PMAGs, worth it?

R

Republicrat

New member
Everyone seems to go crazy over AR15 PMAGs...there are always people posting where the best place to buy is and it seems they are never in stock.

Is the fuss warranted...are they that much better than standard mags?
 
B

B. Lahey

New member
They seem fine. I picked up two last year and was impressed enough to order five more. Who knows when I'll get them, though. 4 months on backorder so far with no end in sight...
 
S

scsov509

New member
Is the fuss warranted...are they that much better than standard mags?
Click to expand...

IMO, they are in fact better than standard magazines. However, I purchased all my PMags back when I could still get them for $14 a piece from my local dealer, which made it a no-brainer given the fact that metal mags cost the same or more. I don't know that the PMag is so much better than say a USGI mag that I'd pay the $25-30 per mag that people are paying now. At that price a USGI mag with an upgraded follower and spring is every bit as reliable in my own experience. YMMV...
 
S

sailskidrive

New member
thumbs up

I think they are fantastic. The first time you load one up one you will immediately notice the crisp, clean, precision "click" as the cartridge locks into place. The front lip of the PMAGS sort of have a nice contoured feed ramp, I've never had one mis-feed. Folks are reporting they are hard to find, however every gun show I've been to up in PA has had large boxes full of them. I own about 25 of them now, last month I think I paid $18 for the version w/ the window and $17 for without. The 20 rounders are great for bench rest shooting.

The poorest quality mags I have ever purchased are made by D&H, the best by H&K. I think the best mags for the price are the stainless, teflon coated ones by CProducts.

The only downside that I have found to the PMAGS, is that they don't fit well into most double stack molle pouches.

It would be nice if AR mags were as inexpensive as HK/G3 mags, I ordered 3 lifetimes worth for $100. :)

~Sail
 
A

azredhawk44

Moderator
Another +1 for Pmags. I have 4 of them and wish I had 40.

I'll let Holder shut his trap for a few months before I find any more. If "it" happens, I have plenty of Cproducts and D&H mags that will work long enough. They're not "bad" by any stretch... they're just not Pmags.
 
S

spoolup

New member
I own my fair share of Pmags. I own my fare share of really all the various brands of AR mags, Cproducts, USGI, lancers, betas yada yada. Any will serve the average shooter well. I am not one to say, these are better than these, but I will say stay away from XXX brand or what not. I like Pmags, I am about even bias between those and the SS Cproducts. I just picked up another AR and a seperated dedicated 22lr upper and decided I better pick up some more mags 10 or so ea. I was looking at the Cproducts SS, but they were not in stock at 44mag or thru Larry direct, and know about the price gouging on pmags, but I just happened to go by gunbroker and search and came across an add for 20 30rd Pmags for $299 (14.95 ea). bought em on the spot, more than I needed, but for the price... who can complain. I am still overseas for the next 2 more months, but I had a friend swing by my girls place (where I had them mailed) and yup, all 20 new in box were there as advertised.

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=123551762

They are even some at a few retailers every once and while for MSRP @15. People who are jumping at outragous prices only help feed the freenzy. Atleast something in our economy is doing something productive.
 
R

robfromga

New member
I tried out the pmags a few months back. Ordered 3. Took them to the range and every gun they were used in had some sort of feeding issue. Ran in 4 different guns:confused:

These are guns that never hiccup. And when replaced with any of the 30 or so GI mags the issues went away. The Pmags went away too.:eek:

YMMV
 
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A

amd6547

New member
I've never had a problem with GI mags, so I never bought any P-mags.
Recently, I read of an out of battery explosion on an AR. With an aluminum GI mag, the gas would have blown out the baseplate of the mag and swelled the sides. With the P-mag, the mag body exploded and blasted plastic shapnel outwards.
 
T

Tamara

Moderator Emeritus
Both Pat Rogers and James Yeager speak highly of them. A guy I know who's done engineering work for Bushhamster, Colt, S&W, and Stag (among others) says they're the most reliable mags he's seen.

I've deliberately abused mine and they hold up better than the GI mags.
 
L

Logs

New member
I wouldn't pay $30 a mag, but they are nice. I like the 20 rounders myself. I don't understand the big facination with the Window mags. Heck I put in 10 rounds and you can't see them in the window.

The P mags seem a bit easier to load for me and so far no malfuctions.

Also make sure we are talking P Mags by Magpul and not Pro Mags.
 
C

curt.45

New member
I had a few early ones, 30rd loaded it up laid it down and it shot all the rounds out on the table, thought I dropped to hard, tried three more times, it just would not retain its load, sold them.
 
C

Csspecs

New member
Well a little way you can see why they work better. Take a rod and push down on the follower on the front edge, it will slide right down the magazine and snap right back to the top when you release.

Now try that with a no name ar-15 magazine. The follower will jam or flip over almost every time.

The Pmag by Magpul appears to be based off the galil orlite, and the galil orlite is based off of a number of magazine designs including the AK-47.
 
I

isanchez2008

New member
I have three 30rd and four 20rd pmags. Have never had an issue with them. They will resist a lot more abuse than gi mags. They've always feed well. Paid 16 bucks for the 30's and 15 for the 20's. Look up the pmag torture tests on youtube. They demonstrate the durability but I doubt I would ever do what those guys do to the mags.
 
K

KChen986

New member
Three reasons why I love the Pmag.

1.) Anti-tilt followers. Also tactical 'spank' to get the mag to seat on a closed bolt isn't really necessary (Contrast with USGI with stock followers and Lancer L5s. Those need to be slapped hard to ensure a firm seat.) Magpul's antil tilt followers are a little shorter to allow easier seating.

2.) Feed lip cover. Can store magazines loaded with out fear of feed lip deformation, whether real or imagined. :).

3.) To Hell & Back reliability. Seen demos of one feeding and firing fine after a 7.62 round went through it. Another had a broken feedlip and still fired.

I also love the lip on the bottom (gives me a firm surface to grasp when pulling mags from my vest). I love the Maglevel (quick round inspection).

They're basically the most advanced magazines on the market. And with magazines frequently being the #1 weak point on an AR, why not go for the best?

That being said, all my Lancers and USGI mags have been 100%. Just preference.
 
R

RT

New member
PMags are worth it! Buy as many as you can get. My 6920 came with 2 Colt 20 round mags. I put those to the side and only use my Pmags.
 
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