a tan follower. You can get replacement followers in bulk.

 

[Steve in PA]

I have about 35 30-round USGI mags and about 10 20-round USGI mags. I replaced all followers if they did not come with the improved followers. Never an issue or worry.

 

[AlexanderA]

I have about 35 30-round USGI mags and about 10 20-round USGI mags. I replaced all followers if they did not come with the improved followers. Never an issue or worry.

Note that the anti-tilt followers only apply to the 30-round mags. You can use the newer anti-tilt followers in 20-round mags, but they take up more space and therefore cut the capacity to less than 20 rounds. Besides that they are not necessary in the straight-sided 20-round mags. The original metal followers are fine in those mags.

 

[burrhead]

Go here.

https://www.44mag.com/

Okays are AOK
https://www.44mag.com/category/okay-industries

 

[Rubber_Duck]

USGI mags in recent times are made by Okay Industries, NHMTG, and Colt (all three being one and the same), and Brownells. All are good to go.

The Okay Industries 30-round magazine with the black Teflon finish and a Magpul gen III follower is the best metal magazine you can get for the AR-15 in my opinion. Okay offers a choice between black Teflon or mil-spec dry film finish but the mil-spec finish looks like crap after one use while the Teflon will still look great after a lot of use. For 20-rounders go with Okay/NHMTG as well, the 20s are great to keep in the gun when riding in vehicles for less bulk while keeping 30s in your plate carrier for your reloads.

I used some HK Maritime magazines overseas and they were junk. I mention them because I have some Korean-made knockoffs of the HK mags (called the Victory SA80 magazine) and they have performed much better than the real HKs. I only use them as range/training mags but they are impressive as far as quality of the finish and the sturdiness of the steel body, they're not flimsy like the stainless steel USGI-style mags offered by C-Products or ASC.

 

[carbine85]

There are a lot of green follower surplus mags around. I bought a few in Louisville at a gun for $8 each. Two of them came with Magpuls. They work just fine for range work.

 

[bannockburn]

BobTheTomato

Back in the day some of the GI AR magazines that could have problems seemed to be those made by Adventureline. Just about everything else, Colt, Okay, Simmonds, and Thermold, were all good to go.

 

[Steve in PA]

Yes, only the followers in the 30-round magazines were replaced.

 

[AlexanderA]

Another thing worth mentioning is the all-steel 40-round magazine made by Sterling back in the day, and designed to fit both the AR-15 and the AR-180. By reputation, this is the only 40-round magazine that is absolutely reliable. These are hard to find, and pricey ($100 and up). I've heard that some troops in Afghanistan provided themselves with these, at their own expense, to carry in their M4's as the initial loading, in case of an ambush. (Subsequent reloads would be with the standard 30-round magazines.)

 

[HankB]

Brownell's magazines have functioned flawlessly for me and the price is right, especially when they go on sale.