View Full Version : Brownell's 30-round mags
https://aais.ria.army.mil/aais/award_web_09/W52H0909C0072/000000.pdf
Looking at Brownell's recent contract above, this is for the USGI 30 round Improved Magazine. What's "improved" about it? A new follower or some such?
The link won't open in my computer, but Brownells sells a "tactical" version of their mags that comes with a magpul follower already installed. I have 50+ of these and they are fantastic.
705,000 items at $7.61 each (page 9) :eek:
According to this blog post (http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2006/10/bring-on-legions-of-dead.html) by Michael Bane, Brownell's is the leading supplier of USGI magazines to SOCOM:
I do have an AR MAGAZINE SHOCKER for you...who do you suppose supplies most of the AR magazines to the boys at SOCOM? Try Brownell's!
The Brownell's 30-rounder is the mag of choice for the special ops community. I had a long and really illuminating talk with Pete Brownell about the whys and wherefores of the success of the Brownell's mag. Pete emphasized that the Brownell's magazine is made to the current military spec. He told me that mil-spec is constantly changing; the specs for the magazines have changed seven times this year alone, mostly driven by Real World experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. So when you go to El Cheapo Magazines and buy "mil-spec" green follower magazines, the question is, "Which mil-spec?"
Yes, the Brownell's magazines are more expensive, $17.95 MSRP, versus a more-or-less $12 MSRP "on "current green-follower mil-specs." You tell me what a 100% magazine is worth! I've standardized on the Brownell's; you might consider doing the same.
705,000 items at $7.61 each (page 9) :eek:
Try 1.4 Million @ $7.61/ea :eek: :
SECTION A - SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
1. This firm fixed price contract is awarded to Brownells, Inc. for 1,410,000 each 30 Round Improved Magazines at a unit price of $7.61
for a total contract amount of $10,730,100.00.
You can read the PDF by creating an exception and accepting the site's security certificate.
The link won't open in my computer, but Brownells sells a "tactical" version of their mags that comes with a magpul follower already installed. I have 50+ of these and they are fantastic.
I snagged 8 of them a couple of months ago and they have performed perfectly so far. The price wasn't bad either considering the magpul follower was already installed.
Brownells mags are nice. The only downside is that the version with the Magpul follower also has the CS spring.
So I've been buying the Milspec mag and upgrading the follower only.
From the contract document:
3. Acceptance and Inspection Equipment (AIE) Clause E-9 is incorporated and only pertains to the new designed Spring, part number 1302131 and new designed follower, part number 13021314. Brownells will submit this AIE in accordance with Exhibit B (Contract Data Requirements List DD Form 1423) of this contract.
Magpul follower or different?
Brownells mags are nice. The only downside is that the version with the Magpul follower also has the CS spring.
So I've been buying the Milspec mag and upgrading the follower only.
Fill me in......... what's wrong with the CS spring?
I've just recently gotten another AR, and bought the following mags:
10 C-Products Stainless Steel mags with black teflon coating and orange follower and CS Springs
6 brownells mags in basic grey with green follower and CS spring and dry lube
1 CMMG in basic grey with a silver follower and a twisted wire spring (came with rifle)
1 basic black magpul
I had only owned magpuls in the past, but for price reasons I decided to try the metal ones this time. The C Products looked nice for the money, but you have me wondering if they are as nice as the brownells or what factors I should consider as I add more to the collection.
Thanks.
Fill me in......... what's wrong with the CS spring?
I've just recently gotten another AR, and bought the following mags:
10 C-Products Stainless Steel mags with black teflon coating and orange follower and CS Springs
6 brownells mags in basic grey with green follower and CS spring and dry lube
1 CMMG in basic grey with a silver follower and a twisted wire spring (came with rifle)
1 basic black magpul
I had only owned magpuls in the past, but for price reasons I decided to try the metal ones this time. The C Products looked nice for the money, but you have me wondering if they are as nice as the brownells or what factors I should consider as I add more to the collection.
Thanks.
Stick with the Brownell's. C-Products are hit or miss in my experience.
Nothing wrong with CS springs.
I don't use CS mag springs. There's really nothing wrong with USGI stainless. CS failed the Corrosion testing badly when Magpul developed the PMAG.
To me, it's a perceived need.
