← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Valley Forge
Thread ID: 12628 | Posts: 7 | Started: 2004-03-03
2004-03-03 04:20 | User Profile
Gentleman,
Which type of AR15 magazines are considered the best, and where is the best place to buy them: gun shows, local retailers, or Internet distributors?
2004-03-03 05:31 | User Profile
That weapons was designed as a survival rifle for the Air Force, when I first went to Nam in 62 I had the M-1, later they try to give the the M-16 and I almost shoved it up you know where into my captain. The M-16 dosen't work like the M-1 or the Mini-14 therefore you have to be careful with the ammo that you use, that's the inportant part when using this weapon.
2004-03-03 12:25 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Valley Forge]Gentleman,
Which type of AR15 magazines are considered the best, and where is the best place to buy them: gun shows, local retailers, or Internet distributors?[/QUOTE] Most people will probably tell you that USGI aluminum mags are the best. Those mags have "brand names" such as Adventure Line, Labelle, Simmons, and some others. Colt made some mags of this type as well. I think I heard that Cooper USGI mags should be avoided because there might be a few bad lots out there -- you might want to check on that with someone else. Also, aluminum mags are somewhat easily damaged and can suffer from dents in the body or from bent feed lips.
Polymer "Thermold" mags also work well in most rifles. Some may fit a little tightly. If you get these, make sure they're ones that were made in the US, not in Canada -- the Canadian ones have feed lips that are said to melt under sufficiently rapid fire.
As much as I despise Israel as a country, the Orlite mags that were made there seem pretty decent. Some have questioned their durability, but the ones I have seem to be pretty rugged, and they feed flawlessly.
That's a quick overview, anyway. For lots more info, "Troy's Mag FAQ" is pretty comprehensive:
[url]http://magfaq.tripod.com/[/url]
As far as where to buy mags, I've bought them through private sales on the Net and through a wide variety of online shops. I've never had a problem with any dealers, but I recommend [url]http://ammoman.com/[/url] in particular, assuming he has what you're looking for. Actually, right now he has some Teflon-coated USGI mags if you're willing to pay a little extra.
Good luck....
2004-03-03 15:00 | User Profile
One thing I would add to the good advice above is to not cheap out when you buy mags. Stay away from brands like USA mags. They are atrociously bad. The Thermolds work well and are pretty tough. I've never had a problem with mine melting under rapid-fire. I think this is more of a concern in full-auto applications. The Orlites I do not have any experience with, but I've also heard they work well. The only issue with them is that they may not work with Bushmaster lower receivers and may require modification to do so.
I second ammoman as a good source of mags and ammo. The "Lake City" 5.56mm USGI ammo is superb and it stores very well.
If the AW ban sunsets, then we may see newly-made +10 magazines again that won't cost and arm and a leg. Keep the date 9/13/04 in mind!
2004-03-03 22:31 | User Profile
You'll want eventually want the green followers, with the extension that keeps it from jamming. I found this FAQ helpful when I was hunting AR mags. [url]http://www.biggerhammer.net/ar15/magazines/rawlesfaq.html[/url]
2004-03-04 01:12 | User Profile
Green followers? I have been hearing people say good thing about them recently, but I always heard that all plastic followers are crap. I have a bunch of preban colt 20s that are all metal including the followers. I havent been able to find any for sale recently. Everything has those green followers. I also heard the 20s were more reliable than the 30s.
So the verdict is the new plastic green followers are ok? Why don't they use metal anymore? Damn plastic!
2004-03-04 01:24 | User Profile
All,
ammoman.com is offering 30 round USGI teflon coated mags at these prices:
5 for $159.00 15 for $429.00
They're also claiming there are no better mags availble.
I'm thinking about picking up 15 -- can anyone tell me if $27 each a reasonable deal?
If not, what's the most I should expect to pay for a quality magazine?
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[url]http://ammoman.com/AR15MAG2.htm[/url]
U.S.G.I. AR15 30 ROUND MAGS, MANUFACTURED BY LABELLE INDUSTRIES, BRAND NEW GOVERNMENT ISSUE. NEW IN THE FACTORY WRAPPER, PRE BAN MAGS WITH GREEN FOLLOWERS., YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER MAG, REMEMBER (PREBAN) NO LONGER AVAILABLE.