Saw their ad in the sports section of my local paper and made the trip. Glad I did, nice selection and a sales staff without any attitude.

 

A big box of 15 round AR mags by the register was another plus.

 

Inventory on their web page is not up to date but I plan on returning next week to pick up the GSG-AK in 22lr.

Nice, I kinda forgot about that place. I bought a rifle there a couple of years ago when SS had trouble finding one for me. One of the guys I worked with told me to call them and I did. They told me they could have it by Friday (this was on a Tuesday) and they ordered it over the phone with no CC or anything, just my name. Oh, and it was there with my name on it Friday when I went to pick it up! :banana-linedance:

I bought my first 2 15 round PMAGs from them (thru gunbroker). Good mags, but dam are they expensive. At the time they were (and maybe they still are) charging 40 or 45 bux for 1.

I could be wrong but I think that they're $29.

tom is a smart guy, his prices follow the market. he usualy gets what the going rate is or tends to be a tad high.

At $29 they're not bad since they're cut down 30s instead of pinned 20s. Luckily I bought enough mags from PK90 that I'm good for a while

This place is down in West Creek, close to Egg Harbor and Pleasantville correct?

 

-Scott

This place is down in West Creek, close to Egg Harbor and Pleasantville correct?

 

-Scott

no 1/2 hour further north. north of tuckerton and south of manahawkin on rt 9 in ocean county.

Oh, ok not far from me then. I thought there was a Tips in West Creek too, probably mistaken. Thanks Tony! Do you happen to have their web address?

 

-Scott

it is in westcreek, it is tipshardware.com.

http://tipshardware.net/

Paid about $35 for the mags, can't remember what I paid for the ones I had from Arms-n-Ammo in the past. However it was nice to see them available. Even a few of the rifles I was pricing came with modified 15 round mags.

At $29 they're not bad since they're cut down 30s instead of pinned 20s. Luckily I bought enough mags from PK90 that I'm good for a while

 

I think they are actually cut down 20's. I bought a number of 30-round mags at a PA show (intending to shorten them myself), and realized after comparing my 15-round units that the bevels on the magazines didn't line up. They are both the same model Magpul, but the 20-round units have a bevel line at the correct place for trimming, whereas the 30-round mags have a flat where you need to trim. I never trimmed them or brought them home to NJ. I gave the 30-round mags to my dad who lives in PA.

 

I have around 6 or 8 of the Tips Hardware 15-round mags. Two held 16 rounds, one holds 14 rounds. They need to trim them at a specific depth, and then there is a plastic rod in the bottom that tunes the actual depth to 15 rounds. If the rod is too long or too short you end up with slightly incorrect counts.

 

I replaced the short rods with longer rods, trimmed the long rod, and glued the rods into place on all mine for better durability.

 

That said, I'd buy more of the Tips Hardware units if I wasn't a 2-hour drive away.

 

-Dave

Hmm it's quite possible they're cut down 20s. I think I always just assumed they started as 30s, but never compared the lines to the pinned 20s I have. Will take a look tonight when I get home

You can only cut down the older style 30 round Pmags for the base to stay on. If you have one of those, ditch the follower piece that Tips put in and obtain one of my base inserts. It replaces the thin Magpul insert that allows 16 rounds to be loaded.

If you have the newer style 30 rounder (M Revision), the ribs are not conducive to allow cutting down. All shortened Pmags are more than likely cut down old style curved mags.

Almost forgot to check The ones I bought from Tips in May '09 are very clearly cut down 30s.

The curvature of the Tips mag is apparent compared to the straight body of the A-n-A PMAG.

 

Arms-N-Ammo modified 15 round PMAG on the left and Tips Hardware 15 round PMAG on the right:

 

 

I must've gotten lucky, because both of my Tips mags hold exactly 15 rounds - and a very tight 15. I can't push down on the 15th round at all.

I checked out a Tips "15 round" mag a while back. It was a cut down old style 30 round p-mag, with a small piece of metal jammed into the bottom of the follower to limit it to 15 rounds (if you cut down a 30 it holds 16 unless you use a PK90 insert, or rig it like Tips did). The problem with the piece of metal jammed into the follower is that, if you pulled it out it, becomes an illegal mag. If any of you have these mags you may want to check out the followers, and if they merely have a small piece of metal jammed in then many (myself included) would consider them illegal.

Dammit - wish I had seen that last night. I'll tear mine apart when I get home tonight and check out the internals. I could've sworn that the internals of mine where just the spring and the follower and nothing else, but it's been so long since i've taken them apart, I can't be sure now. More to come

Sorry Caine. The ones I saw had a small (easily removed) piece of metal jammed into the front of the follower to make it hold one round less. If that is the case with yours it is an easy and cheap fix, just get the thicker base inserts from PK90, and throw away the little pieces of metal and the original base inserts.

Yep - just like you said, there is a small metal bar in the follower of both magazines. Mine at least, seem to be epoxied in place, because I can't move them at all. Maybe with some pliers. That said, it's gonna bug the hell outta me now, so, gonna have to pick up a couple of Paul's bases.

PM incoming Paul