Best AR magazine?

[JoJo]

I went to the range yesterday to sight in my Bushmaster to a new scope. I carried one metal 30 round magazine and three thirty round Magpul magazines. The gun cycled perfectly with the metal magazine but would not feed consistently with the Magpuls. Actually, I had to charge the AR
first before I inserted the Magpuls or they would not lock in place.
I know just enough to point the small end away from me but my two buds are very experienced with ARs. They had no kind words for my choice of mags.
What do you guys advise?

[srt-4_jon]

Do you store your mags full? If so, did you have the covers on the p mags?

[JoJo]

Do you store your mags full? If so, did you have the covers on the p mags?

I loaded all the mags at the range. Each mag was loaded with twenty rounds. The mags are stored in outside pockets on my rifle bag.
I bought Magpul because of all the reports I read on the internet.

[MrSlippyFist]

A mag with a decent reputation can work great in one rifle, and not in another. This is mostly due to all of the different manufacturers, materials and processes and tolerances in execution of the final product. Your best bet will be trial and error to find which is best for your rifle.

[toyslr]

I run COLT green follower mags. PERIOD! Never had issues. Not a fan of P-mags or E-mags seems to be to many irregularities

[blueorison]

A mag with a decent reputation can work great in one rifle, and not in another. This is mostly due to all of the different manufacturers, materials and processes and tolerances in execution of the final product. Your best bet will be trial and error to find which is best for your rifle.

I run COLT green follower mags. PERIOD! Never had issues. Not a fan of P-mags or E-mags seems to be to many irregularities

I will second what both Slippy and Toys have just said. Every word of it. I have experienced this first hand.

I can only recommend Colt GI magazines to you, as a "best" option. Not a "best" magazine, but one that will work. There is a reason behind many practices. I can't recommend bushmaster, but that's besides the point. If you get the chance to trade the rifle, however, I would.

I am not trying to hate on any mfg. I am giving direct input from my own experience, which is with a broad range of AR's.

[JoJo]

A mag with a decent reputation can work great in one rifle, and not in another. This is mostly due to all of the different manufacturers, materials and processes and tolerances in execution of the final product. Your best bet will be trial and error to find which is best for your rifle.

I run COLT green follower mags. PERIOD! Never had issues. Not a fan of P-mags or E-mags seems to be to many irregularities

I will second what both Slippy and Toys have just said. Every word of it. I have experienced this first hand.

I can only recommend Colt GI magazines to you, as a "best" option. Not a "best" magazine, but one that will work. There is a reason behind many practices. I can't recommend bushmaster, but that's besides the point. If you get the chance to trade the rifle, however, I would.

I am not trying to hate on any mfg. I am giving direct input from my own experience, which is with a broad range of AR's.

Ouch Blue! Why don't you say how you really feel. I am stuck with the Bushmaster and must make the most of it. Maybe I have a gun problem and not a mag problem? What is the problem with Bushmaster ARs? Maybe it is something I can prepare for.
By the way, what modestly priced AR do you recommend?

[blueorison]

A mag with a decent reputation can work great in one rifle, and not in another. This is mostly due to all of the different manufacturers, materials and processes and tolerances in execution of the final product. Your best bet will be trial and error to find which is best for your rifle.

I run COLT green follower mags. PERIOD! Never had issues. Not a fan of P-mags or E-mags seems to be to many irregularities

I will second what both Slippy and Toys have just said. Every word of it. I have experienced this first hand.

I can only recommend Colt GI magazines to you, as a "best" option. Not a "best" magazine, but one that will work. There is a reason behind many practices. I can't recommend bushmaster, but that's besides the point. If you get the chance to trade the rifle, however, I would.

I am not trying to hate on any mfg. I am giving direct input from my own experience, which is with a broad range of AR's.

Ouch Blue! Why don't you say how you really feel. I am stuck with the Bushmaster and must make the most of it. Maybe I have a gun problem and not a mag problem? What is the problem with Bushmaster ARs? Maybe it is something I can prepare for.
By the way, what modestly priced AR do you recommend?

