Has anyone actually had a polymer mag fail on them?

[cattleman99]

I use or have used all sorts of mags - MDT, AICS, ARC, Accurate, Magpul, Ruger, etc.

Metal magazines are nice, but they take a lot of tuning to smooth out. I see far more metal mags go down at matches than polymer mags like Magpul and Ruger. Have any of you who use plastic magazines had one go down on you? For me, both Magpul and Ruger AICS pattern magazines run smoother and more reliably than just about any other brand of steel mag out there. Whats your take?

Edit: Mainly asking in regards to AICS pattern magazines for competition use

 

[_Windrider_]

I’ve had Magpul’s fail on me in high heat. I fully believe in the lancer mags with the steel lips and polymer body now.

 

[atomic41]

Edit: Mainly asking in regards to AICS pattern magazines for competition use

I prefer Magpul to all of the steel options same as you, they are so much smoother.

 

[Simonsza1]

I have dozens of magpul mags still in the plastic bag cause the ones I started using a decade ago are still working as good as new. Been using there aics mags since they came out also never even a hiccup

 

[MarinePMI]

I’ve seen them go down several times in matches. At least four that I can recall just off the top of my head. Metal ones can go down as well, but if properly fit, not nearly as much as the plastic ones.

I think the issue with metal mags is the variance between brands and where they locate the latch catch.

Plastic mags swell when full, and wear more than metal one’s in my experience...

 

[just browsing]

I’ve had both.

I have an MDT poly mag that has fed thousands of rounds of BR, 6x47, etc without a hiccup. I actually use it as a sort of benchmark for all my other mags. Stays in my pack as a backup for the most part.

I’ve also had another MDT poly and a couple of Magpuls that wouldn’t feed anything worth a crap using the same action. Tried adjusting springs, seating depth, sanding, etc. and just couldn’t get them to work reliably. Those issues were enough for me to swear off poly stuff entirely.

Not to say that metal mags can’t or won’t fail... I just trust them much more than anything else.

 

[stello1001]

Quite the contrary. My magpul feeds and operates so smooth. My accurate mag on the other hand, needs some tweaking. It causes my last round to jam going up the feed ramp and into the chamber. While I do not compete, I engage in a lot of hunting. During the 2018/2019 season, I spent A LOT of time out in the field and I was extremely harsh on my gear. The magpul held up fine and is still the only mag I use.

 

[Rob01]

I use or have used all sorts of mags - MDT, AICS, ARC, Accurate, Magpul, Ruger, etc.

Metal magazines are nice, but they take a lot of tuning to smooth out. I see far more metal mags go down at matches than polymer mags like Magpul and Ruger. Have any of you who use plastic magazines had one go down on you? For me, both Magpul and Ruger AICS pattern magazines run smoother and more reliably than just about any other brand of steel mag out there. Whats your take?

Edit: Mainly asking in regards to AICS pattern magazines for competition use

What caliber you shooting? Never had any issues with metal mags. Never tuned one.

 

[cattleman99]

What caliber you shooting? Never had any issues with metal mags. Never tuned one.

I’ve used them with .308, 6.5 and 6 creed, 6x47, and a couple others.

Just about every match I got to, shooting or as a RO, I see magazine malfunctions generally with steel mags

 

[Rob01]

Have used them with .308, .243, 6.5 and 6 creed and never had an issue with a mag. Used the same steel AI mags since 2004. Do you know that it's the mag and not the rifle that is the issue? A mag not feeding can also be an issue with the way the rifle and stock/chassis mate up.

 

[chevy_man]

I use magpul's. They're cheap, and have been 100% reliable for me.

My experience has been that I only have issues with steel mags because they get dropped and bent. The plastics are either working or destroyed, with no fuckery trying to bend lips or polish lips to get them to feed correctly.

 

[dzander]

Magpul Feeds smoother for me than Metal mags, 6.5 cm, Remington 700, McCrees G10 Chassis.

