surefire 60 mags feeding issues

[El R15]

I've owned a surefire 60rd. For a couple years, no issues. It doesn't come out often though.
Maybe 200 rounds through it.

[JusticeM4]

When I got mine, it had a couple issues. A guy who had been running them a lot told me what to do. You disassemble the mag and go over the interior looking for rough spots. Interior spine, sides, etc. Also smooth the spring if needed, as well as the followers. Some of the springs appeared to have been "dipped" and have little bulges or rough spots. I took around 20 minutes going through it and smoothing it out and it has run well for~500 rounds.

I have found that because of the weight of the round stack they are slightly prone to magazine surge. If you drop hard into prone or hit the mag hard the follower can lose control of the rounds. If it does, clear it and put in a regular mag.

+1.

Mine had some issues in the beginning also. I disassembled and inspected the mag for any hangups and imperfections, added a little lube inside, and it works fine now. It is a backup/range mag though. I stick to L5's and Pmags for primary.

[tarkeg]

+1.

Mine had some issues in the beginning also. I disassembled and inspected the mag for any hangups and imperfections, added a little lube inside, and it works fine now. It is a backup/range mag though. I stick to L5's and Pmags for primary.

Yeah, a VERY light oiling helped mine as well. I use it as the first mag in. If it does anything hinky it gets ejected and a pmag m3 goes in. Those are my primaries. The 60 has survived some 3 gun use..

[JusticeM4]

Yeah, a VERY light oiling helped mine as well. I use it as the first mag in. If it does anything hinky it gets ejected and a pmag m3 goes in. Those are my primaries. The 60 has survived some 3 gun use..

Same here. I used the Surefire60 on a rifle stage with multiple targets that required more than 40rds to complete (no mag restriction so that I didn't have to reload if I didn't want to). The mag did just fine.

I also use Pmag40's which do work more reliably if it calls for it. But sometimes it's nice to have 60rds on tap and just fire away. I don't currently have a D60 but it is on the list.

[joe138]

I have two. They both work just like my p mags and gi mags. However they will not work with any brand of steel cased ammo. I couldn't even load them with steel cased ammo, as the ammo would hang up and prevent additional rounds from being inserted. As long as it's brass, mine work.

[tpe187]

I'm not aware of a way to tell the date/year of manufacture of the magazines as my two are not marked, so short of buying direct. I got mine in 2012. We tested them during infantry live fires for use by the support by fire position, to augment the M249 squad automatic weapon. They do not do well when dirty or when banged around. The follower is not anit-tilt so when they take a good smack the rounds get lodged. The problem they tried to overcome is having enough spring pressure to overcome the weight of 60 rounds and push that through the bottle neck. I think they are ok for screwing around at the range and maybe gaming, but there are better options. For serious, life threatening work, I would recommend two 30rd PMAGs using Magpuls maglink. If one mag has a problem or runs dry, it is a simple switch to the other. I have recently tested out the Magpul D60 mag and it flat out works. The down side is that its kind a pain in the ass to load. You can basically get three rounds in per push of the lever. I highly recommend using stripper clips with the setup and a Mag lula loading device. I've also used the 40rd PMAGs and they work flawlessly as well.

[Kdubya]

I'm not aware of a way to tell the date/year of manufacture of the magazines as my two are not marked, so short of buying direct. I got mine in 2012. We tested them during infantry live fires for use by the support by fire position, to augment the M249 squad automatic weapon. They do not do well when dirty or when banged around. The follower is not anit-tilt so when they take a good smack the rounds get lodged. The problem they tried to overcome is having enough spring pressure to overcome the weight of 60 rounds and push that through the bottle neck. I think they are ok for screwing around at the range and maybe gaming, but there are better options. For serious, life threatening work, I would recommend two 30rd PMAGs using Magpuls maglink. If one mag has a problem or runs dry, it is a simple switch to the other. I have recently tested out the Magpul D60 mag and it flat out works. The down side is that its kind a pain in the ass to load. You can basically get three rounds in per push of the lever. I highly recommend using stripper clips with the setup and a Mag lula loading device. I've also used the 40rd PMAGs and they work flawlessly as well.

This ^^^^

Very sound advice and an excellent breakdown of the options available. For true 30+ round options I'd second the Magpul offerings. The D60 is excellent in terms of performance. Loading is, as stated, a little cumbersome. The surefire is probably easier to load quickly, but the Magpul will excel at everything else. I'm not sure what the surefire is going for these days. Back when I'd tried a buddy's they were well over $100. At anywhere around $100, the D60 is the clear choice in true high-cap mags.

Given that you're asking about a particular iteration, I'd guess you're possibly dealing with an option to buy some "surplus", "new old stock", or used at a discount. Depending on the price, it might be an okay buy. However, I'd personally only plan to use them for range/fun. Maybe competition. But I wouldn't plan to put them into a "go-to" role. Again, that's assuming my guess is right about why you're interested in the year/generation.

My advice. Sign up for PSA's daily deal emails. Every couple weeks they run a special on a D60 and a Premium BCG for $125. That's basically the retail price you'd find on the D60 alone. If you don't want the PSA BCG, you could sell it, and end up only being into the D60 for around $50 or $60.

[Cane55]

I have 2 of them (one 100 & one 60 round). Both have run flawlessly for me so far with thousands of rounds of steel cased ammo. Granted I have only used them at the range and haven't run them hard in classes outdoors. Even though they've run flawlessly for me I would still probably use a PMAG or other quality stick mag for self defense.

[HMsailor]

I'm not aware of a way to tell the date/year of manufacture of the magazines as my two are not marked, so short of buying direct. I got mine in 2012. We tested them during infantry live fires for use by the support by fire position, to augment the M249 squad automatic weapon. They do not do well when dirty or when banged around. The follower is not anit-tilt so when they take a good smack the rounds get lodged. The problem they tried to overcome is having enough spring pressure to overcome the weight of 60 rounds and push that through the bottle neck. I think they are ok for screwing around at the range and maybe gaming, but there are better options. For serious, life threatening work, I would recommend two 30rd PMAGs using Magpuls maglink. If one mag has a problem or runs dry, it is a simple switch to the other. I have recently tested out the Magpul D60 mag and it flat out works. The down side is that its kind a pain in the ass to load. You can basically get three rounds in per push of the lever. I highly recommend using stripper clips with the setup and a Mag lula loading device. I've also used the 40rd PMAGs and they work flawlessly as well.

mfg date is on package. Once its open and thrown away, i dont think there is way to tell.

[hickuleas]

I was told that by the feed lips if there is three copper dots instead of two that these are after Surefire beefed up that area. And the earlier ones had two.