Like a lot of folks lately, I'm hunting magazines.  My current supply consists of Magpul Gen M2 MOE 30-rounders plus a few no-name mags that I picked up over the years at shows.  The M2's have never failed me but I've located a decent deal on "Magpul PMag M3" 30-rounders.  Just looking for opinions and/or a consensus on which might be better in terms of performance.  So far I've read that dust covers aren't interchangeable nor are their followers.

Any comments or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, I saw and have been reading the sticky up at the top that compares magazine features between makes & models.  What I'm interested in are users' opinions as to any difference in performance.

Thanks.

CB

I prefer the M2 mags

The M3s were created because soldiers overseas were doing their immediate action for malfunction (SPORTS) in which the first step is to "slap" the magazine.  If they were stressed enough, they would slap the mag so hard that it would get forced into the upper receiver; creating a very, very, very bad malfunction that required an armorer to fix.  Magpul responded by adding in a tab on the spine of the mag that physically blocks the mag from going in too far.  Additionally, they put in this dot matrix so that you can label them in a fancy way.

The down side of these new mags is that the tab sticks out and can snag on the mag pouches when you try to draw them.  I find that they "stick" in the pouch and don't slide in and out as nice as the M2s.  Also, M2s are a little cheaper.

Just My $.02

Pic showing the tab and dot matrix on the M3 mag (right) and the sleeker profile of the M2(left)


Side note:  The army has recently changed the first step in "SPORTS" to "Seat the magazine"

I've used both quite a bit and I prefer the M3 to the M2.  The over-travel stop is a good feature if you get rough with mag changes, the M3 has a beefed up mag catch slot, the floor plates are slimmer, and they're supposed to be stronger than the M2. I haven't broke an M2 or a 3 though.  The M3 30s and 20s share all parts except the mag body.

I've had no problems with the couple I have, but I prefer M2's for the price and I've never had an issue with them.

I use both with no issues at all. I prefer the Gen M2 for the lower price.

This is incorrect.   The overtravel stop was relocated to the rear of the magwell to allow compatibility with M27IAR magwells.

Some other changes to note: The magazine's floor plate is now shielded from getting caught and ripped off.  I had a MSgt on my last SOTF who refused to use Pmags after he ripped the floor plate off a pmag getting out of a vehicle.  My understanding is the feed ramp geometry has been changed slightly to aid in feeding M855A1 and keep it from damaging M4 feed ramps.



 

Got a source?  Every article I've ever read has referred to now being able to do "aggressive" reloads without fear of over-insertion.  See below.  Not saying that you're wrong about the IAR, but I don't think it was their primary reasoning behind the feature.

http://blog.1800gunsandammo.com/magpul-pmags-everything-you-wanted-to-know/

That's what Magpul said.  The M2 has the over-travel stop on the front of the mag.  They put it on the back so it would be compatible with M27 and M16 magwells.

Thanks for clearing that up!

So which gen2 is suppose to be the weakest? I'm thinking it's the FDE but not sure. I have one I have experimented on with dye, and may try to over insert it by hand, and if that doesn't do it, maybe hitting it mag first into something hard. Not as hard as I can, but much harder than anything you would expect to happen in the field.
All of the videos I have watched doing this, used gen2 black, or gen3... never saw one using gen2 FDE  or one of the other colors.

Why not just use it until it breaks?  I think the mag torture thing is well overdone...

Agreed.  It's kind of like "Which lower is best?".  Aero might be "better" than an Anderson, but theyre all made to the same specs and there's not really much difference.  It's even less significant when you're talking about mags and other "expendable" parts.

So there are videos of over insertion tests using FDE, foliage and OD? Please share...

Completely off point. Wouldn't you like to know how much pressure it takes to over insert a certain mag? If colors other than black, are not as strong as black, do you want to buy those mags that your life may someday depend on? Wouldn't you want to know what they are capable of?

I'd be curious to see if there is any difference, but magpul is a trusted company and have publicly stated that their other colors are just as strong as black.  All their products have been heavily tested both by them and independently.  If you're having Pmag issues, magpul has awesome service and will likely fix it.  If the problem persists, it's probably your gun that's an issue.

X2