Justin
Moderator Emeritus
Ok, so I've had it on back order since March, but last week, my SureFire 60 round magazine came in!
The packaging is fairly unassuming. No pomp or circumstance. Just a plain clear plastic bag and a minimal instruction sheet.
From a size and weight perspective, the empty magazine is surprisingly light (as is the loaded one, more on that in a minute), and it doesn't feel large or awkward in the hand.
Size-wise, the quad-stack isn't much taller than a standard 30 round USGI magazine, and it compares favorably to other magazines in size as well.
Pictured left-right: USGI 20 round magazine, 30 round windowed PMAG, 30 round USGI magazine, 42 round Tripp Research Cobramag, 52 round Tripp Research Cobramag, and the SureFire Quadstack mag.
It's worth noting that the SureFire magazine is shorter than both of the Tripp magazines and holds, respectively 18 and 8 more rounds. It's also much lighter, being made entirely from aluminum and lacking the heavy metallic base of the Tripp magazines.
The SureFire magazine doesn't seem nearly as obtrusive as you would think when inserted into a rifle, nor does it seem to add much weight, even when fully loaded.
Last Sunday, me and another shooter tested the magazine out in a pair of rifles, doing some basic bench shooting, offhand shooting, and running some drills on a VTAC wall.
About the only disadvantage the magazine caused was on one of the lower ports where it was possible to go prone (but just barely) and monopod off of a 30 round magazine. Using the SureFire magazine resulted in having to cant the gun to engage the target.
Granted, I don't have many rounds through this thing, in all I fired maybe 150 rounds through it all told. However, I've left with having a positive impression. The magazine functioned 100 percent when using it. There were no malfunctions of any sort, despite shooting from a number of positions, including prone and monopodding off of the magazine, or from improvised field positions necessary to hit the target when shooting through the ports on the VTAC wall.
Even when fully loaded, the magazine does not hinder moving the gun to engage multiple targets. Fully loaded, it feels like it is lighter than the Tripp Research 52 round magazine, though I'd have to weight both of them on a scale to find out if that is indeed true. Monopodding off of the SureFire magazine feels more steady, and is more comfortable than with the other large magazines because it is lower to the ground.
My initial impression is that this is a well-constructed product that functions well, but only time and repeated use will tell if it will hold up. If the magazine is built anything like their flashlights, I would expect it to work well under adverse conditions and after a lot of use.
The Good:
The Bad:
Whether or not you want to spend the money on one of these things is, of course, up to you. Some people will see the cost of these magazines and opt to stick with reloading after 30 rounds rather than 60. Others, who might need that extra advantage, will be willing to spend the money for the upgrade. For the cost, you do get a fairly cool piece of kit that could offer some advantages under certain circumstances, for instance, on a high round-count 3 Gun stage.
The packaging is fairly unassuming. No pomp or circumstance. Just a plain clear plastic bag and a minimal instruction sheet.
From a size and weight perspective, the empty magazine is surprisingly light (as is the loaded one, more on that in a minute), and it doesn't feel large or awkward in the hand.
Size-wise, the quad-stack isn't much taller than a standard 30 round USGI magazine, and it compares favorably to other magazines in size as well.
Pictured left-right: USGI 20 round magazine, 30 round windowed PMAG, 30 round USGI magazine, 42 round Tripp Research Cobramag, 52 round Tripp Research Cobramag, and the SureFire Quadstack mag.
It's worth noting that the SureFire magazine is shorter than both of the Tripp magazines and holds, respectively 18 and 8 more rounds. It's also much lighter, being made entirely from aluminum and lacking the heavy metallic base of the Tripp magazines.
The SureFire magazine doesn't seem nearly as obtrusive as you would think when inserted into a rifle, nor does it seem to add much weight, even when fully loaded.
Last Sunday, me and another shooter tested the magazine out in a pair of rifles, doing some basic bench shooting, offhand shooting, and running some drills on a VTAC wall.
About the only disadvantage the magazine caused was on one of the lower ports where it was possible to go prone (but just barely) and monopod off of a 30 round magazine. Using the SureFire magazine resulted in having to cant the gun to engage the target.
Granted, I don't have many rounds through this thing, in all I fired maybe 150 rounds through it all told. However, I've left with having a positive impression. The magazine functioned 100 percent when using it. There were no malfunctions of any sort, despite shooting from a number of positions, including prone and monopodding off of the magazine, or from improvised field positions necessary to hit the target when shooting through the ports on the VTAC wall.
Even when fully loaded, the magazine does not hinder moving the gun to engage multiple targets. Fully loaded, it feels like it is lighter than the Tripp Research 52 round magazine, though I'd have to weight both of them on a scale to find out if that is indeed true. Monopodding off of the SureFire magazine feels more steady, and is more comfortable than with the other large magazines because it is lower to the ground.
My initial impression is that this is a well-constructed product that functions well, but only time and repeated use will tell if it will hold up. If the magazine is built anything like their flashlights, I would expect it to work well under adverse conditions and after a lot of use.
The Good:
- Well constructed
- Reliable (at least given the limited testing.)
- Much less awkward to use than some of the other large magazines on the market.
The Bad:
- Expensive when compared to the cost of standard 30 round magazines on the market.
- No anti-tilt follower. This did cause some rounds to bind up in the magazine when manually unloading, but did not affect function when actually using the magazine.
Whether or not you want to spend the money on one of these things is, of course, up to you. Some people will see the cost of these magazines and opt to stick with reloading after 30 rounds rather than 60. Others, who might need that extra advantage, will be willing to spend the money for the upgrade. For the cost, you do get a fairly cool piece of kit that could offer some advantages under certain circumstances, for instance, on a high round-count 3 Gun stage.