Couple months back I sold most of my 20 and 30 round GI mags when prices were crazy. Now I want to replace those mags with some new 30 round mags. I asked couple friends and checked around town and it seems the P mag is the new standard for AR mag. I noticed that there are more than one kind of P-Mag. Some have windows and some don't. Is there one that better than others? My main concern is reliability... I want the most reliable mags.
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Which P-Mag?
- Thread starter 1tfl
- Start date
DubC-Hicks
New member
Any pmag should be reliable. I mostly run the Gen 2 windowless mags and have no problems. Cheapest place I've found to get them is primaryarms.com. They have sales quite a bit too.
Willie Lowman
New member
All of them will be reliable.
If you have a FN or HK or other non AR 15 type rifle, get the gen 3 mags. (especially if you have a SCAR) If you have a AR 15, get the gen 2 mags, they are probably a bit cheaper and will work just fine. (also the dust cover thing snaps to the floor plate of the gen 2 mags for storage, a feature the gen 3 does not have)
I have one of the window mags. It seems like a novelty to me. There is a little spot of paint on the follower spring that you can line up with marks by the window to tell approximately how many rounds you have.
Also, in a gear discussion at a carbine class I attended last year there were some people that said that the green or brown mags were more likely to crack than the black ones. Something about chemistry and molecules and that sort of thing. Not sure if there is any truth to it.
If you have a FN or HK or other non AR 15 type rifle, get the gen 3 mags. (especially if you have a SCAR) If you have a AR 15, get the gen 2 mags, they are probably a bit cheaper and will work just fine. (also the dust cover thing snaps to the floor plate of the gen 2 mags for storage, a feature the gen 3 does not have)
I have one of the window mags. It seems like a novelty to me. There is a little spot of paint on the follower spring that you can line up with marks by the window to tell approximately how many rounds you have.
Also, in a gear discussion at a carbine class I attended last year there were some people that said that the green or brown mags were more likely to crack than the black ones. Something about chemistry and molecules and that sort of thing. Not sure if there is any truth to it.
All of them will be reliable.
This^... with the exception of some 20-round Gen 2 PMags.
For some reason, the design of the 20-round Gen 2 PMag can cause the rounds to bind as they approach the feed lips, and fail to feed properly. I've even seen the rounds become "crossed" in the mag as they feed.
The Gen 3 20-rounder has been extensively re-designed, and the word is that it functions much better.
also the dust cover thing snaps to the floor plate of the gen 2 mags for storage, a feature the gen 3 does not have
I don't understand why Magpul removed this feature. It was a handy way to keep from losing those covers (which I still manage to lose anyway).
Hapax Legomena
New member
P-Mags are great. Don't overlook Lancer L5 AWM.
Brotherbadger
New member
As everybody else has said, any pmag will work great. I personally don't care for the window mags, as they are more expensive and I never look at the window while shooting.
dogtown tom
New member
+1000Hapax Legomena .....Don't overlook Lancer L5 AWM.
I sold all my PMags and now only use Lancers.
Windows are sooooo yesterday.........translucent Lancers FTW.Brotherbadger As everybody else has said, any pmag will work great. I personally don't care for the window mags, as they are more expensive and I never look at the window while shooting.
I want to see how their AK mags will hold up though
Same here. I want to see if they will give me a reason to use anything other than surplus steel mags.