 

[Supersubes]

I’ve never experienced a magpul mag failure. I have this one tan colored windowed Pmag that has been heel stomped literally hundreds of times. It was the first one I ever bought. Been dropped on its feed lips proceeding every heel stomp session. Done it with rounds and without. Works like a charm. I also like the aics mags. Flawless.


Is there supposed to be a .223 AICS coming out? That would be great.

 

[702lineman]

Been using ai mags with pr 6br kit, and have a magpul I bought for a backup....magpul has been flawless and feeds smoother. I use it just as much as ai mags, but I could buy 2 magpuls for 1 ai.

Nothing wrong with them in my opinion!

 

[hafejd30]

I have seen 1 cracked pmag. Cracked by the feed lips during a training. AR15

I use the AI Pmags in my Rem 700 in 308. They feed very smooth. Only downside is the plastic is thicker than the metal mags. So less internal length. Buddy bought one for 260 Rem that was running 143 ELDX .030” off the lands. Fit in his metal mags but wouldn’t fit in the magpul at same length. Only negative I’ve seen yet with them. 308/6.5 CM it be a non issue I’m sure

 

[2aBaC̶a̶]

Quite fond of my 10rd AICS pmags for the 6.5cm

 

[WATERWALKER]

As for bolt guns I really like both Accurate Mags & P-Mags (AICS) . No issues over the years. I can’t comment on other brands.

As for 5.56? I’ve seen a few P-Mags fail. Most have been due to cracked feed lips. In fairness, most of the mags I’ve seen fail are in a training environment. We have “community mags” that students use in order to save their own for duty carry so these mags are used & abused.

I prefer the metal 5.56 mags to polymer. That’s just a personal preference. That being said, you stolid have to be careful not to damage the feed lips.

DISCLAIMER: HK mags feed great until they don’t. The HK metal mags are made of a heavier alloy. If you drop a loaded HK mag on a hard surface you can count on it fucking that mag up. All that weight impacting the heavy steel mag made a brand new mag bulge & would no longer fit in my rifle. One of the instructors told me “HK mags are great if you work in a Nerf environment.” That was the last time I ever used a HK mag.

 

[SuperBoot]

I've had trouble with followers binding in a couple Magpul AICS 10 rounders I've owned. They either wouldn't go down far enough to load all 10 or wouldn't push the rounds up smoothly while shooting and would cause malfunctions. Cleaned them to no end but they still would bind. Granted, this started while I was trying to get BR length cartridges to feed out of them (hit and miss in itself, some feed perfect every time, some don't), but they showed the same issues with standard SA cartridges as well.

HOWEVER: The majority of them I've tried feed perfectly fine, and I'd have no issue running one in a match that I'd tested previously.

 

[MarinePMI]

I thought this thread was about AICS mags, not AR mags. ???

 

[morganlamprecht]

i used a magpul aics in the beginning of 2018...i think it made it to the 2nd or 3rd 2 day match, probably 5-600 rounds, then it would sometimes spit and extra round out while running the bolt so i retired it...i gave them a shot because i found the same thing, they strip rounds smoother than any metal aics pattern mag

not long after that i set up all my rifles for AWs (except the 223) and im never lookin back

 

[_Windrider_]

I forgot about a Good example of magazine failure. A few years ago I took the very first MHSA training class with @lowlight and Mike (Can’t remember his user or I’d tag him as well). The winds were brutal that march weekend. Everyone’s rifles went down at some point in some way. For me, the two biggest issues were the trigger and the magazines ( Pmags). The sand got in everything. It took a steady flow of rossinol to keep the trigger going and I had to take apart the mags and empty them a lot.

now I can’t say that was the magazines fault, but the polymer follower grinding against the polymer body basically made them stop functioning. I had to apply copious amounts of dry silicone spray to keep them going at the range.

 

[WATERWALKER]

Even the shit mags are still good for training as long as they feed most of the time. I keep those mags because they induce malfunctions. I paint the bottom half of the mag red so they don’t get mixed w/ good mags. Clearing malfunctions whether in real life or on the clock is an essential skill.

