Kevin Kline Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 Out of you rifle/3gun shooters out there, which AR mags are good to buy that work. I see tons of them out there, but have heard horror stories about some of them and their reliability and quality. I will trust the IPSC guys on what they use because I know we use them over and over, test and play w/ everything, shoot them till they're dead and won't use it unless it works. What do you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 GI 30, GI 20, and Thermold 30. The more ratty-looking the better, as long as the feed lips are good. Followers and springs are available for replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 I agree. I use the Israel plastic ones which might be the Thermold he is talking about. Almost all other plastic ones are junk except these. GI and USA metal ones have worked well for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 I think the Isreali stuff is Orlite. I don't have any direct experience with those. Thermolds seem to be a North American product. I second the recommendation for the Thermold 30 rounders. I haven't had one problem with the ones I have. Rumor has it that there are Thermolds with a large Canadian Maple leaf on the side and that those are to be avoided. I did have some Colt factory demo 30 rounders that I just hated. The feed lips were really soft and bent after just a few hundred rounds. The dealer I bought them from would only give me a same product exchange so I go new ones that weren't bent and immediately sold them. -jhgtyre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDean Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 Good advice above has been given as far as I've been told/read. Thermolds to avoid are the Canadian "Maple Leaf" variety. They are refered to as "Therm-melts" after the Canadians involvement in recent global "peace-keeping" excursions. I used my 30rd Thermolds to grab 3rd place at a local 3-gun recently. 1st & 2nd places were won by Masters Carl Carbon (Open) and Pat Kelly (Limited: 99.75% of Carl's score!). My 3rd place score was 72% of Carl's!! These guys are good..... ...was this a thread drift or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Snyder Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 My source says that the "OKay " GI mags are the first choice, followed by anything with a green follower. I think that this came from a USMC study... regards Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDean Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 I thought the Labelles are first choice...? Hell I don't know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DblTap Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 Quote: from Erik Warren on 9:11 am on April 16, 2002 GI 30, GI 20, and Thermold 30. Thermold's can be loaded with 30 rounds and still seat with a closed bolt and feed fine. They are a little tight when new and tend to drag on the bolt carrier. After a couple of uses they are great. Most USGI 30's work well but I have had a few that were very hard to seat unless downloaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Kline Posted April 17, 2002 Author Share Posted April 17, 2002 Thanks everyone, appreciate it. Les, Gene Caudell gave pretty much the same info, just wanted to check and see what the rest of the 3 gun community was thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 The only mags I'll use in competition are USGI, with particular manufacturer being of little importance. Okay Industries are the most common that I use. I would never pay extra for an Okay mag with a Colt floorplate. Canadian Thermelts and even the better American versions are OK for practice, but I have a thing against plastic. I don't like Orlites at all and believe they have been replaced with USGI mags in Israel. Not sure if this is due to the US giving these mags away or not(I don't know that we are), but those folks really need mags that work, so I think it counts as a vote for USGI. I've found no difference between black and green followers so far, but I'm generally a fan of 20 round mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redleg99 Posted August 24, 2002 Share Posted August 24, 2002 You might want to look at Troy's Magazine FAQ. It’s the best guide to AR mags that I’ve seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted September 1, 2002 Share Posted September 1, 2002 I just finished teaching/armorer an LEO AR class, and saw a curious sight: curved 20 round magazines. They are curved at the same point as a 30, but cut short and only hold 20. Why? I can only surmize that someone, somewhere, was told that 20 round magazines ar emore reliable, so that's what they made. Except these hardly worked. Well, they hardly worked in the PD's rifles. An IL county bought 100 rifles, and the first five they brought to class had many teething problems. Partly magazine, partly rifle. Except that the unreliable magazines worked just fine in my AR. And the most important lesson any Officer or PD (or the military, for that matter) can learn from IPSC shooters is: "It doesn't work until you've tested it and prove it works." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now