PMAG torture test vs other ar mags

[hiker88 22]

It's good to know my pmags can survive being run over by my car

[vjf915 456]

"Here's the new Pmag by Pullmag."

 

I wonder what would happen if they were caught destroying government property

[bbk 188]

I wonder what would happen if they were caught destroying government property

Combat loss (I kid! I don't advocate fraud!)

[robot_hell 72]

So I guess I shouldn't be worried about the feed lips on my pmags?

[bbk 188]

Heh, the feed lips are probably the weakest point on Pmags, albeit it would still take quite a bit of effort. I have broken them before, and have seen them break in-action, as it was happening. In all cases, it was from the magazines having sat in the cold for extended amounts of time, and then dropped directly on said feed lips (these were also, in my case, roughly used magazines that had been in use for quite some time).

 

From what I heard, and I think it was also brought up on this forum prior, but USMC has stopped issuing PMags. Not sure if it was a technical thing, or a contract thing though.

 

ETA: The magazines I've seen break were mostly FDE as well. Most respected opinions from the community agree that these are more susceptible because they are a weaker polymer compared to the black or OD PMags.

[Joelk 61]

I have dropped a lot of mags on the ground during training, and while I have destroyed the feedlips on about 10-12 aluminum mags doing so on hard surfaces, I have yet to break the feedlips on a pmag.

[vjf915 456]

Standard Pmags are so damn cheap as well. Unfortunately we can't, but in a free state you can get them for $10-12 a pop. Must be nice.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

Even at 21 bucks a pop for a modified one they're still pretty cheap.

[Shawnmoore81 623]

I love my pmags. They load way easier also. Rayco in merchantville sells the blocked 15 round ones. I'll never use a metal one again.

[MidwestPX 172]

Heh, the feed lips are probably the weakest point on Pmags, albeit it would still take quite a bit of effort. I have broken them before, and have seen them break in-action, as it was happening. In all cases, it was from the magazines having sat in the cold for extended amounts of time, and then dropped directly on said feed lips (these were also, in my case, roughly used magazines that had been in use for quite some time).

 

From what I heard, and I think it was also brought up on this forum prior, but USMC has stopped issuing PMags. Not sure if it was a technical thing, or a contract thing though.

 

ETA: The magazines I've seen break were mostly FDE as well. Most respected opinions from the community agree that these are more susceptible because they are a weaker polymer compared to the black or OD PMags.

 

Weak point is the spine of the mag. A crack develops with use. Feed lips don't necessarily weaken on PMAGs so much as they snap off. I've seen both failures on the range. Make no mistake, while PMAGs are a vast improvement over the original USGI mag, they are not perfect. They happen to be one of the best options, though

 

As for color, what causes the colored mags to be weaker than the black mags are the addition of dyes. The dyes have different cooling rates and therefore through some voodoo of chemistry that I don't pretend to understand, the resulting colored mags are weaker than their black counterparts.

[EchoMirage 137]

how much weaker though. im sure short of going through years of combat, a FDE mag will never fail in the life of a citizen.....but has there been any research done in the life expectancy of a colored vs. black mag

[MidwestPX 172]

how much weaker though. im sure short of going through years of combat, a FDE mag will never fail in the life of a citizen.....but has there been any research done in the life expectancy of a colored vs. black mag

 

Tracked, hard data? Maybe at Magpul. From a real world usage standpoint, instructors see failures in classes. A good friend of mine shoots a fair bit and he's broken three OD PMAGs within a year or two of purchase. All failed at the spine.