Stainless steel AR mags vs. aluminum AR mags

[peacebutready]

How many more rounds can a stainless steel AR mag shoot before it is shot compared to aluminum AR mags? Don't consider springs and followers, which can be replaced on either type.

I guess a good way to answer would be in terms of percentage. Ex: Stainless AR mags will shoot 50% more rounds than aluminum mags before they need to be replaced.

 

[Davek1977]

Depends on treatment....I don't abuse my magazines, and have yet to have one go "bad" of either type....though my preferred mags are neither stainless nor aluminum, but rather plastic Magpul mags. No worries about deformed feed lips, and lighter than either type.

 

[jmr40]

Buy plastic Magpul's.

 

[DoubleMag]

simple answer. both can fire to a point of failure more ammo then you can afford to buy & shoot.

 

[briansmithwins]

It's like 'How many licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?'

The only answer I have is lots.

I've got a generic, no name USGI mag I picked up somewhere. I make sure to load it first and shoot it every time I go out shooting, so it's had a couple thousand rounds thru it. It's still working fine.

I mostly bought steel or stainless mags and haven't had any of those fail either. I do believe steel is a better material for magazines than aluminum. One of the advantages with Pmags is that if they are too damaged to work (which takes some doing) they break obviously, unlike metal mags.

BSW

 

[Robert]

The only time I have seen a mag body be nonfuctioning due to the body is one that has been crushed. Otherwise replace the spring and follower as needed and they last forever. I've seen early Vietnam era mags run just fine with a new spring and follower.

 

[DoubleMag]

Buy plastic Magpul's.

Or Lancers AWM. In any event maybe I'm weird but I prefer to use mags with a material softer or equal to my receiver.

 

[GBExpat]

How many more rounds can a stainless steel AR mag shoot before it is shot compared to aluminum AR mags?

I have never read of any studies on this question, but the numbers involved would be so large that they are irrelevant for reasonable consideration ... unless you are planning to be firing something like hundreds of thousands of rounds thru each of the magazines.

 

[Onmilo]

I retired my 30 year old stash of USGI magazines recently and repplaced them with a mix of P-Mags and Brownells aluminum magazines.
I suspect these magazines will still be useable after I am gone.

 

[Obiwan]

I firmly believe that it is a bad idea to be too attached to your magazines

They are meant to be disposable

 

[greyling22]

I firmly believe that it is a bad idea to be too attached to your magazines

They are meant to be disposable

unless and inevitably when they get banned you want to have some that hold up better than others. (not trying to sound alarmist. more fatalistic) Remember how the feed lips would start breaking on your cheap banana 10/22 mags back around '98-'00 and it looked like you would never bad able to replace them and you wished you had bought the steel lips mags?

that being said, I would just plan on buying a couple more than you think you will go though and use than as backup in case a mag fails. I have an aluminum 20 rounder from the 80's still going strong. I suspect that a properly used (not abused) mag of any flavor will outlast most users. (I know I couldn't afford to shoot enough ammo to wear out a 223 mag)

 

[Dr.Rob]

the paint/finish on steel mags seems to wear off a lot faster than the aluminum ones.

I have some old Colt 20's made in the 70's that still work fine.

 

[dogtown tom]

DoubleMag

Quote:
Buy plastic Magpul's.

Or Lancers AWM.

This.
I sold all my PMags once I tried my first Lancer.

 

[peacebutready]

unless and inevitably when they get banned you want to have some that hold up better than others. (not trying to sound alarmist. more fatalistic)

This is what motivated my initial question.

In the past, one person opined that if they are banned again, the ones we already own will also be banned.

I suspect that a properly used (not abused) mag of any flavor will outlast most users. (I know I couldn't afford to shoot enough ammo to wear out a 223 mag)

Anyone have any idea how many rounds an aluminum AR mag can shoot before it's trash? A stainless steel one? This is not including follower and spring issues.

 

[atomd]

I prefer the Lancer AWM mags. I also like pmags. I also like current usgi mags. I'll take any mag I can get but if I had to pick only one I'd go Lancer AWM. Honestly all of them will work well. They will all take a pretty good beating. I would look at who makes the mag first rather than the material it is made from.

