Straight 20's and Followers

jmart · #1 08-18-07, 22:01

Just picked up five newly manufactured straight 20's, w/black plastic followers. On the off chance they don't do it for me, does anyone mfg a replacememt follower designed for these mag bodies? Alloy replacements?

I know Magpuls and the new alloy/steel CMMG followers are designed for 30's, so those are out.

arbob · #2 08-18-07, 22:52

Magpul orange and tan followers work in the NJ legal 15 round magazines. I dont see why wouldn`t work in a straight 20. Try asking Magpul directly. They have an industry forum over on Arfcom.

Eric Cartman · #3 08-19-07, 21:18

John Masen 20rd alloy follower

http://http://www.johnmasen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=J&Product_Code=1509&Category_Code=AA

jmart · #4 08-19-07, 22:28

Thanx, I knew I had seen that before but I never saved it. Those are exactly what I was looking for.

Alpha Sierra · #5 08-20-07, 07:13

I try to buy a couple of olf GI 20s with the metal follower whenever I find some. So long as they are not corroded, they are very reliable.

wps · #6 08-21-07, 01:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmart

Just picked up five newly manufactured straight 20's, w/black plastic followers. On the off chance they don't do it for me, does anyone mfg a replacememt follower designed for these mag bodies? Alloy replacements?

I know Magpuls and the new alloy/steel CMMG followers are designed for 30's, so those are out.

What brand are they. Reason I ask, if they're NHMTG, you might want see how easily they insert, and drop from your magwell before spending more money on new followers. I bought a few, and have been very disappointed. Very tight fit in, and out of my old Bushmaster lowers. They also don't feed all that well.

My 40 year old USGI straight 20's with alloy followers perform much better. Needless to say, I won't be buying any more NHMTG mags. If they truly are Colt's supplier, all I can say is

jmart · #7 08-21-07, 08:39

They are NHMTGs and I tried one or two and they worked fine. Will try them all, thanks for the heads up.

I have no experience with the plastic followers in the 20's, that's why I asked about the aftermarket options. I recall reading someone made a replacement alloy follower, I may end up adding those if mine don't run. But my old 20's always ran well and sometimes I just prefer running 20's over 30's, expecially when proned out.

wps · #8 08-21-07, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmart

They are NHMTGs and I tried one or two and they worked fine. Will try them all, thanks for the heads up.

I have no experience with the plastic followers in the 20's, that's why I asked about the aftermarket options. I recall reading someone made a replacement alloy follower, I may end up adding those if mine don't run. But my old 20's always ran well and sometimes I just prefer running 20's over 30's, expecially when proned out.

Glad yours work well in your lower(s) magwell, at least that's one issue you won't have to deal with.

I wish some first line magazine manufacturer would make a straight bodied 20 that duplicated the old 20's exactly in EVERY way including the alloy followers. Bet they couldn't keep them in stock.

During the ban most seemed most people wanted 30's. So I bought all the old 20's I could get my hands on. Sure glad I did, as they are my "go to" mags. Don't really know why the old 20's are so good, but I sure do love them. I've got a few 30's, but never use them.

Hope you new 20's run flawlessly. Best of luck.

Bison · #9 08-23-07, 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by wps

What brand are they. Reason I ask, if they're NHMTG, you might want see how easily they insert, and drop from your magwell before spending more money on new followers. I bought a few, and have been very disappointed. Very tight fit in, and out of my old Bushmaster lowers. They also don't feed all that well.

My 40 year old USGI straight 20's with alloy followers perform much better. Needless to say, I won't be buying any more NHMTG mags. If they truly are Colt's supplier, all I can say is

Wow. I've never heard a problem with the straight 20's from NHMTG. In fact, mine all work 100%. I use them much more often than I use my 30 rounders because they make going prone easier as well as shooting from a bench. I just like them. Never had a problem, either. Odd.

Anyway, I'm willing to bet that your insert/removal snugness is also related to the feeding problems you had. I'm guessing that mag is out of spec. I'm sure every manufacturer has a couple of bad days. How many 20 rounders do you have that suffer those problems? Are they all NHMTG? Do other mags work without the problems in the same gun? Jus wondering.

powderkeg45 · #10 08-23-07, 23:49

I wish magpul made a 20rnd pmag. I'm hooked on the pmags, but 30 round mags are taller than I'd prefer when shooting prone or off a short rest.

wps · #11 08-24-07, 00:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bison

Wow. I've never heard a problem with the straight 20's from NHMTG. In fact, mine all work 100%. I use them much more often than I use my 30 rounders because they make going prone easier as well as shooting from a bench. I just like them. Never had a problem, either. Odd.

Anyway, I'm willing to bet that your insert/removal snugness is also related to the feeding problems you had. I'm guessing that mag is out of spec. I'm sure every manufacturer has a couple of bad days. How many 20 rounders do you have that suffer those problems? Are they all NHMTG? Do other mags work without the problems in the same gun? Jus wondering.

I've read posts on other boards with the NHMTG fitting tight in magwells from other posters, (after I bought mine) so just figured it was the nature of the beast. Also the finish is very rough to the touch, much like 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper.

I bought 3 of these at a gunshow last winter in Amarillo. I had been curious about them, so just bought that small amount to try them out. All 3 look, feel, and perform the same way. Bought them from a well known dealer, which I'm sure some of you Texas guys would recognize his name, so don't think there was any "funny business" going on, as far as the dealer is concerned.

All my other mags are the old USGI straight bodied 20's with the alloy followers. I've got a bunch of these, and they all perform flawlessly in all my ARs, and all I've ever done to any of them is to clean them up. Pretty remarkable since some of them are close to 40 years old.

I'm sure you're correct with them being generally out of spec. I've got enough of the old USGI 20's to last for my lifetime, so not a big deal with the NHMTG's, just more of a disappointment. Glad yours are working well for you!

Bison · #12 08-24-07, 00:58

Yeah, that is too bad that yours are not working. At least you sound you you've got plenty to fall back on!

AR15barrels · #13 08-24-07, 01:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by powderkeg45

I wish magpul made a 20rnd pmag. I'm hooked on the pmags, but 30 round mags are taller than I'd prefer when shooting prone or off a short rest.

I saw on TOS where someone was cutting down Pmags.
It seems that if you cut them right at one of the ribs, there is sufficient wall thickness to cut a new slot that the baseplate will slide on to.
Then you can shorten the spring a little and you have shorter Pmags.

powderkeg45 · #14 08-24-07, 01:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by AR15barrels

I saw on TOS where someone was cutting down Pmags.
It seems that if you cut them right at one of the ribs, there is sufficient wall thickness to cut a new slot that the baseplate will slide on to.
Then you can shorten the spring a little and you have shorter Pmags.

Incredible. I think I'll just keep my pmags the way they are, and keep my eyes open for some quality 20s. Got a few gun shows coming up in my neck of the woods. Maybe i'll stumble upon a good deal.

Robb Jensen · #15 08-24-07, 07:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmart

Just picked up five newly manufactured straight 20's, w/black plastic followers. On the off chance they don't do it for me, does anyone mfg a replacememt follower designed for these mag bodies? Alloy replacements?

I know Magpuls and the new alloy/steel CMMG followers are designed for 30's, so those are out.

If you have the new Brownells straight 20s they use the same base metal as a 30 rounders and can accept a Magpul follower (and Magpul follower will load straight in from the bottom just like a 30 round mag) The addition of the follower will drop it's capacity to 17 or 18 rounds, you can get it back to 20 if you want by trimmer the legs down about 11mm or so. I only use 20s for bench shooting and don't bother to change the followers as they always run well anyway.