USGI mags outlast all others

[RobertTheTexan]

When I was in the Army, we called it the "TOC".

DK

Hoping it was that nasty autocorrect at work..


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[sinlessorrow]

Any ways here is a good read

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2...series-rifles/

And the marine corps adopted the gen 3 pmag

http://soldiersystems.net/2016/12/19...comment-900184

Kinda odd how the army is using newly designed mags and the marines are switching too gen 3 pmags. There has got to be a problem as the older usgi mags are best

All that says is they are authorized for use.

The reason for the new EPM's is because M855A1 can strike the M4 feed ramp cuts in the upper, which is as you know aluminum.

This eventually wears a groove between the upper and the barrel feed ramps that cause nothing but stoppages. The new EPM is designed to make sure the M855A1 steel tip only strikes the steel barrel extension feed ramps.

Also the Marines have a unique issue no one else does because the M27 IAR doesn't have the normal 120 degree chamber on the chamber face, this causes unique issues with M855A1 not seen in the M16/M4/Mk18.

[3ACR_Scout]

All that says is they are authorized for use.

No, it's much bigger than that. The Marine Corps has directed that the M3 PMAG is the only magazine authorized for use in combat, and that the EPM has been relegated to training use only. I.e., the EPM is not authorized for use in combat by Marine Corps personnel because they are not confident in its reliability based on the testing that just concluded. As Duane from Magpul described in the MCT thread, it also allows Marines to procure the PMAG through the military supply system, something the Army is still not set up to do (easily).

[Straight Shooter]

I've had magazines compressed for years without issue.
Agreed a test batch of 'One", but I'm certainly not the only one. I believe Cooper wrote about a 1911 magazine that was loaded for thirty years operating flawlessly.

Ive shot one loaded A LOT longer than that..and other mags loaded for decades as well. My dad bought a S&W 3906 right when they came out, fired half a box of WWB, loaded both mags, and it sat in a drawer over twenty years before I finally took it out, emptied both mags, cleaned and lubed it, and reloaded them with better ammo. Ill say this about "stretching springs"...ANYBODY who does this is ignorant, no matter WHO told you to do it, the springs, sorry or not to begin with I don't know, were made WORSE by stretching them, and I would NEVER allow it were I in charge, nor would I EVER carry said mags. It is simply not true that well made, correctly made mags "go bad" after being loaded for long periods of time.

[Straight Shooter]

FWIW- I TOO had Nam era shit whilst in the USMC in early eighties. But that aside..IM TELLING you..ask ANYBODY ON THIS BOARD who is a gunsmith..when you stretch a spring, you have f-ed it up and it is in WORSE condition than before, even if the spring was "worn out"...its NOW worn out AND metalurgically speaking..F'ed-UP. REPEATED COMPRESSION..many many load/unload cycles, is what will "wear out " springs...NOT loading them to capacity and leaving them set. Sounds to me like yall made bad mags WORSE.

[3ACR_Scout]

3acr scout were you in Iraq 03-04 I was attached to you guys for like 4 months. Is 3rd acr gone. You guys athurized my company to wear the Stetson and spurs

I wasn't on that deployment - I left in '02 and came back in '04, then deployed with the Regiment from '05 - '06 and '08 - '09. 3d ACR moved to Fort Hood in '06 and then eventually converted to a Stryker brigade in '11. They dropped the "Armored" from the name, so it's now the 3d Cavalry Regiment (like back in the 1800s!). I remember people talking about the MPs and all the other units that were attached out in Anbar. Thanks for helping out all those buddies of mine!

As far as the mag springs go, everyone was told the same bad advice over the years, and you did what you had to to get a few more cycles out of the magazines (and I'm a mechanical engineer, so I should have known better!). I ended up ordering +10% Wolff springs for my mags when I deployed in '05 because I wasn't confident that they would function reliably. It wasn't til a few years later that units started issuing new mags as everyone deployed. I took PMAGs with me in '08 but still hadn't really used them on a regular basis and wasn't totally confident about "plastic magazines." The ODA that was partnered with us was using them exclusively and had nothing but good things to say about them, so I converted over and learned more about their benefits after that deployment.

[Iraqgunz]

I thought he was kidding at first....wow.

Well there you go...if the spring were compressed after 2 weeks you got a bad batch of springs.

Stretching out springs, just make matters worse. If a spring becomes shorter, it means the material has been bent into the yield range and was not of the proper temper. Bending it back to its original shape does not change the temper, but just adds another bit of fatigue to the material, further shortening its life. And, stretching a otherwise good spring doesn't do it any good either.

If a spring becomes short, it should be replaced.

[lysander]

Unfortunately or fortunately I was pretty familiar with the M3. Familiar enough to remember it felt like a boat anchor around my neck.


There is volumes of truth to this simple statement.
The day I screamed "Don't hit the F¥#¥>!¥<!! fuse on the HE round with a f$@£#%! Hammer!!!"
I knew then that I was dealing with a special segment of humanity. Hence my mostek exit from said redlegs as the earliest possible opportunity.



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So you moved the the Armor Branch?

[rickgman]

USGI stuff a lot of the time is "the worst" because of the US GI.

Yep, some GI's can break an anvil with a rubber mallet.