I'm sorry, JoJo, that's why I can't give gear reviews. I'm too blunt and it would just not turn out well

I'm not saying Bushmasters are the worst AR ever made; I'm saying there are many better-made AR's that can be had for reasonable prices. However, I can't recommend Bushmasters because I've shot some that were 100% problem-free, and too many that weren't. Most of the LE in TX that are on budget use Bushmasters that are very old (or simply do not use carbines). However, the LE around Austin are very... rich. They have million-dollar APC's (with sweet tech that you won't believe...). So the "good for LE good for me" does not apply, here.

Back on topic; I would recommend BCM. (Unrelated: I did, for Painkiller, and he chose that route after his own investigative efforts.) They are made by MIL to very high standards for a production-class non-custom rifle. You could always build your own, if you feel the need. You'll save a couple hundred, but in the long run, I prefer to have one made if it's going to be a primary. Even if you build one yourself, I would order parts from BCM. As for the stripped uppers and lowers, they are mostly made by a few companies and shipped to diff. mfg.'s.

Hope that helps. When you come to film the vid we're doing, we can talk more about it I prefer to do it off-forum as many AR enthusiasts like to get into vigorous verbal matches, which I thoroughly avoid. The best way to teach and share something is through first-hand experience, and I can borrow an AR and go over aspects with you when you get here

The bottom line for me is that AR's are AR's if they're made right. They all shoot pretty much the same from the factory, before tuning ports and adding other aftermarkets like springs, buffers, etc. However, there are a surprising number of AR's that aren't made right - to spec. They might work properly for thousands of rounds, but that doesn't mean they won't break after the next round. It's always best to do it right, the first time. :cya:

[toyslr]

Most civilians will never run a Bushmaster hard enough to break it. Back a few years ago there were issues with stress cracks in their barrels. I've owned a few two ran perfect, one was bad from the factory. The head spacing wasn't done or was done incorrectly and would never feed right. Sent it back twice until I just told them to credit me the cost in parts.

[JoJo]

Ooooooooh. Let me think........new AR or vacation....hmmm.

[romer522]

You probably had 31 rounds in the pmag, they are actually easier to insert with 30 rounds than GI mags.

Not sure why anyone "experienced" with ARs would hate on Pmags.....

[toyslr]

Maybe because they work in some weapons and not in others? Like not locking bolt back after last round? Personally I look for something that works with everything I own, not on some weapons and sometimes

[PainKillaX]

Ooooooooh. Let me think........new AR or vacation....hmmm.

I picked the AR. Can't wait. As far as mags, I got some BCM GI mags with Magpul followers. Someday, when I actually get my rifle, I'll tell you what I think. I've used Pmags once, the one time I did they worked fine with the gun I was running. I've also used GI mags that ran perfect, and some were straight garbage, although that's because they were used and abused.

[Zhurdan]

Pmags for me. I run them in three different AR's in two different calibers (5.56 and 300BLK out of the same magazines, and yes, I'm careful about which gun and which magazine... very careful)

Most "failure to seat" issues are solved by turning your mag catch in a turn or two, or out a turn or two based on who put it together. Also caused by lack of insertion force. If the bolts closed, you aren't going to "overtravel" the magazine past the mag catch as there's a large chunk of BOLT there. If the bolt is back and you are having a hard time getting it to catch, well... Wheaties are kinda tasty. ;-)

Most "failure to lock back" issues are buffer spring/buffer vs. ammo related. Weaker ammo will require a buffer change if you plan to use that ammo all the time.(Wolf, Brown Bear, etc.) Wanna check if it's the magazine? Insert an empty magazine, draw the charging handle back and see if it locks in place. If it does, it's not the magazine, but that the bolt is not getting enough rearward travel from recoil when the magazine goes dry.

I have Brownell AR15 magazines as well, but they basically are for the FS2000 as it won't accept pmags. They all work fine, just make sure to get the ones with the updated followers.

Hope that helps.

[justa22]

Brownells makes and sells a good metal magazine, never had any problems.

[toyslr]

And you make those adjustments to your AR and then it doesn't take "other" mags! Not gonna make those changes to just be "COOL" like everyone else and use plastic mags.
I have over 80 USGI mags, majority of them Colt with a few other brands thrown in. I have taken most apart and rebuilt at one time or another and can depend on them functioning in ALL of my AR's (COLT/ Noveske/ and Barrett 6.8) and SCAR

[Zhurdan]

And you make those adjustemnts to your AR and then it doesn't take "other" mags! Not gonna make those changes to just be "COOL" like everyone else and use plastic mags.
I have over 80 USGI mags, majority of them Colt with a few other brands thrown in. I have taken most apart and rebuilt at one time or another and can depend on them functioning
in ALL of my AR's and SCAR

Okay......