*I got the idea of painting bad mags red from LAV’s show years ago.

 

[Blaster7Romeo]

Had a FDE magpull one break a few years ago. I think they had an issue with the polymer making the FDE ones more brittle. But besides that no problems . But like others have stated I prefer the Lancers.. if I had it all to do over again I would have got Lancers over the mags. But I have so many p mags it is not worth buying anymore mags..

 

[Docsherm]

I have had every type of magazine fail on me with every platform. They all will do it if you actually use them a lot.

The biggest advantage that the PMag has vs the USGI mag is that the bodies bend and dent under heavy use.

I have found thay tbe PMags are a bit more durable under harsh conditions. Other then that, thay sre about the same.

I only use PMags for my 5.56 guns and USGI mags for my 300 BO guns. I find that the 300 BO works a little better in the USGI mags. And that also works for safety reasons. One type of mag per caliber.

For my 308 guns i use both PMags and steel mags. They both work. And they both wesr out much faster then their 5.56 counterparts.


EDIT: Since the OP added an edit, this does not apply to that post. Specifically to that point I have had no issue with the AICS MagPul magazines. On that I do not have very many rounds through them, only around 400.

 

[MarinePMI]

 

[glefos]

Somebody tell us a 10/22 magazine fail story.

 

[MarinePMI]

 

[txguero]

People really don’t seem to be understanding this is about AICS pattern mags...I think it’s safe to say the 5 round AICS pmags are awesome. I use them exclusively in my 7mm-08 hunting rifle and the feed like butter. Never a single issue. When I first built my 6BR I used a 5 round pmag and it actually functioned great if I loaded the rounds to the point where the body/shoulder junction was near the front of the feed lips. Seems to be as long as you stay with the 5 rounder rather than 10 they are pretty bulletproof.

 

[SonicBurlap]

I’ve used them with .308, 6.5 and 6 creed, 6x47, and a couple others.

Just about every match I got to, shooting or as a RO, I see magazine malfunctions generally with steel mags

I've had the same experience, I've got several Accurate steel mags , not one of them runs o.k. without fiddling with the feed ramps first, even now after they should be well broken in it's literally a crap shoot with them. I've never had any problems with AICS Pmags. I had bought the Accurate mags after they received so much praise on the forum but my experience with them reminded me of how much I hated the metal mags when I served as unit armorer for my unit as an assigned duty. The school was great but I spent most of the maintenance time bending metal and tuning feed ramps, or running inventories.

 

[daltexmex]

Mdt 223 mags have failed me many times. The follower would get lodged and the bullets world go vertical instead of horizontal in the mag. It got to the point I’d start grabbing them out my rifle in disgust and tossing them as far as I could, while I was in the clock. Someone would always try to bring it back to me. It was like a fucked up boomerang, I’d throw it in the trash. People would get it out of trash van and bring it back to me. Happened a few times. I’d disassemble the mag and throw some in this trash can and some in another. It would always seem to happen when I was just starting to have a very good stage. Then bam. I could not close the bolt, cartridges would be loose in mag. I hate mdt polymer 223 mags. Something I have told the people at Mdt whenever I have met them at a match or shot show. Love the chassis... Hate those fucking mags. And you can quote me on that.

 

[308pirate]

I prefer Magpul to all of the steel options same as you, they are so much smoother.

Same here. I don't consider any other AICS magazine any more.

 

[308pirate]

Magpul Feeds smoother for me than Metal mags, 6.5 cm, Remington 700, McCrees G10 Chassis.

That's a fact, jack

 

[308pirate]

I had regular failures with Thermolds and Orlights cracking in the spine. Only had a couple of magpuls fail. They cracked in the spine too.

What in the hell are you doing to them?

 

[308pirate]

I've had the same experience, I've got several Accurate steel mags , not one of them runs o.k. without fiddling with the feed ramps first, even now after they should be well broken in it's literally a crap shoot with them. I've never had any problems with AICS Pmags. I had bought the Accurate mags after they received so much praise on the forum but my experience with them reminded me of how much I hated the metal mags when I served as unit armorer for my unit as an assigned duty. The school was great but I spent most of the maintenance time bending metal and tuning feed ramps, or running inventories.

