Early type steel AR-15 waffle pattern magazine diassembly

**dusty_dragon** · 02-16-18, 14:51

Dear friends,
need your help for a second.
the early type steel AR-15 waffle pattern magazines (brownells offers them also as a reproduction with their new retro line) have no hole in the baseplate like the later G.I. 30rds aluminium ones.
Normally you stick something (tip of a bullet) in that hole and raise the baseplate and slide it off.
The steel waffle pattern mags, just like the 20rds G.I. alluminum ones of the NAM era don't have that "disassembly hole" but what seems like a spring loaded cross bolt section in the baseplate.
Can you help me out and tell me how to disassemble these mags without bending, marring, scratching the baseplate?

Thanks a lot
dusty_dragon

**RAM Engineer** · 02-16-18, 16:02

Originally the AR-15 magazines were designed to be disposable. I'm not sure that they NEEDED a provision for disassembly.

**dusty_dragon** · 02-16-18, 17:03

just learned it from a helpful member in another board:
depress the thin tab near the front of the floor plate, it locks the floor plate to the magazine body.
then you can slide the floor plate off

**dusty_dragon** · 02-17-18, 04:36

edit:
my brownells waffle mag repros arrived today.
i had black hands just from unpackaging the mags, the paint of the mag is more on my hands now than on the magazine.
do yours discolor also so fast?
wiped it off with a little oiled patch but it only got worse.
seems like they are just spray-painted with a color-can.
i can see the pure metal and i didn't even insert the mag or loaded it.

have the original 1950's/1960's ones also been painted black or were they grey like the 20rds mags of the NAM era rifles?

what did the original waffle mags looked like (color)?

**wetidlerjr** · 02-17-18, 08:37

Originally Posted by dusty_dragon

edit:
my brownells waffle mag repros arrived today.
i had black hands just from unpackaging the mags, the paint of the mag is more on my hands now than on the magazine.
do yours discolor also so fast?
wiped it off with a little oiled patch but it only got worse.
seems like they are just spray-painted with a color-can.
i can see the pure metal and i didn't even insert the mag or loaded it.

have the original 1950's/1960's ones also been painted black or were they grey like the 20rds mags of the NAM era rifles?

what did the original waffle mags looked like (color)?

You might get better responses here: https://www.m4carbine.net/forumdispl...48-Vintage-ARs in the Vintage ARs section.

**RAM Engineer** · 02-17-18, 08:40

I've seen the same complaints on Brownell's website.

Originally Posted by dusty_dragon

edit:
my brownells waffle mag repros arrived today.
i had black hands just from unpackaging the mags, the paint of the mag is more on my hands now than on the magazine.
do yours discolor also so fast?
wiped it off with a little oiled patch but it only got worse.
seems like they are just spray-painted with a color-can.
i can see the pure metal and i didn't even insert the mag or loaded it.

have the original 1950's/1960's ones also been painted black or were they grey like the 20rds mags of the NAM era rifles?

what did the original waffle mags looked like (color)?