AR15 30 round mag discrepency??

[1BadF350]

Saturday I bought 2 30 rounders from a local gun store that were sold as "LaBelle" mags for $40 each. When I opened them up I noticed that the bottom plate is not stamped with "LaBelle" but something totally different. I'm at work right now so I can't say what it actually says. Does anyone know if/why "LaBelle" mags would have any other stamping on them? They do say "Restricted Gov't Use Only" but that doesn't mean much.

 

[mtnbkr]

Sounds like they were made before the ban expired. There are a lot of those on the market. IIRC, Labelle made mags under contract for many companies and departments.

BTW, why did you pay $40/each when you could drive over to Va and get them for less than $20 each? The shops in my town sell new milspec mags for as little as $19/each. Used ones are cheaper.

Chris

 

[1BadF350]

I did buy them in Virginia. Louden Guns in Leesburg to be exact.

 

[Clayfish]

$40.00 a piece? You got ripped. I thought They were expensive here for $25.00.

 

[mtnbkr]

Ouch. I assumed the price was a Md price. Loudoun is expensive. Good selection, but expensive. Va Arms in Manassas has boxes of Bushmaster mags (made by Labelle I think) for $21.95 and some other variations for less.

Chris

 

[1BadF350]

Looks like I'll be making a road trip to Manassas then. Oh yeah, the mags I bought have a light green follower if that means anything.

 

[mtnbkr]

Dunno where you live/work, but if you're close enough to Tysons Corner to get out there during the day, I'll pick up magazines from Va Arms and we can meet/exchange. I live less than 5 minutes from the shop.

Chris

 

[mtnbkr]

The light green follower is supposed to be the anti-tilt follower or something like that. More milspec stuff AFAIK.

If you drive out here, call ahead and make sure they have mags. Sometimes, though rarely, they do run out. It happens less nowadays, but was a frequent problem right after the ban expired.

Chris

 

[1BadF350]

Thanks for the info. I work in Rockville, live in Gaithersburg. My girlfriend lives in Ashburn, which is how I ended up at Louden Guns.

 

[1BadF350]

I'll try to get more info on what I actually bought when I get home tonight.

 

[Tim R]

And to think, you could have gone to EagleFirearms.net and picked up new pre-ban Colt USGI 30 round mags for $20.00 ea. plus shipping.

 

[1BadF350]

I doubt it since most places won't ship 30 rounders to Maryland.

 

[Tim R]

Move.

 

[Dog Confetti]

Green follower is good, better than the black, but the red or tan followers (new) are better...more anti-tilt bits put on them.

 

[mtnbkr]

I haven't seen any of those (not exactly looking hard though), are they common yet or just now getting into the military's hands?

Chris

 

[The British Soldier]

The best 30-round M16 type magazine available now is made by Heckler & Koch; they found that 40% of stoppages on the SA80 rifle were attributable to the terrible RG Magazines we had. Everyone with 'insider trading' knowledge had got themselves M16 magazines, which were far more reliable. The new HK mag is steel and heavier than the aluminium ones you will be used to, but the weight is worth it - they are brilliant.

 

[mtnbkr]

Those are nice, but overkill IMO. I'm using a mix of Bushmaster, Brownells, and Milspec mags (most expensive mag was $22) and haven't had a single problem. It's a different story for those who use theirs for real work I'm sure.

Chris