My one and only experience with MDT metal mags was a disaster. I got so pissed I threw it in the trash. Their polymer 223 magazines are OK but still misfeed every once in a while on the last one or two rounds.

Can't wait for the 223 AICS PMAGs, I don't give a fuck if the MDT can take longer OALs. If it don't work 100%, it's worthless.

 

[mogfan]

I thought this thread was about AICS mags, not AR mags. ???

Use an MTD poly .223 mag - only complaint is the mag catch wears and eventually induces feeding issues unless one pushes mag into fully seated position.

 

[hlee]

My magpul aics pattern mags will barf 2 or 3 rounds up into the action if you give them a swift smack upon seating. But, they run smoother than the metal AICS (AI brand)mags that I have. Truth be told, I think that the AICS pattern mag sucks- regardless of who makes it. It’s almost comical to watch guys at matches finger their actions to get their AICS mags seated so that their gun will run. I watched a guy at the last match have the same mag malfunction for 8 straight stages. No matter how gently he seated the mag, the first round or 2 would jump out of the mag and foul the gun. Thankfully, my rpr takes SR25 pattern mags.

 

[308pirate]

my rpr takes SR25 pattern mags.

This is what should have been the standard for bolt action rifles as well.

 

[scottishclanman2]

I had some lip failures back in 2010..i sent a photo and email to MP and they sent me new mags. I have continued to support the company on principle....I love how they had the massive sale in CO and then moved.

 

[Keel Haul]

I couldn’t find metal mags at the time for my bottom metal locally but there were pmags a plenty so I said why not and decided to try one. It’s worked so well for the 300WM that I bought another and unless they give me a problem, I’ll probably be sticking with those for awhile.

 

[The22Man]

I use or have used all sorts of mags - MDT, AICS, ARC, Accurate, Magpul, Ruger, etc.

Metal magazines are nice, but they take a lot of tuning to smooth out. I see far more metal mags go down at matches than polymer mags like Magpul and Ruger. Have any of you who use plastic magazines had one go down on you? For me, both Magpul and Ruger AICS pattern magazines run smoother and more reliably than just about any other brand of steel mag out there. Whats your take?

Edit: Mainly asking in regards to AICS pattern magazines for competition use

I have not had any of the polymer magazines fail on me.

 

[gunsandgear]

I had a PMAG break from hitting something the ground or a rock just right. Broke a piece off one of the lips, didn't want to feed correctly after that.

 

[srt-4_uk]

Can you guys please read the first post before chiming in your your #metoo comments

 

[MarinePMI]

Can you guys please read the first post before chiming in your your #metoo comments

This^^^^^^

FFS! READ the original post. I'm going to start deleting people's shit here in a minute if this continues.

 

[308pirate]

This^^^^^^

FFS! READ the original post. I'm going to start deleting people's shit here in a minute if this continues.

Why wait? Do it now. This thread is worthless because of all the bullshit posts about AR magazines.

 

[MarinePMI]

I'm busy at work, but may go ahead and clean up this thread a bit later.

 

[carbonbased]

One time, at band camp, I had these awesome poly mags for my trumpet…

 

[dski]

The MDT polymer ones have given me grief. Rest have been solid. (AICS metal and AICS polymer style) Guess that just means I need to shoot more!

 

[Dthomas3523]

So, the answer is sometimes yes, mostly no, but always maybe, always no, yes never, especially maybe, and potatoe.

 

[MarinePMI]

So, the answer is sometimes yes, mostly no, but always maybe, always no, yes never, especially maybe, and potatoe.

And Tier Potatoe...

 

[MarinePMI]

Okay, thread has been cleaned up. Please stay on topic (AICS pattern mags). I'm sure an AR poly mag thread could easily be started and well received in the Semi-auto forum.

br,
MPMI