I got a ton of Beretta factory mags and I like them.

Seeing that CMI mags are 15.99 I can't help but buy a few. I just got about 15 of them. They don't look pretty at all and I kind of like the dry film finish on it.

Now my question is that it appears that CMI mags are generally frowned upon. Why is that? I know they used to supply the US Military and it gotten some bad points due to the sand causing malfunctions. My understanding is that they since corrected that. The military decided to go with Airtonics due to getting better deal per mags.

From what I can tell the only issue with the mag is that it "used" to be the military go to but now they aren't. Is that why people dislike them? From all the reviews they say, "Range only" yet if the military uses it on duty, my guess is that I should be able to use it on duty.

Normal NHMTG and Colt dry film mags are considered the best ar15 mags. Why aren't CMI's dry film mags considered the same?

Sorry if this been brought up before. Never found a good answer during my search.

I have never had any issues with the  newer spec dry film coated magazines. They got a bad reputation before the dry film was demanded because they use to parkerize the magazines and this left a rough finish that collected dust which in turn collected malfunctions. CMI makes great magazines for the M14 and M9 and seem to have fixed the issue.
Some people will not let go and others only know what they read and know nothing of the changes and so the bad word keeps being spread.

The specification to parkerize the magazines was the military, not CMI (as I understand it).  However, they are the ones getting blamed.  Where have you seen them for that price, as I would like to get some.

Midwayusa. I initially bought 5 to check it out. I got one really cool marked one stamped 2008 with Government Only stamped on it. I thought that was neato. All the other looked like the picture they had. That's when I got a lot more of them.

I have bought & used a shitload of Checkmate mags in my 92's. Never had an issue with them & I've used them in USPSA matches as well. I've bought them for as little as $10ea once upon a time.  

As the others mentioned, it was the sand in the Mid East that caused the issues. Buy & use them with confidence, IMO.

My .o2

I have been using CMI mags almost exclusively in my commercial M9 and 92A1 and have never had a problem.  All of mine are the dry film ones.  I have heard of rumors of possible weak springs but I have never had one fail to feed or lock the slide.  I did put an ISMI spring in one just to see how it was.  Much more stiff and harder to lad, but the performance is the same.

I have dozens of Beretta factory mags but I like the flat base plates on the Check-Mates.  And they are inexpensive.  I use one in my bedside 92A1.

I would just rather spend a bit extra on the 18rd Mec-Gar mags, but as long as they are reliable I would say get some for range use if they are a good price.