what is a good price for pmags?
That's funny, my USGI mags are my SHTF mags, I have to use my USA magazines to have malfunctions in training...I keep my GI mags around, and use them only if I'd like to have malfunctions in training.
I've had no problems with my Lancers, though I haven't had them for long (a year or so) and they don't get abused too much. They do seem a little more fragile, but I don't know that they are, and I haven't heard of any reliability/durability issues. I do know that the steel feed lips are tough on em', and that is important to me as I leave them in my carbine loaded with the bolt open for ready use (makes swapping to range mags easier without compromising speed if I should need the rifle for social work).I'm curious about the long-term durability of the Lancer mags in training. They just look flimsier than the Pmag.
Bravo Company USA has D&H Black Teflon 30-rd with PMAG Gen III followers with Bravo Company stamped floor plates for $9.99 each.
what I have heard, the GI mags were originally intended to be disposable. They aren't built to withstand much abuse, I mean come on, they are spot welded together.
It is true, though, that the lightweight aluminum mags were originally intended to be disposable. For example, see Maj. Thomas P. Ehrhart, Increasing Small Arms Lethality in Afghanistan: Taking Back the Infantry Half-Kilometer:How many times do we read these famous words "what I heard"? Where did you "hear" all this?
GI mags must meet military specs while retail magazines don't have to answer to anyone. GI mags have been issued in the tens of millions (hundreds of millions?), and some have survived from Vietnam days and are still pulling service in various armies. They may not come in tacticool colors, but they work.
If anyone wants to buy & use beefier magazines, I have no problems, but throwing out ridiculous assertions that original ones can't do the job is just advertising ignorance.
You are correct that the USGI magazines can indeed do the job and do it well. Where they fall short is in durability, particularly impact resistance. Dropping a USGI magazine on the feed lips is a pretty good way to ruin it, and they are also susceptible to feed lip spreading over time.The magazine is an important part of the rifle. When originally designed by Eugene Stoner, the magazine was meant to be a lightweight, disposable item. Due to this concept, the magazine was made from aluminum and not designed to be durable. Soldiers soon learned that the magazine was not disposable and that care was required to keep the weapon reliable.
There are several things that soldiers can do to ensure their magazines work. The most important thing to do is to keep them clean. Just as sand can find its way into the rifle, it will find its way into the magazines. Magazines should frequently be disassembled and brushed clean. Pulling a cleaning rag through the body several times is adequate. Inspect the back of the feed lips to ensure they are not cracked and the lips have not spread apart. Load about 15 cartridges into the magazine and while holding it in one hand, smack the base of the magazine with the other. If several rounds pop out, either the feed lips are spread and/or the magazine has a weak spring. The entire magazine should be discarded. Soldiers can identify potential problems in magazines by numbering each magazine with a paint marker and noting any malfunctions caused when the magazine is used in the weapon.
So is the body of your car. Keep in mind that the body probably is the frame...I mean come on, they are spot welded together.
Not entirely, only the 20s were intended to be disposable, the 30s were (and still are) intended to be replaced on an as-needed basis (not disposable).It is true, though, that the lightweight aluminum mags were originally intended to be disposable.