Ar magazine question

hughes1

October 10, 2003 06:07

I'm considering buying some 30 round mags for my ar-15 bushmaster, any suggestions on brand. Obviously USA brand are junk, what about Thermold, better or worse than USGI. I think there are some Brithish steel mags on the market? What's up with Green followers, Orange ones too?

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  SP Tiger

  October 10, 2003 06:27

  You can't go wrong with USGI aluminum mags. All of mine have the old black followers and I have never had a feeding problem. I am wary of steel magazines in my AR-15s. They may be fine, but I just don't care for them.
  
  Better to have and not need, than need and not have.

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  Txs

  October 10, 2003 07:33

  I agree with the opinion on USGI mags. Any of the contract magazines will serve you well. The only ones to avoid are some which were manufactured by Sanchez. They made a small number with fewer spot welds along the front of the mag body, causing these to split and Sanchez to lose their contract. Correct milspec mags have six spot welds, where these only had something like three. None were accepted by our military, but some made it out to the civilian market and you might run into them at gunshows. Keep in mind this only applies to a relatively small batch of Sanchez mags. Their correctly made ones are of good quality.
  
  One thing to consider if you plan on using different bullet styles. Within my agency we ran into feedway stoppage problems when using Hornady TAP ammunition with USGI mags in our AR's and M16's. This round has a shorter profile bullet than either the M193 or M855 round and would end up ramming it's nose into the feed ramp.
  
  After upgrading to the green followers we're experiencing no problems with either GI or Hornady ammunition. If you want good reliability with different ammunition types, I'd say you should pick up some GI mags, even in used/good condition, then install new springs and upgraded followers. As cheap as you can pick these up it's worth investing the extra few bucks.

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  drobs

  October 10, 2003 11:28

  Hmm now I have to go home and check out my Sanchez mags. Aim has the English steel mags for sale. They work fine in my Rock River. Check out:
  
  http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Rifle_Magazines.html
  
  Regards,
  

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  Hangfire

  October 10, 2003 14:43

  I have had flawless service from the Isreali "Orlite" mags.These are made of a plastic polymer.They are virtually indestructable.I have fired countless thousands of rounds through my Car-15 over the years without a single malfunction. They did not lockup correctly in a friends Olympic AR, but that was because the Olympic magazine well was different than Colts, and did not allow the full seating of the mag.Not that familiar with the Bushmaster, but if it is a TRUE copy of the Colt these mags are well worth checking out.-Bob
  
  Gun control is a steady hand

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  hughes1

  October 10, 2003 15:44

  I've heard the Bushmaster AR's won't function with the Orlite mags.

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  Laredo Lefty

  October 10, 2003 16:29

  I have used aluminum GI mags, Orlite, and Thermold that are used by the Canadian military.
  All work fine, but as mentioned above, the Orlite and Thermold are fussy about which rifles they will fit in.
  
  The green followers are supposed to eliminate the problem of followers turning over when loaded and jamming things up.
  
  Many of my GI mags still have the blk followers and I have never had problems with them flipping over when loaded. It might have been a case of coming up with a solution to a problem that did not exist.

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  kingjoey

  October 10, 2003 17:25

  My Bushmaster has had zero problems with the USGI mags, they were designed to mil-spec requirements which are going to be much more strict than the QC dept at USA, Western Metal, etc.... The English SA-80 mags are top notch too, but a bit heavier since they are made of steel.
  
  Love them Beavers
  
  
  SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN

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