Stick with the Brownell's. C-Products are hit or miss in my experience.
+1 I wouldn't take Cprods for free. Some work, some don't, but there's no need to waste time, ammo, and money figuring out which is which.
Stick to a reputable mag maker.
Who then falls on your reputable list other than brownells?
NHMTG/Colt/Okay - Same mag 33710 cage code
Pmags are good too.
Centers are pretty good, but I've had a few that are really tight in the magwell.
No Go mags are - Sanchez, Coopers, and Cprod.
What's wrong with the "dirty" Sanchez mags? They work occasionally. :p
NHMTG/Colt/Okay - Same mag 33710 cage code
Pmags are good too.
Centers are pretty good, but I've had a few that are really tight in the magwell.
No Go mags are - Sanchez, Coopers, and Cprod.
NHMTG/Colt/Okay - Same mag 33710 cage code
Pmags are good too.
Centers are pretty good, but I've had a few that are really tight in the magwell.
No Go mags are - Sanchez, Coopers, and Cprod.
Well, guess I have 10 mags that are going to be hit or miss. :(
Where would my CMMG mag fall then?
What about the CProd makes them bad and is it just the aluminum ones, or are the stainles body ones also problematic?
Thanks for the input.
I just took a look at my Brownells, CMMG and C Products side by side, and I guess I'm not finding what is so bad about the C Prod ones. The brownells follower gets stuck sideways every time I try pressing it down. It doesn't seem very smooth, unlike the CMMG and C Prod one. The only thing I notice is the C Products Stainless Steel metal is thinner and the weld spots are not quite as big.
What am I missing?
Fill me in......... what's wrong with the CS spring?
Taken out of a new mag in storage.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v503/AR15forme/USGI%20Mag%20Disassembly/IMG_6085.jpg
Taken out of a new mag in storage.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v503/AR15forme/USGI%20Mag%20Disassembly/IMG_6085.jpg
Okay, so does that mean that Stainless Steel is the preference?
Also, what is the preferred follower?
As in, can I salvage my mags if I have problems by changing out follower, bottom, spring, or whatever?
I'm just trying to understand what makes one worse than the other so I choose properly going forward.
Thanks.
RogerinTPA
04-08-09, 18:03
D&H Mags (Bravo Co.), and DSG with magpul follower, are excellent mags as well.
Well, guess I have 10 mags that are going to be hit or miss. :(
If you're talking Cprods and they work now, you're fine. It just getting good ones that's the gamble.
Where would my CMMG mag fall then?
Never tried one or read anything about them.
What about the CProd makes them bad and is it just the aluminum ones, or are the stainles body ones also problematic?
Thanks for the input.
They're all subject to the piss poor QC at Cprod. If your work, don't waste any more time worrying. You'll know if you got their bad ones. Followers bind and that type of thing.
I don't use CS mag springs. There's really nothing wrong with USGI stainless. CS failed the Corrosion testing badly when Magpul developed the PMAG.
To me, it's a perceived need.
Markm -- it could be just marketing fluff, but Brownells lists their CS springs as "new, high lubricity, dry-lube-coated chrome silicon spring that’s corrosion-resistant certified to 500 hour salt spray standards".
Since I'm a civvy and I usually don't shoot in the rain or snow (because I'm lazy and prefer sunny warmth at the range) the 500 hours seems more than enough protection... But I think you are right about the perceived need. It seems that the main reason for these are less "spring set" if you kept them loaded, but I've had Glock mags that have been loaded going on 12 years now, and they are fine. I also had an engineer tell me that springs wear out from usage ( a compressed/uncompressed cycle) rather than just being set. But what do I know? :p
If you're talking Cprods and they work now, you're fine. It just getting good ones that's the gamble.
Never tried one or read anything about them.
They're all subject to the piss poor QC at Cprod. If your work, don't waste any more time worrying. You'll know if you got their bad ones. Followers bind and that type of thing.
Yeah, these C Prod ones I just got seem great, but I'll give them some trial and error before relying or depending on them.
The funny thing is that the brownell ones bind up when I push them down, which makes me think they don't have anti-tilt followers, where the C Prod ones do I think.
RogerinTPA
04-08-09, 22:44
Yeah, these C Prod ones I just got seem great, but I'll give them some trial and error before relying or depending on them.
