40 Round Magpul PMag Test & Review

[plouffedaddy]

REALLY HUGE PICTURE

I've been using these mags for a couple weeks now and here's a quick rundown of the new 40 round Gen M3 PMag from Magpul...

Pros:

-100% reliable in all of my riles thus far.
-Compatible with HK 416, SCAR 16, SA80, MK 16, Tavor, ect...
-According to Magpul, more durable than Gen2 MOE PMags
-Same marking system as all Gen M3 PMags
-40 rounds is obviously cooler than 30 rounds
-Compatible with the Maglink
-They survived multiple drop tests fully loaded without issue.


Cons:

-Firing from the prone
-They're tough to find currently
-Currently only out in black

Here's a video review with some shooting, a couple drop tests while loaded, and a discussion/demonstration of the pros and cons:

 

[Jackal]

Thanks for the review. I for one will stick with my 20's and 30's. That behemoth would be fine for the range, but in the bush it would get hooked/snagged on EVERYTHING! (The 30rd are already bad enough, 20's are best for brushland).

 

[BamAlmighty]

I'll buy one just, because.

 

[benzy2]

I would rather some 20 rounders but if its your cup of tea it looks well made. Not on my must buy list.

 

[rcmodel]

I was hoping you were going to say they had made a 40 the same length as a 20.

So if you wanted to go prone to keep from getting shot for instance, and shoot back, you could.

30-round mags are too long for my preference in a combat mag while going prone or behind low cover.

Never mind.
I'm too old for that foolishness anyway.

rc

 

[HoosierQ]

My AR is the A2 style and it just seems to look better with the 20 rounders. I know right? But still. Plus it shoots prone very well for this untrained civilian. Plus back during the big panic I took all my 30 rounders to a gunshow and sold the lot of them (PMAGs all) for $50 each to the second guy who inquired.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I managed to get 2 of these before the ban hit Colorado. I too think the additional length is cumbersome, but we'll see how they run in competition.

 

[taliv]

Nice review. Short and sweet.

I have one of the Nordic extensions which is basically 2 pmag30 held together with a hunk of aluminum to get 47 rounds or so. Can't recall ever having a malfunction with it but I only used it in some 3gun run-ngun stages to avoid a mag change. I wouldn't want to use it prone

I might get 1 of these a couple years from now but would much rather have 20s and 30s

 

[Justin]

The nice thing about these is that they bring the price of a >30 round magazine down into reasonable territory and they're made by a company with a reputation for high quality products.

Prior to the release of these magazines, which retail for ~$20 or so, the cheapest way to get a reasonable quality >30 round magazine was through the purchase of one of the Nordic Components extension kits, but even those kits, plus the cost of a PMag would run you ~$40 in cost.

As for the people complaining about shooting prone with extended magazines, it can be done, and while very slightly awkward, it's not that hard. Additionally, not everyone shoots off the bench or from prone all of the time. There are plenty of scenarios that involve shooting a rifle from standing, kneeling, sitting, or squatting positions where these magazines wouldn't be a hinderance.

 

[MechAg94]

I expect I'll get a hand full of them once they are available. I like the idea of a larger ready mag. Not sure i want to eat the cost of those sure fire mags.

 

[FrankCastleThePunisher]

Can't wait to purchase a few. 40 rds is better than 30 rds. and it's easier to load two 20 rd boxes vs. one and half 20 rd boxes with 10 rds left over.

 

[Justin]

I've had good luck with the Surefire magazines, but others have reported issues with them.

Given the simpler construction of the new PMags, I would expect them to work quite well.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk. Hence all the misspellings and goofy word choices.

 

[wally]

I've one of the old Bushmaser 40 round "GI style" aluminum mags, Its always fed fine, but its not seen heavy use, I'm with the a bit unweildly school of though with these.

If it weren't for talk of magazine bans I'd have no interest in these, but in today's environment I'd grab a few at the right price.

 

[Jeff H]

Looks good if that is your cup of tea. I won't be buying any though.

I only use 20 rounders in my competition gun since I shoot prone often.

I won't use more than 30 rounders in my blasting AR. My son pulls the trigger with wanton disregard for the cost of the ammo I pay for. No need to give him 33% more capacity.

We don't do 3-gun at my club, but I could see a use if there wasn't any prone shooting involved.

 

[yzguy87]

The math of ammo capacity!

More fun+more expense:banghead:=greater ammo capacity

Fun>expense

 

[plouffedaddy]

Fun>expense

I bet most of us on this would agree with that one. Sums it up well.