Stainless steel AR mags vs. aluminum AR mags

[rcmodel]

I don't know how long a 30 round spring lasts loaded/stored with 28 rounds.

I don't know either?

I have some that have been constantly loaded with 28 rounds since 1970, and they are still fine.

Using them / cycling them is what wears out the spring.
Not storing them loaded indefinitely.

rc

 

[ugaarguy]

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

Quite a few Bakelite cased rotary telephones from the 1930's to the 1960's have survived in great shape. Bakelite is brittle, but hasn't disintegrated. The Soviets also used fiberglass reinforced polyethylene (often mistaken as Bakelite) to make the rust colored AK-74 magazines from the rifle's introduction until the early '80s when they were replaced by magazines made from black ABS plastic. There are plenty of 3 and four decade old AK-74 mags still going strong. There are also many Glock pistols and magazines from the early '80s (now entering their fourth decade of service) that are still going strong.

So, I really wouldn't worry about MagPul magazines that are made from newer, even more durable, plastics.

 

[peacebutready]

I have some that have been constantly loaded with 28 rounds since 1970, and they are still fine.

That's impressive longevity.

Wolf springs recommends downloading hi-cap pistol mags a couple of rounds for spring longevity if the mag will be loaded for an extended period, IIRC. It's something about the pistol mags being made to hold as many rounds as possible given it's size.

 

[ugaarguy]

It's something about the pistol mags being made to hold as many rounds as possible given it's size.

It's a CYA statement that applies to both pistol and rifle magazines. It's to protect the floor plate and / or feed lips on older designs that were engineered before keeping mads fully loaded for extended periods was such a common practice. I once had spring pressure pop the floor plate off an older GI 30 round that I accidentally left loaded with the full 30 rounds. It only took a few months, and that was with the original 1980s GI spring in the mag. Most modern designs have much more robust floor plate attachment.

 

[ScottsBad]

Usually you can buy 2 aluminum mags for the cost of one stainless mag. I'd rather have more mags.

 

[pintler]

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

Just curious - has anyone observer magwell wear?

An anodized receiver is covered with a layer of aluminum oxide a couple of thousandths of an inch thick - that's what anodizing means. Aluminum oxide is a lot harder than steel - it's commonly used as the abrasive on sandpaper. That thin layer can provide a lot of wear resistance for some kinds of wear, i.e. wear that doesn't involve enough force to deform the underlying softer metal (if you take a pocket knife to anodized aluminum, you can whittle it).

But in a black anodized receiver, the color is all in the anodized layer - if you're wearing through to the underlying metal, there would be visually obvious silver colored aluminum showing. Has anyone ever seen that kind of wear in an AR magwell?

ETA: it ocurred to me - if AL mags are anodized, they could cause more wear than steel!