Move back to GI magazines - a journey

[GTF425]

And I have a colorful story from a friend of mine in 1/75 who slammed into the prone with an HK mag, went to bring his rifle up to fire, and the entire floor plate cracked and broke off the bottom of the mag and all his rounds dumped out.

I've broken Ranger Plates doing that, but never broken the bottom of a mag off.

[MistWolf]

Something else I'll be looking at is a better way of marking my GI mags. In digging out a lot of these old ones I see where I marked them with Sharpie and while still visible many are very faded. The Sharpie works ok on Pmags because the ribs reduce the amount of rubbing on the writing, but the GI mags rub together a lot more and wear off the marker.

I don't want to get into stickers as I think that's a whole 'nother thing to get bound up.

Anyone with suggestions on this, I'm all ears. It does not have to be pretty by any means, it just has to be durable and visible.

Here's one idea


https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=45553

There is also this-

[Magic_Salad0892]

I'm currently using D&H/Colt(OKAY) USGI magazines, some have KAC White followers I got from friends, dudes online, and I think some might have come with my SR-15s, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Wasn't something I really paid attention to until today. Others have Magpul yellow followers (which were given to my by my Mom, sweet isn't she?).

I have a few ways of marking magazines and what they're filled with.

I'd like to get 30 mags willed with M855, and 30 filled with BH Mk. 262. I currently have: (and how they're marked)

D&H Mags (Yellow Magpul Follower)
These magazines are filled with M855 (Lake City 62 gr. FMJ), and are marked by follower, and I have a homosexual man my girlfriend works with engrave - which he does very well, and I don't own an engraving tool (in about THIS SIZE ''M855 - 30 RDS.'' this is then filled in with RED paint pen. Right now I have about 23 magazines (I just counted) set up this way. They are black, not painted in any way, and easily readable. The engraving work looks good.

Colt (OKAY) (White Knights Armament Follower)
These magazines are loaded with BH Mk. 262 (I hated it when that crap was restricted) , and are marked in about THIS SIZE ''MK 262 - 30 RDS.'' and are filled in with GREEN paint pen. I think it glows in that dark, but I'm not sure. Once again, they are black/greyish, and not painted/camouflaged in any way. Very readable, and apparently very permanent.
Currently I have 13 magazines set up this way. I don't have any real reason not to use the other Magpul followers I have, I'm just a Knights whore. And they've run 100% for me.

Magpul magazines get loaded with whatever else I have, and don't really get marked. I use use them until they die. Those are the training/beater magazines, and I don't care about them. USGI magazine springs used in magazines mentioned above, BTW.

I color code, and have them engraved, followers also conform to code. If you want to engrave, or get good at doing it legibly I was told to practice on shovels, and engraving your initials on watches.

I bought the paint pens from a Wal-Mart.

You guys just reminded me I gotta number my magazines, I for some reason never thought of that. Herp-da-derp.

[rsilvers]

USGI mags use USGI springs. Consumer mags tend to use CS springs, mostly due to ignorance of consumers.

Stainless wire is about 2.7x more expensive. Marketing people are laughing at what they have pulled off.

[rob_s]

The AWB ended 7 years ago. If you have a bad magazine, crush it and move on (I tend to throw my downrange and shoot them). Maybe scavenge your follower if you're running a Magpul or an aftermarket baseplate. Unless you live in a ban state, you should have enough magazines that crushing shitty ones (instead of trying to re-form feed lips and change out springs and and and and) that it doesn't matter if you destroy a couple.

For those that lived through the AWB and haven't stocked up in the last 7 years; shame on you. The only real reason to keep a bad magazine is to mark it for malfunction drills.

Magazines (all detachable magazines) are consumables and should be treated as such. Maybe it's just me but when you can find NIW USGI mags for $8 a pop it simply isn't worth it to take the money and effort to try and fix a questionable mag.

Is there a place in this thread where anyone, outside of ban states, has suggested anything counter to any of the above?

[rsilvers]

Magazines are $8?

[Magic_Salad0892]

Magazines are $8?

Cheaper than gun magazines.

[rob_s]

Magazines are $8?

I wasn't going to go there, but you have a point.

There have been a few references throughout this thread to magazines for pretty low prices. It would be helpful to others reading this if those that are quoting these prices could also post links to where they are getting these prices.

I'm paying $10.99/ea for NHMTG with green followers from 44mag.com. If there's a place to get USGI magazines for cheaper I'd love to know about it. Especially $3/mag cheaper as that price differential goes a long way towards paying for the Ranger Plates.

[nolacopusmc]

Marking mags... I use an engraver. Mags are numbered beginning with an in-service year, followed by mag number. Exp: 11-01, 11-02, etc. If high vis is needed, I'll paint pen over the top.

Capacity... 28rds, all mags, all the time. There are no mags currently available that should be expected to seat under a closed bolt with 30rds reliably across their type. There are examples that will, but better safe than sorry. 30rds might seat, 28rds will seat.

I really like that idea-- using an inservice date. Thanks

[ffhounddog]

Intresting thread and I agree and not all mags are made a like.

I have some CProducts mags left (I know) but these have never failed me and got these before that big sale they had a few years back. After that sale I got a few mags and the feed lips were not made correctly and the "magpul" followers they had were not magpul like they were before.

I was buying before the 2008 election 10 packs of D&H mags for 70 bucks shipped when people were trying to get PMAGs I was still buying well USGI.

i have a 20mm ammo can loaded with USGI mags with Q3131 loaded in each to 28 rounds. That is my oh f**k the SE side of DC is comming into VA box.