Nando Aqui
Member
First Range Report – DPMS New .308 Steel Magazine
I received one such magazine earlier this week and another one is yet due.
Preliminary Assessment - As Received (with dummy rounds):
1. I couldn’t load more than 16 rounds into the magazine – no way, no how. See Note 1.
2. Magazine fits tightly into the rifle, but it goes in and locks with a distinctive click, and then comes out at the push of the bolt catch release! What a difference when compared to the plastic versions.
3. The rounds did not strip off easily (as stripped by hand) and the bullets are scratched by the ramps ahead of the chamber when stripped by the bolt (dummy rounds.) See Note 2.
At The Range: (15°F)
Fire-One (Australian surplus)
1. Loaded magazine with 15 rounds.
2. Opened bolt and latched it manually.
3. Inserted magazine (once the magazine is lined up, it goes in nicely)
4. Pressed the bolt catch release and the bolt stripped a round and chambered it.
5. Proceeded to fire all 15 rounds without a problem.
6. The bolt latched open after the last round.
Fire-Two (Australian surplus)
Exactly the same as Fire One, EXCEPT the bolt hung up when it contacted the first round after I pressed the catch release. I pulled the charging handle all the way back, released it, and the round was chambered.
Fire-Three and Fire-Four (My reloads: 168-gr SMK bullets, 43.5-gr IMR 4064, Fed 210M primers, and once-fired Black Hills brass)
Same as Fire-Two, including the bolt hanging up when released from with catch release and had to chamber the first round by pulling the charging handle all the way back each time.
Although I wasn’t really trying all that hard, as I was more concerned about functionality, I shot the last ten rounds in just under a 1-inch group, at 100 yards from the bipod. But then again, this is not surprising from the Panther .308!
I am satisfied with the magazine, and can hardly wait for the next one, and then to buy some more.
Some suggestions:
1. The follower could be designed to actually fit the new steel box.
2. I compared the boxes, springs, followers, and floor plates of M1A and HK91 20-round magazines and they all are very similar. (Pictures are available.) There is no reason why the DPMS magazine should not accept 20-rounds easily, every time. The biggest difference I noticed was that on both the M1A and the HK91 the springs are attached or retained by the follower, and are retained at the bottom as well. Not so with the DPMS. Retaining the springs perhaps makes them compress more in a straight line as opposed to perhaps bulging, as I suspect was the case when I couldn’t get more than 16 rounds in. See Note 1.
Note 1:
I couldn’t load more than 16 rounds into the magazine as received, and it felt as though it had hit a stop. Later on, after taken it apart several times and reassembling it, I tried loading 20 rounds again and they all went in without any problem. This was after I returned from the range. Perhaps the spring was incorrectly assembled when received?
Note 2:
The rounds were very difficult to strip-off by hand; at least initially. Once back from the range, I tried it again, and then they stripped off more easily, except for the next to the last round, left side, which hung up on the first stiffening ‘rib’.
I’ll be shooting my Panther LR .308 frequently and will keep track and report the good and the bad. Hopefully, DPMS will soon send me the second magazine, and then I’ll buy more.
The way this rifle shoots, when this issue is completely resolved, DPMS will not be able to keep up with the demand.
Alex
I received one such magazine earlier this week and another one is yet due.
Preliminary Assessment - As Received (with dummy rounds):
1. I couldn’t load more than 16 rounds into the magazine – no way, no how. See Note 1.
2. Magazine fits tightly into the rifle, but it goes in and locks with a distinctive click, and then comes out at the push of the bolt catch release! What a difference when compared to the plastic versions.
3. The rounds did not strip off easily (as stripped by hand) and the bullets are scratched by the ramps ahead of the chamber when stripped by the bolt (dummy rounds.) See Note 2.
At The Range: (15°F)
Fire-One (Australian surplus)
1. Loaded magazine with 15 rounds.
2. Opened bolt and latched it manually.
3. Inserted magazine (once the magazine is lined up, it goes in nicely)
4. Pressed the bolt catch release and the bolt stripped a round and chambered it.
5. Proceeded to fire all 15 rounds without a problem.
6. The bolt latched open after the last round.
Fire-Two (Australian surplus)
Exactly the same as Fire One, EXCEPT the bolt hung up when it contacted the first round after I pressed the catch release. I pulled the charging handle all the way back, released it, and the round was chambered.
Fire-Three and Fire-Four (My reloads: 168-gr SMK bullets, 43.5-gr IMR 4064, Fed 210M primers, and once-fired Black Hills brass)
Same as Fire-Two, including the bolt hanging up when released from with catch release and had to chamber the first round by pulling the charging handle all the way back each time.
Although I wasn’t really trying all that hard, as I was more concerned about functionality, I shot the last ten rounds in just under a 1-inch group, at 100 yards from the bipod. But then again, this is not surprising from the Panther .308!
I am satisfied with the magazine, and can hardly wait for the next one, and then to buy some more.
Some suggestions:
1. The follower could be designed to actually fit the new steel box.
2. I compared the boxes, springs, followers, and floor plates of M1A and HK91 20-round magazines and they all are very similar. (Pictures are available.) There is no reason why the DPMS magazine should not accept 20-rounds easily, every time. The biggest difference I noticed was that on both the M1A and the HK91 the springs are attached or retained by the follower, and are retained at the bottom as well. Not so with the DPMS. Retaining the springs perhaps makes them compress more in a straight line as opposed to perhaps bulging, as I suspect was the case when I couldn’t get more than 16 rounds in. See Note 1.
Note 1:
I couldn’t load more than 16 rounds into the magazine as received, and it felt as though it had hit a stop. Later on, after taken it apart several times and reassembling it, I tried loading 20 rounds again and they all went in without any problem. This was after I returned from the range. Perhaps the spring was incorrectly assembled when received?
Note 2:
The rounds were very difficult to strip-off by hand; at least initially. Once back from the range, I tried it again, and then they stripped off more easily, except for the next to the last round, left side, which hung up on the first stiffening ‘rib’.
I’ll be shooting my Panther LR .308 frequently and will keep track and report the good and the bad. Hopefully, DPMS will soon send me the second magazine, and then I’ll buy more.
The way this rifle shoots, when this issue is completely resolved, DPMS will not be able to keep up with the demand.
Alex