The funny thing is that the brownell ones bind up when I push them down, which makes me think they don't have anti-tilt followers, where the C Prod ones do I think.
I have 10 CProd mags that I've had for around 5 years (Before I knew better). I had one that wouldn't drop free, and 5 of 10, seemed tight in the mag well, when first purchased. So much, that they have scratches in the same area. They all function well, but I did replace all of the green followers with the Magpul Enhanced followers for better reliability and peace of mind.
I'd never use them in a class, just practice.
Okay, so does that mean that Stainless Steel is the preference?
Also, what is the preferred follower?
As in, can I salvage my mags if I have problems by changing out follower, bottom, spring, or whatever?
I'm just trying to understand what makes one worse than the other so I choose properly going forward.
Thanks.
I tend to prefer SS to CS springs, due to the rust issues. Yes, my rusted springs functioned fine, but I'm not a fan of having anything containing rust in my weapon system. Even though CS springs might last longer, SS springs have a good track record, long life and are inexpensive to replace if you're actually able to wear them out. Standard green followers work fine, but the MP anti-tilt followers are considered an upgrade for most.
Is it possible that the followers being used by CProd are magpul?
From magpul website of Gen II self leveling followers:
http://www.magpul.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=popup_image_additional&pID=198&pic=0&products_image_large_additional=images/FOLLOWER_01.JPG&zenid=400ba1212a661e3a03e6760e89d9f35a
From the C Products website showing the orange one that is in my c product mags:
http://www.cproductsllc.com/shop/popup_image.php?pID=36
The ones in my C Product mags seem to remain level regardless of where you push down on them. Very much like the grey one in the pmag I have. On the other hand, the green follower in the brownells I have will pivot down if you push on one end and get stuck in a canted position. I got the brownells from gunbroker and not direct from brownells, so they may not be the newest version.
I avoided Brownells mags for a long time because I thought that CPROD might be the actual manufacturor.
Guys on this site convinced me that Brownells were not, so I started using them. I only have a few so far, but they seem to be really good.
I avoided Brownells mags for a long time because I thought that CPROD might be the actual manufacturor.
Guys on this site convinced me that Brownells were not, so I started using them. I only have a few so far, but they seem to be really good.
I think I'm going to have to do a little side by side exploratory surgery on my 4 different types of mags to compare the internals.
Do the current brownells use anti tilt followers? Or are the green ones they use now the same as my green ones where they can get jammed if pushed down at an angle? I'm thinking I could upgrade my followers easy enough on the 6 brownells I have to bring them up a notch if need be.
I'm also thinking I want to see if there are any markings on the C Products internals that could give rise to their origin. I doubt their followers are magpul as there is only a $3 price difference in the empty mag versus one with spring, floor and follower.
That said, I'm still trying to find out where the fault with C Products lies so that I know if it is something that can be fixed via upgrade. In other words, if it's the mag itself, or the spring, follower, etc. Some can be fixed, the mag itself is the least fixable piece obviously.
Typically Cprod's problems have been in the mag bodies. I've read guy's accounts of both being able to clean up the problem themselves or having to return the mags to Cprod. In either case, I'd rather buy an NHMTG and not have to worry about it. Cprod's track record is too bad to mess with. Despite what Cprod will tell you, they've had issue after issue after issue.
Brownells offers mags in a few configs. I buy the Green follower with USGI SS spring. If I have an extra Magpul follower, I'll put that in it too.
Is it possible that the followers being used by CProd are magpul?
Last info out is that CProducts used Magpul followers for a time, and then had their own produced that are similar in design.
On the other hand, the green follower in the brownells I have will pivot down if you push on one end and get stuck in a canted position. I got the brownells from gunbroker and not direct from brownells, so they may not be the newest version.
The green GI follower is standard in the Brownells mag.
Another option is from BravoCompany. They have Brownell's mags with dry-lube coated corrosion resistant CS springs and geniune Magpul enhanced followers in stock for $16.95 ea.
From what I'm reading, I think this will be my plan of action:
Get magpul followers for my existing 6 brownells mags
Get additional brownells mags with magpul followers for future (or similar)
And I'll use the C products ones for the range and practice. Not a big deal if one fails at the range. That also means my dependable ones stay in good shape and ready to go if ever needed.
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