AR15 Magazines

[Exbiker]

Ihave an M&P AR 5.56 NATO|223. All I have is 2 factory 30 round mags. What brands and sources are reliable and reasonably priced. TIA

[Walleye Hunter]

Ihave an M&P AR 5.56 NATO|223. All I have is 2 factory 30 round mags. What brands and sources are reliable and reasonably priced. TIA

Magpuls seem to be popular and so far they fit in mine (haven't run them yet) and I got them at the Morgantown gun show for $10/ea, which is a pretty good price right now though there have been some others for cheaper in the past.

[JenniferG]

D&H aluminium from Palmetto Armory, they have the Magpul anti tilt follower in them.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/d-h-...zine-8416.html

or

PMags Colt came with them installed until they quit selling AR's to the public.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/magp...ag571-blk.html

Palmetto is a reliable source for right now. I've stocked up on the D&H mags over the past few years buying 5 or 10 at a time depending on the sale price. The cheapest I bought them was $5.99

[JCinPA]

JeniferG nailed it. I have some of both the Magpul and D&H aluminum, and like both. The whole world, seemingly, has gone to polymer magazines, and since the price difference at her links is only $1.30, the choice is pretty much one of preference.

Civilians seem to want whatever the High Speed Low Drag crowd uses, but for home defense use, even an occasional carbine course, I think the aluminum are fine. It's one of those hotly debated things in firearms (1911 .45 vs everything else, 'best' round to use in the AR, best red dot sight, etc), but from what I've read they are pretty much equivalent. For every guy who's "bought my own P-Mags in the sandbox because USGI were crap." I can find another guy who will only use good quality metal mags (D&H, OKAY, C Products) with the anti-tilt followers. The fact is both can and do fail, both are considered disposable items--you plan to replace them eventually--and both will likely server you very well.

Maybe it's just because I'm an old fart, set in my ways (Get off my lawn!) I slightly prefer the metal mags, but I honestly think people overthink AR magazines to death. Get some, have spares, and if they start to look worn, put them in the range use only box. Be happy.

Jennifer, boy those are some memories, $5.99 for D&H. I got loads of them, too! Sigh. Maybe if Trump is reelected we'll see that again. But general societal decline will likely keep them up for a while. Still, those Palmetto State prices are not bad, even historically.

[scruff]

I haven't been paying attention - what does the supply look like? Are mags getting hard to find, like after Sandy Hook?

Back then, I bought a bunch of Pmags, but I also bought some steel E-landers. If they're ok for Israeli special forces, they're ok by me. I also bought a few Lancers, those seem to work fine too.

[Walleye Hunter]

I haven't been paying attention - what does the supply look like? Are mags getting hard to find, like after Sandy Hook?

Back then, I bought a bunch of Pmags, but I also bought some steel E-landers. If they're ok for Israeli special forces, they're ok by me. I also bought a few Lancers, those seem to work fine too.

I wasn't looking for large quantities but I didn't see an absence of Pmags. The only thing was price. One vendor had them @$15/ea and another had them @$10/ea on the Gen 2's

[ShortRound45]

Gen 2 PMAGS are fine. $10 is currently a "good" deal for new magazines.

[Emptymag]

Mags are plentiful. Still affordable, but PSA and others are taking advantage of the run on guns by raising prices.
Look elsewhere.

Lanbosarmory.com had the best deal on PMAGS recently.

I prefer Lancer mags over PMAGS, but Lancers are more money
I prefer USGI mags over PMAGS - they used to cost less, but they are about the same price as PMAGs now.

WHERE to buy is going to depend on the quantity you want to buy.
Lots of deals on "10 packs", but buying less than that can get costly with shipping.


EDIT: Lanbos is sold out of 30 rd PMAGS
They still have 20 rounders for $10.65
https://lanbosarmory.com/index.php?m...ducts_id=15933

[chauncey]

JeniferG nailed it. I have some of both the Magpul and D&H aluminum, and like both. The whole world, seemingly, has gone to polymer magazines, and since the price difference at her links is only $1.30, the choice is pretty much one of preference.

Civilians seem to want whatever the High Speed Low Drag crowd uses, but for home defense use, even an occasional carbine course, I think the aluminum are fine. It's one of those hotly debated things in firearms (1911 .45 vs everything else, 'best' round to use in the AR, best red dot sight, etc), but from what I've read they are pretty much equivalent. For every guy who's "bought my own P-Mags in the sandbox because USGI were crap." I can find another guy who will only use good quality metal mags (D&H, OKAY, C Products) with the anti-tilt followers. The fact is both can and do fail, both are considered disposable items--you plan to replace them eventually--and both will likely server you very well.

Maybe it's just because I'm an old fart, set in my ways (Get off my lawn!) I slightly prefer the metal mags, but I honestly think people overthink AR magazines to death. Get some, have spares, and if they start to look worn, put them in the range use only box. Be happy.

Jennifer, boy those are some memories, $5.99 for D&H. I got loads of them, too! Sigh. Maybe if Trump is reelected we'll see that again. But general societal decline will likely keep them up for a while. Still, those Palmetto State prices are not bad, even historically.

Speaking from both experience as both a USMC infantryman and a civilian AR15 owner, the important difference between PMags and aluminum mags (assuming a quality manufacturer) is the ability to leave them loaded.

I had a lot of problems with my M16A2 and a lot had to do with double feeds. The double feeds were caused by aluminum mags with deformed feed lips. The deformed feed lips were caused by mags being loaded at or near capacity and the spring putting pressure on the rounds, pushing the feed lips out. Then multiple rounds push out the top. Sometimes even when the mag was inserted or handled roughly.

One of PMags' most important contributions was the storage caps. The storage cap actually applies pressure to the top round to push it down so it doesnt apply pressure to lips.

So can aluminum mags be reliable? Yes
Is it a good idea to buy Aluminum mags with an unknown history or use them to keep stored and stacked with ammo? Probably not
Buy quality aluminum mags if you want, use them and maintain them, but IMO stack ammo in "Ready to Go" PMags and use the top cover. This will give you the best odds of success.
YMMV

[Emptymag]

I swear I read something that said that stuff about dust covers "relieving pressure" on pmags for long term storage us an internet myth.

I have to see if I can find it, but I thought it came from Magpul themselves.
I have been wrong before though.