.22lr magazines

[Evil Colt 6920]

I have a Spikes Tactical dedicated .22lr upper. I currently use the Black Dog magazines. I haven't had any problems with the BD magazines but they just don't look good at all to me. I guess Im use to my Pmags so the BD's just look like junk in comparison. Can anyone give me any input on other mags on the market or pics of magazines you use with your dedicated .22lr rifles? Thanks in advance for any help:)

[austinN4]

Can anyone give me any input on other mags on the market or pics of magazines you use with your dedicated .22lr rifles?

I use BDM mags but here is a link to the CMMG mags, which look more like GI:
http://cmmginc.secure-mall.com/shop/?cart=2133627&cat=151&

[HeavyDuty]

I recently completed a dedicated .22LR build that uses a Spike's bolt. At the moment I have one of each mag - a BDM that came with the Spike's and a CMMG.

I expected one would be clearly better than the other but to tell you the truth so far there's no difference in function or reliability. The CMMG looks a little more "original", but it is nice to be able to see the load level in the BDM. I prefer the material used by CMMG over the BDM - it seems less likely to get brittle.

I'll probably just buy CMMGs in the future because of the cost savings.

[shooter521]

I have had no end of trouble with the BDM mags. Out of my first batch of four, three developed cracks through the spine and feed lips after less than 200 rounds. They were not exposed to any chemicals, nor handled/stored in a way that might have caused damage. Of those three mags, two remained functional while one broke a feed lip completely off and spontaneously disassembled itself on the floor of my gun room. I sent them back to BDM and was sent three new mags with the newer BHO follower design. Again, less than 200 rounds apiece later, two of the three replacements developed the same type of cracks. Additionally, three other people I know personally have had the same issue (I and two others have the smoke mags, the third guy had black).

By the same token, I have six CMMG mags that I have put a total of about 600 rounds through. They have never failed to feed and show no evidence of wear or cracking.

I will continue to use my remaining BDMs until they fail, at which point I will recycle the springs and followers as spares for the CMMG mags, and will put their broken bodies out on the berm as targets.

[motorolahamm]

i have the m261 conversion + side to it is it uses mag adaptors in a standard USGI mag 20 or 30 rd . but the down side is its not a fully dedicated upper only the BCG replacement so you dont have the accuracy and you have the fouling of the gas tube and barrel etc.

[thopkins22]

shooter521, your conversion must be doing something funny. My log book puts my .22lr upper at 6,215 rounds. I've only used four BDM magazines without issue, all of which have been dropped on gravel, grass, and occasionally on concrete.

[Evil Colt 6920]

austin12gauge: Thanks for the link, that's the magazine I'm leaning towards at the moment.

HeavyDuty: Thanks for sharing your input. That's what I'm looking for, actual experience with different magazines.

The CMMG's in the pics I've seen look more grayish in color than black. If they were black Id say the search was over, but I want a magazine that's a closer match to my rifle.

Shooter521: I currently have 3 BD's, 2 black and 1 smoke. I havent had any trouble from any of them. I haven't used the smoke near as much as the black. I have about 500 rounds through each of the black BD's and only about 100 through the smoke. Im not sure if you and your friends got a "bad batch" or if you have another issue. This is the first I've heard of anyone having trouble with them but thank you for your input.

I found a magazine made by ProMag, but I'm hesitant buy it. My brother had a ProMag 30rnd for his AK-47 variant (.223) and the lip broke immediately rendering it useless for anything other than parts maybe. A youtube search found many others describing the same problems.

I also found magazines made by Colt and Magpul but they seem to more model specific. Im not sure that they would work with my Spikes upper. Anyone have any experience with these or know if they will work with my upper?

And like I said before, my BD's work fine, Im just hunting a magazine that works and "looks" better in the rifle.

[Ridge_Runner_5]

One thing I'd like to try is filing down a BDM mag and cramming it into a Pmag... :D

[Evil Colt 6920]

One thing I'd like to try is filing down a BDM mag and cramming it into a Pmag... :D

HAHA :pyeah thats the look I'd like to have, I wish MagPul had a PMag clone for the .22lr

[Black]

I use the CMMG grey mags. They're alright, and I've never had any problems with them... they're just so damn heavy, unloaded.

[motorolahamm]

I have seen people paint there mags ,just paint the area below the magwell ,insert mag use fine point marker ,then tape off and paint