Was at WallyWorld last night thumbing through same magazines and in the Nov 30 issue of SGN they did a comparison test of commonly available magazines. They did a bunch of test but apparently no actual shooting. Test included fitting into a magazine pouch, dropping on the feedlips, driving a truck over it, jumping on it, tilting the follower with a pencil(not again!)etc. Results were a little surprising, Lancer seemsd to be the toughest, and the person writing the article seemed surprised how tough aluminum mags were (apparently they aren't brainwashed AR15.com followers).

Fail.....if you had read the article, mags were tested with live fire throughout testing.

He actually wrote it?? COOL.

It was so void of typical AR15.com blather (other than the part about tilting followers with pencils or whatever) I would have never guessed it. No I didn't read the whole thing, I was there to buy some milk.

Thats it You should post here more often. Currently the inmates (and dealers and manufacturers) are running the asylum.

GUNWRTR is one of the FEW people writing articles today for various magazines that seem to me to actually KNOW what they are talking about. He also seems to have his shit together when you see him on various TV shows as well. Not to mentioned he did a series of articles from The SandBox! To be honest, when I'm thumbing through SGN, I usually check to see what articles he has in there.

David M. Fortier at your service.

Mr. Fortier, what a pleasant surprise!!!...I've been reading your articles for years. It is good to know that someone from the industry hangs out here.

I concur. And your article is the only reason I bought the magazine at my local bookstore. I wanted to save it for reference.......

Did you read the rest of the thread? Fortier, who wrote it, corrected KurtVF's error in stating that there was no shooting.

So if there was shooting which magazine was most reliable???

Because this is a discussion forum.

I just tested a variety of different AR mags for Shotgun News and the article is currently on the shelves.
Included PMAG, Tango Down, CProducts SS, Brownells, Bravo Company, Lancer, MSAR and Tapco.

Regarding videos of magazines being run over, after testing them myself, I don't think they prove anything, but
they do look cool.

For example, I used an M35A2 cargo truck to run over all the different magazines.


This is a 13,000+ pound 6x6
truck. Magazines were run over loaded on dirt, loaded on cement and unloaded on cement.


ALL the magazines, including the aluminum mags from Brownells and Bravo Company, still functioned.



Much harder was an 8.5 foot drop test. This was done standing in the bed of the Deuce, from shoulder
height, onto cement. Mags were dropped down a chute to ensure they hit on the feed lips.

Left to Right
Tango Down, PMAG, TAPCO



The Tango Down, PMAG and TAPCO all split down the spine.

Here's a close-up of the very rugged feeling Tango Down

The CProducts Stainless steel mag also died on impact with flattened feedlips.

The aluminum mags still functioned and the Lancer and MSAR suffered little or no damage (but both needed to be reloaded to function)
Two aluminum mags and Lancer


Many more tests than these were performed. For the full write-up check out the Shotgun News article.
My thoughts:
PMAGs are very good, but not as indestructible as some think.
Aluminum mags are not as bad as some think.
You should consider checking out Lancer's mag.....they surprised me.
If MSARs mag dropped free they would be an interesting option.
Dropping mags onto cement is A LOT tougher on them then running them over with a SUV....
but all those videos from the various mag companies sure did work wonders for advertising didn't they.....