Anyone know a source for info about HK G3 mags?

[albanian]

I just bought a bunch of these mags and some of them have different markings. All are black coated alumiun with SS followers. Most are marked
"G3 HK" and under that there is a date code like "10/69". A few of the HKs have serial numbers but only a handful, most don't. Some are marked "G 3" with a "K" with a crown on top. Some are marked "G 3 FMP" with date code and serial number. Some are marked "G 3 P" with date code and SN #. Some are marked "G 3" with a symbol that looks kind of like a square inside a circle and date code and SN#. One is simply marked "HK" with a date code.


I know they are all about the same but I thought it was interesting to have variations. I assume they are just contractors like AR-15 mags have. Some AR-15 mags are Colt others are OKAY Industries, or other gov contrator. I was just wondering if anyone had a break down on the symbols and who made them.

Thanks.

 

[Father Knows Best]

German G3 mags will have G3, HK and a date code on them. Some may also be numbered. The square inside a circle is also German -- it indicates Rheinmetall as the manufacturer (private company under contract).

FMP stands for Fabrica Militar de Portugal, the state-owned company that made the G3 for the Portuguese military under license from H&K. It later changed its name to Industrias de Defesa de Portugal (INDEP). Any mag marked FMP was made in Portugal.

The crowned K is the mark for the Norwegian Kongsburg plant, which also built the G3 under license, so that's a Norwegian mag.

The P standing alone indicates a Pakistani magazine (also under license from HK).

 

[albanian]

Wow! That is the kind of info I was looking for. Thanks. I wonder how many different types there are.

 

[Father Knows Best]

I wonder how many different types there are.

Well, the G3 was manufactured under license in the countries mentioned above (Germany, Norway, Portugal and Pakistan), and also in at least three others -- Greece, Denmark and Sweden. Greek G3 parts are generally marked with the letters EBO, sometimes in plain text and other times in a very stylized diamond pattern. Danish parts are marked HMAK (for Haerens Materielkommando) under a crown. In Sweden, the G3 was made by both Carl Gustaf Gevarsfaktori and Husqvarna Vapenfabrik. Parts made by Carl Gustaf are marked with a "crowned C." I have never seen any Husqvarna marked parts, but they probably exist. Husqvarna typically used a "crowned H" on parts it made.

 

[Father Knows Best]

You got me curious

So I went through one box of G3 mags I had handy. Most (18 of them) were HK German mags, with dates codes ranging from 1963 to 1983. Two were German Rheinmetall mags. I also found one Pakistani magazine and one Norwegian magazine. All of the above are alloy magazines.

I also had four steel mags in the box, though, and the codes on them aren't ones I am familiar with. All four are marked 7.62x51, and below that either IC (on three of them) and IB (on the fourth). I know that IB is a date code used on civilian HK 91 rifles, so I'm thinking these may have been HK civilian production mags and the IB and IC are date codes.

 

[Raygun]

FKB, I saw in one of your pictures that you have at least one 30-round G3 mag. How are those marked/who made them? I just ordered some from CTD.

 

[Father Knows Best]

FKB, I saw in one of your pictures that you have at least one 30-round G3 mag. How are those marked/who made them? I just ordered some from CTD.

I actually have two 30-round mags for my PTR-91. Interestingly, they have no markings whatsoever. I got them from Numrich Gun Parts (part number 884210), who lists them under "Heckler & Koch" and state they are in new condition. That's no guaranty they were actually made by HK, though. They are made from blued steel. They feed just fine, but like all 30 round .308 mags they have two major problems: (1) they are VERY heavy when loaded, and (2) they are so long that you can't use them prone or on the bench. You'll notice there is a 20 in the rifle in the picture. That's because even with the bipod, the 30 is too long. In other words, they're an interesting novelty but not really good for much of anything. Incidentally, Numrich also carries a pouch for the 30 round mags. It is item number 725930C.

I had heard from someone else that the CTD ones were poorly made aftermarket jobs and don't work well, but I have no personal experience with them. When you get yours, post here and let us know whether they are marked and how they work.

 

[Father Knows Best]

I also had four steel mags in the box, though, and the codes on them aren't ones I am familiar with. All four are marked 7.62x51, and below that either IC (on three of them) and IB (on the fourth). I know that IB is a date code used on civilian HK 91 rifles, so I'm thinking these may have been HK civilian production mags and the IB and IC are date codes.

I just checked an HK reference, and confirmed by suspicion. On H&K non-military arms, parts were often dated only with the year of production using letter codes. I=8, B=1 and C=2. Therefore, my steel mags appear to be HK (probably for the HK91) and were made in 1981 (IB) and 1982 (IC).

 

[Raygun]

I had heard from someone else that the CTD ones were poorly made aftermarket jobs and don't work well, but I have no personal experience with them. When you get yours, post here and let us know whether they are marked and how they work.

Sure thing.

 

[kennyboy]

www.cheaperthandirt.com has mags for $4 dollars a piece.

 

[Father Knows Best]

www.cheaperthandirt.com has mags for $4 dollars a piece.

Stay away from the CTD mags. The ones I've gotten in the past were in rough shape, and there are better deals to be had.

Interordnance has like new German-made (H&K or Rheinmetall) alloy G3 mags for $2.95 each, or $1.95 each if you buy 100. http://www.interordnance.com/Mercha...e_Code=INTERORDNANCE.com&Product_Code=G3M-EXC

You can get the price down to just $1.00 each for "very good to like new" alloy mags: http://www.interordnance.com/Mercha...de=INTERORDNANCE.com&Product_Code=G3M-100PACK

 

[Raygun]

Got my mags from CTD today (part# MAG-307). Going to have to wait until I can get some time behind a friend's SAR-8 or my own PTR-91 arrives before I can really test them out, but here's what I know so far:

They appear to be new. They are certainly heavy. There are no markings. They're definitely made of steel and have a heavy black enamel finish. Unlike the HK mags I have, the follower is of black plastic and its rear end sticks up past the feed lips by maybe a couple of millimeters when empty. If I can, might replace these with followers from some of the more beat-up HK mags I have.

The mags look identical to the picture in the Numrich catalog for the 30-round mag they sell; the welds on the "magazine well adapter" (I guess you could call it that) are of the same type and in the same places, the adapter is the same shape, etc... The three protrusions on each side of the adapter that interface with the bottom of the mag well and keep the magazine from being seated too deeply are not as prominent as those on the HK mags. Also unlike the HK mags, there's a good amount of free space between the mag body and the welded-on adapter at the front as the mag body tapers toward the front. This gives it a very tiny bit of play. The adapter doesn't wrap fully around the mag body like the HK mags; just around the sides and front. There is a hole in the front of the mag; a T-shaped hole through the adapter and smaller square hole through the body, at the point where the front of the mag engages the receiver. The HK mags have a similar cut out through the adapter, but there is a metal tab in place of the hole through the 30-round mag.

The mag bodies are welded at the front, whereas the HK mag bodies (at least the aluminum ones) are welded at the rear.

Where the HK floorplates are relatively easy to remove by pushing in a button in the middle of the plate and sliding the plate off toward the front of the mag, the 30-rounder floorplate is retained by a bent tab on the plate itself that engages the rear end of the mag body. There is a hole just behind the tab through which the bottom of the spring is visible and where one could insert a punch and pull the plate upward for removal, though this looks like it might present some problems and certainly won't be as easy to remove as the HK mag flooplate. I haven't attempted this yet, but I will eventually.

Anyway, that's the story so far on the 30-round mags from CTD.