AR Mags - Good vx. Bad

[Lovesbeer99]

Which mags would you recommend and which should I stay away from. I'm shooting 80 round national match and I usually shoot 5 and 5. I live in NJ and can't keep anything larger thatn 15, but 10 rounds is plenty for my purposes.

I have 2 Bushmaster 10 round mags, the kind that can't be taken apart, and they have worked great for several years. I'd buy more but some people are trying to convince me that they are too expensive and that it's better to get the kind that can be taken appart to clean and replace parts.

Any feedback?

 

[CoRoMo]

The "Bushmasters" are good mags. I think they are really D&H mags IIRC. You can get a less expensive USGI and add the Magpul follower to it and you'd be fine. I don't think the Pmag is made in a 10rd or else I'd recommend it too.

hth

 

[Old Jimmy]

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/C_Products_AR15_30rd_.223_mag.html

I bought 100 of these and have had zero problems!!!
You cant beat the price new in plastic bags..

 

[Z-Michigan]

Aluminum mags made by D&H or NHMTG. Be careful with C-Products because their quality control is inconsistent and while some of their mags work fine, some don't.

Stay far away from Promag and National.

Magpul Pmags are great and I think they are available in a 10rd blocked version for people like you.

 

[taliv]

old jimmy, he lives in NJ and can't have 30 rnd magazines. try again

 

[Z-Michigan]

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/C..._.223_mag.html
I bought 100 of these and have had zero problems!!!
You cant beat the price new in plastic bags..

I have several of those mags (those exact mags bought from AIM Surplus within the last 3 months) and of the two that I've tried, one works and the other hangs up around the 6-8rd mark, causing all kinds of failures. I also have older CP mags and this has been par for the course in my experience. How many of your 100 have you thoroughly tested?

I would give these a try:
http://www.44mag.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DH10B

Also, for anyone who can legally own 30rd mags, the D&H 30rd USGI mags at 44mag.com are only $9 each. D&H has good quality control in my experience - I have yet to have a mag problem with a new D&H mag (sample size: around 10).

 

[JonF]

Lovesbeer,

There are two local companies in NJ that modify hi cap Magpul PMags down to the legal 15 rd limit. One such company is Arms N Ammo and they seem to have to better product as they start with the 20 rd mag, modify it to the state police legal specs as a pinned "permanent" modification. I just ordered some after some recommendations from friends at the local range. He charges $25 per mag or less if u buy in bulk. They are actually in stock too and he ships.

http://www.arms-n-ammo.com/accessories.html

 

[CoRoMo]

You asked this question over here too?

 

[Lovesbeer99]

CoRoMo - I started the post in the competition thread, but after 24 hours didn't get a response so I posted it here.

 

[KRAG3040]

Brownells has great mags for the AR

 

[DBR]

I like the Colt competition mag.

Here: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=9/mfg=160/Products/Magazines/COLT

 

[MCMXI]

Lovesbeer99, I have four of the 10-round Bushmaster mags shown below that I use for matches. They have anti-tilt followers and quality springs. I removed the BM floorplates and added MAGPUL L plates. They're very good magazines proving to be 100% reliable, but they're not cheap.

 

[Lovesbeer99]

1858 - I have 2 BM's but the floorplates don't come off. They are designed not to on this model. What did you do to get them off?

Your right, these are great mags, and they are expensive.

 

[MCMXI]

I have 2 BM's but the floorplates don't come off. They are designed not to on this model. What did you do to get them off? Your right, these are great mags, and they are expensive.

The floorplates come off like any other USGI magazine, at least they do on mine. I have two that I bought a couple of years ago and two that I bought a couple of months ago. The floorplates are the same on both but the anti-tilt followers are slightly different. Here's a photo of one magazine disassembled showing the original floorplate and the MAGPUL L-Plate.

 

[Lovesbeer99]

I bought these years ago from Bushmaster. They work great. I think they were intended for states, like NJ, where this was actually a 20 round mag, but had a spacer and it's legal beacuse you can't take off the floor plate and modify it. Look at the little plastic pin on the side this. I guess I could pop this out, but the bottom does not have a way to lock a floor plate in.

Also, what's the point of changing the floor plate? What's up with the Magpul?

 

[BushyGuy]

i have 2 - 30 round bushmaster mags, they will last you forever no need to take em apart. most mags will outlast the rifle.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Lovesbeer, as you've determined the mag you're showing is specifically designed not to be disassembled. That as a "AWB" type magazine. Slightly different from the mag that user 1858 is showing. I would get the newer mags that have a removable floorplate when you buy more.

The magpul floorplate is intended to make it easier to pull the mag out of a carrier (hence "magpul", though the name originally came from their rubber pulls). It also helps protect the mag if dropped from a rifle.

 

[MCMXI]

Lovesbeer99, I would do as Z-Michigan suggests and buy the magazines that I have. BM sells them as 5-round and 10-round straight magazines (select capacity at checkout). Z-Michigan covered both benefits of the MAGPUL L-Plates but I was more concerned with protection than ease of extraction.