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USMC ALMAR - USMC standardizes on Magpul PMAG

Renegade One said:
Okay, I'll bite…what's the dealio with this magazine? Can you still throw them away when they're empty?
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Can't tell if serious...

The previous gen PMags worked great in M-16s/M4s, but wouldn't work well (or at all) in HK guns. The M3 (gen 3) mags were built to work in all styles of weapons (SCAR, M4, and HK). Apparently now it's "official."
 
I've seen a lot of debate as to whether they actually last longer than metal mags, (e.g. number of cycles/reloads) but PMAGs seem pretty tough. I'm a fan, for personal firearm use anyway. Obviously military use is different, but I think it's a good decision.
 
Watch the rollout go to Bootcamp, MCT, and pogue reserve units first.
 
Gatordev said:
Can't tell if serious...

The previous gen PMags worked great in M-16s/M4s, but wouldn't work well (or at all) in HK guns. The M3 (gen 3) mags were built to work in all styles of weapons (SCAR, M4, and HK). Apparently now it's "official."
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Was totally serious. Unaware of issues with something as seemingly ubiquitous as a mag for a rifle or pistol. My "disposability" question remains. I expect the VN landscape is littered with literally hundreds of thousands of empty M-14/16 mags, maybe now being turned into belt buckles. Do/can you shitcan an empty mag on the battlefield these days, or do you have to recycle/account for them? That's a serious question as well. I don't expect these new things are stamped out by the thousands at a penny apiece.
 
Polymer, indistructable, flawless reliabil
Renegade One said:
Was totally serious. Unaware of issues with something as seemingly ubiquitous as a mag for a rifle or pistol. My "disposability" question remains. I expect the VN landscape is littered with literally hundreds of thousands of empty M-14/16 mags, maybe now being turned into belt buckles. Do/can you shitcan an empty mag on the battlefield these days, or do you have to recycle/account for them? That's a serious question as well. I don't expect these new things are stamped out by the thousands at a penny apiece.
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There was a time when M-16 aluminum magazines were packaged pre-charged and in cloth bandoliers. Currently, magazines are no longer disposable items - individuals are equipped with "dump pouches" to carry empty mags. GI aluminum mags are quite durable - and some NATO countries use steel mags - all intended for reuse.

Feed lip damage seems to be the limiting factor whether a magazine gets diposed of or not. Armorers replace followers and springs with ease.

The Magpul PMAG is a result of focused product improvement - it is a wonderment of assembly and durability. I believe GI aluminum mags are procured for around $8 each, PMAGS for slightly more.

10, 20, 30, 40 and 60 round capacity models are all available and are rock solid in reliability.
 
As far as I know Marines never shitcan anything, including empty mags. They may have been lost/dropped accidentally but never just because they were empty. I don't think I ever saw an ammo resupply that came in pre-loaded mags. It was always in bandoleers on 10 round stripper clips that you used to reload your empty mags. That's my 1970's experience talking. My kid and others, carried a dump pouch in Iraq to help keep up with empty mags. (and other things)

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Renegade One said:
Okay, I'll bite…what's the dealio with this magazine? Can you still throw them away when they're empty?
Click to expand...

Better feed lips, the plastic is surprisingly durable and I've never seen them break. The old metal mags after a lot of use could bend which could cause mis-feed, especially at high rates of fire.

You can load a full 30 rounds in a pmag, the old metal mags were actually only designed to hold 28, 30 would/could cause jams.

The window is nice to be able to see the rounds remaining instead of needing to guess. Easier to anticipate a mag change instead of having to count bullets you've shot or waiting until the action locks back.

The texture and butt plate on the pmag provides a good grip which can help when pulling out of a mag pocket. The metal ones could get slick, which is why guys would use duct tape or 550 cord strung through the base plates as a pull cord.

Nothing super groundbreaking individually but the sum makes them a lot nicer than the old metal mags.
 
Although I have plenty of steel mags I've used Pmags almost exclusively for years now. Best thing going for storing loaded mags. I use Lancer translucent mags too. They are fast becoming my favorite but right now I just load them with 300BLK. Nothing goes in my pmags but 5.56 and nothing goes in the Lancers but 300BLK. I'm working hard to keep from pushing a 30 cal bullet thru a 22 cal barrel. It can be done I hear but only once.
 
Renegade One said:
Was totally serious. Unaware of issues with something as seemingly ubiquitous as a mag for a rifle or pistol.
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Part of the issue was how the mag well was designed. All of the M-16 series of weapons (M16Ax, M4, M4A1, etc) are manufactured to the government spec, so while the PMag is slightly thicker, all of the generations of mags would fit in the mag well (some better than others, of course). HK is built to a different spec, since it's a different weapon system, so it had problems with the older PMags fitting. I *think* the SCARs worked fine with older PMags, but I'll defer to others, as I can't remember. The M3 mags now work with everything (as did the more expensive, older EMags).

ChuckMK23 said:
Waiting for @Gatordev to chime in
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I agree with you all. I've had two categories of PMag malfunctions: 1) I get occasional issues all due to my CA 10-round blocked PMag 20s. That's not the fault of the mag, but because they were fiddled with by someone to limit them. 2) Complete and utter lock up due to my mag falling into a big mud puddle during a competition. I rinsed it out at home and it's run fine since. But that would happen far sooner with GI mags.
 
What's particularly good about PMAGS is that when they fail, they generally do so in a way that's visually apparent. A metal mag may deform enough to cause stoppages, but not look obvious (or look beat up as hell, and still function fine). OTOH, Pmags which are cracked or have broken feed lips are more often visually apparent. Hopefully that means fewer "bad" mags are retained in the system.
 
I assume they also weigh (slightly) less than the metal magazines? Anything to ease the (large) burden, even just marginally.
 
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