Comprehension is key.

Those adjustments are AMMO RELATED!!!!! If people choose to use crap ammo in their gun, then they are "likely" to have a short recoil travel. I've diagnosed and fixed many peoples AR's with a simple test. Load their gun with a few rounds of their crap ammo and shoot it. It fails to lock back. Take the SAME magazine and put quality ammo in it and shoot it. Locks back. Wow... pretty amazing how that works. Those adjustments are for people who insist on buying crappy ammo. I simply make it so their gun works with the crappy ammo that they are buying.

Not trying to be "cool", just telling it how it is. Unless you are buying bottom of the barrel magazines, most will work just fine. Many of those brands that do work have already been mentioned. Colt, BCM, Brownell, Pmags, Emags all work just fine if you are using full pressure ammo and not crappy low power cheap stuff.

[blueorison]

Most civilians will never run a Bushmaster hard enough to break it. Back a few years ago there were issues with stress cracks in their barrels. I've owned a few two ran perfect, one was bad from the factory. The head spacing wasn't done or was done incorrectly and would never feed right. Sent it back twice until I just told them to credit me the cost in parts.

I'm with Toys for basically all he commented on this thread. I still use PMags; my advise still stands.

This is why I said I can't do gear reviews or give advice on the open forum, JoJo.

It just turns into a giant argument. It pretty much happens, every time. It's not just me, it's pretty much every gear/gun reviewer out there.

I've shot a wide variety of ARs, not just "many" ARs. Suppressed, full auto, SBR's, etc. from different mfg.'s I've seen different things with magazines, as I'm sure Toys has, in his billion years more of gun experience than I and the wide spread of ARs he has encountered (didn't mean to make you sound, old, sir! )

I just want to help someone out; I don't want to contend. If it works for you, great! Keep doing it. PMags work in the loaner rifle I use, so I keep using them.

I really don't care for arguments on the internet. When you get here I can show you exactly what happens and the "why". There is no point speaking about this on the internet. I'm going to default to my now-favourite mode of discussion and you can email me or PM me or call me and talk about it, JoJo. You have access to all 3 modes of communication :cya:

[JoJo]

Most civilians will never run a Bushmaster hard enough to break it. Back a few years ago there were issues with stress cracks in their barrels. I've owned a few two ran perfect, one was bad from the factory. The head spacing wasn't done or was done incorrectly and would never feed right. Sent it back twice until I just told them to credit me the cost in parts.

I'm with Toys for basically all he commented on this thread. I still use PMags; my advise still stands.

This is why I said I can't do gear reviews or give advice on the open forum, JoJo.

It just turns into a giant argument. It pretty much happens, every time. It's not just me, it's pretty much every gear/gun reviewer out there.

I've shot a wide variety of ARs, not just "many" ARs. Suppressed, full auto, SBR's, etc. from different mfg.'s I've seen different things with magazines, as I'm sure Toys has, in his billion years more of gun experience than I and the wide spread of ARs he has encountered (didn't mean to make you sound, old, sir! )

I just want to help someone out; I don't want to contend. If it works for you, great! Keep doing it. PMags work in the loaner rifle I use, so I keep using them.

I really don't care for arguments on the internet. When you get here I can show you exactly what happens and the "why". There is no point speaking about this on the internet. I'm going to default to my now-favourite mode of discussion and you can email me or PM me or call me and talk about it, JoJo. You have access to all 3 modes of communication :cya:

Blue, the arguments and opinions make the forum more interesting, at least to me. We can talk over a beer!

[toyslr]

Beer? Austin or Houston?

[JoJo]

Beer? Austin or Houston?

Austin. My friend's daughter has a micro brewery there.

[toyslr]

Lets set something up sometime! My girls never been to 6th St. need to bring her over

[blueorison]

Lets set something up sometime! My girls never been to 6th St. need to bring her over

That's the first time I've ever heard of a dad wanting to bring his girls to party and club downtown!! haha..

I can give you a tour, but it sounds like you know the city

There's a trailer that I love that's called Gordoughs, they're amazing.

SoCo is a great place to check out, also.