 

[45_auto]

I have some aluminum 20 round ".223" marked original Colt mags from the Vietnam era. Still use them every weekend, they still work like new.

No idea how many rounds went through them before I "requisitioned" them in the early 70's.

I seem to average going through about 5,000 rounds of .223 per year. I would guess that the old 20 rounders probably see 10% to 25% of this ammo each (they're much more comfortable to use from prone).

So at least 500 rounds per year, over 40 years, means at least 20,000 rounds through each one since I've had them. I can't imagine stainless steel being any worse.

 

[gidaeon]

I have some steel, alum. and poly. The steel is my least favorite (weight) without real benefit. I don't microwave my gear and prefer the easier loading of poly. Even IF steel lasted longer I sure cant afford the ammo to wear any of them out ;-)

 

[Destructo6]

I have a bunch of HK steel mags and I see zero advantage over aluminum versions at greater cost and weight.

Virtually all of these HK steel mags have feed lips bent to the point where double feeds are a common occurrence. Hard use will do this to any metal mag.

Here's a real concern: even though I know they're bad, I have a hard time getting rid of them because they cost 10x what standard GI aluminum mags cost, even if you spring for the versions with Magpul followers!

 

[Davek1977]

Anyone have any idea how many rounds an aluminum AR mag can shoot before it's trash? A stainless steel one? This is not including follower and spring issues.

Asked and answered several times previously....notwithstanding folloers and spring issues, there is no predetermined lifespan for either aluminum or steel mags. Both will survive thousands of rounds, and more than most people will ever shoot in a lifetime, given proper care.

 

[68wj]

the paint/finish on steel mags seems to wear off a lot faster than the aluminum ones.

I have some old Colt 20's made in the 70's that still work fine.

Good timing on this. I just got a new C Products Defense steel mag in the mail yesterday to look at their new finish. They claim it is more durable.

I have had several versions of steel mags for my 6.8 SPC. Coatings have been an issue on some. I haven't weighed them, but find them comparable to my aluminum 5.56 mags. My D&H 6.8 mags are the only ones with some noticable heft, but nothing dramatic and the coating seems pretty durable.

My experience with mag failure has been more about abuse than round count. Bent feed lips impact function sooner than metal fatigue.

 

[benEzra]

Falling onto a hard surface and landing on the feed lips once will do more harm to a metal mag than thousands of rounds of shooting will, I suspect.

 

[peacebutready]

Asked and answered several times previously....notwithstanding folloers and spring issues, there is no predetermined lifespan for either aluminum or steel mags. Both will survive thousands of rounds, and more than most people will ever shoot in a lifetime, given proper care.

That answers it for me. I'll be less concerned with how many rounds they'll fire and I'll get some spare followers and springs. Thanks, all.

 

[rcmodel]

I'm not convinced you can wear out a follower.

I'm still using GI mags I stole from the Army in 1970.
With the same springs and followers.

I have about 20 I rotate.
I don't shoot 15,000 rounds a year like I used too.

But still.

At the price of springs & followers any more?

You might as well buy more Brownell's mil-spec mags, or P-Mags for $12 bucks and store them until you might possibly, but probably not wear out the ones you use now.

rc

 

[119er]

Funny, this topic makes me think my 30rd Magpuls and Brownells mags might live forever. All that goes to the range is the 20 rounders! I test all new mags but the 30's are kind of an unnecessary pain on the bench and prone.

ETA: I'll take the Brownells mags over Magpuls myself. Both are great mags. I buy the Brownells mags with Magpul followers when on sale.

 

[peacebutready]

I'm not convinced you can wear out a follower.

I'm still using GI mags I stole from the Army in 1970.
With the same springs and followers.

At the price of springs & followers any more?

You might as well buy more Brownell's mil-spec mags, or P-Mags for $12 bucks and store them until you might possibly, but probably not wear out the ones you use now.

Maybe I'll just get extra springs for a buck a piece from CDNN. I like to keep a few mags loaded in the unlikely-hood of zombie's coming. I don't know how long a 30 round spring lasts loaded/stored with 28 rounds.

A fellow from another forum was concerned about the plastic P-Mags disintegrating or something to that effect decades into the future.