What's with the new fangled magazines?

[general_purpose]

So I'm a bit of a curmudgeon. I was brought up when the ubiquitous USGI aluminum 20 and 30 rounders were the de facto standard by which all other magazines were judged, which is to say, there were no other AR mags for comparison.

Today, we have a veritable cornucopia of choices. Pmag, CAA, Israeli, yada, yada...

What problem do these new mags solve that the old aluminum mags from 25 years ago, that has functioned and served our military and civilian AR/M4/m16 shooters, had ?

Or is it just eye candy or costume jewelry for AR's?

[HeruMew]

Some, if not all modern magazines, have "Anti-tilt" followers.

I have one USGI without one, if I press on the front of the follower and push, I can "replicate" (more like force) a binding in the magazine from the tilted follower. The concern is a follower tilting in operation and losing functionality.

Honestly, I think USGI are still considered reliable nonetheless, but the follower is a big one.

polymer mags are light, supposedly hold their shape better, but a lot of it could be marketing. I certainly have not been one to vet lots of mags.

ETA: I can't list all "GTG" mags, but I know M4C has vetted lots of different mag options.

[OrbitalE]

USGI aluminum mags are actually lighter than pmags.

[Mysteryman]

You can step on a Pmag without issue whereas a USGI will likely be damaged beyond use. Pmags or other similar quality polymer magazines are absolutely identical in dimensions whereas stamped and pressed aluminum GI mags are not.

MM

[MegademiC]

So I'm a bit of a curmudgeon. I was brought up when the ubiquitous USGI aluminum 20 and 30 rounders were the de facto standard by which all other magazines were judged, which is to say, there were no other AR mags for comparison.

Today, we have a veritable cornucopia of choices. Pmag, CAA, Israeli, yada, yada...

What problem do these new mags solve that the old aluminum mags from 25 years ago, that has functioned and served our military and civilian AR/M4/m16 shooters, had ?

Or is it just eye candy or costume jewelry for AR's?

In short good aluminum mags or steel, with good followers, pmags and some others are good to go.

I tend to stay away from Israeli stuff as it ussually seems cheap.

I know it's not quantified, but you can feel the difference between magpul polymer and some of the other brands.

I had a Promag that showed me all I needed to know about cheap mags.

[HeruMew]

USGI aluminum mags are actually lighter than pmags.

Part of the marketing that seems to be pretty skewed about it.

Had no idea, just never had that much interest in it, to scale them up.

Thinking about my HexMags, compared to USGI, those Hexs' have some heft to them compared to my aluminum mag. My first rifle purchased came with the USGI, only one I have ever truly handled. But it runs reliably, enough so to keep it within my cycle.

[MistWolf]

P mags work right out of the box, every time. Some GI style mags work, some need to have their followers updated, some are junk. Instead of trying to remember all which to buy, which to massage and which to avoid, I keep it simple and just buy P mags.

Do P mags actually solve a problem? Yes. With a few exceptions, they male choosing a magazine simple

[sevenhelmet]

There are other mags available now because of the expiration of the AWB, and the fact that ARs have gotten very popular. Some are junk, but as others have said, PMAGs are excellent, especially for the money, and solid USGI magazines are still very common..

[samuse]

P mags work right out of the box, every time. Some GI style mags work, some need to have their followers updated, some are junk. Instead of trying to remember all which to buy, which to massage and which to avoid, I keep it simple and just buy P mags.

Do P mags actually solve a problem? Yes. With a few exceptions, they male choosing a magazine simple

You're buying junk aluminum mags that are not g.i. mags. I've NEVER had a bad real g.i. mag out the wrapper and I've unwrapped and used hundreds. The green followers from 20-odd years ago are still fine in everything but high cyclic rate guns, the new tan followers are much better.

That being said, I use Gen M3 Pmags myself because Pmags hold up to partially loaded drops and being stepped on a lot better than aluminum.

Would I go to war with 7 new Centers, Brownells, or Okays? Absolutely.

Apparently OP has never stepped on a g.i. mag...

[Arik]

Start buying the Cetme L mags if you wanna step on them!! ;D

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