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Posted: 5/5/2026 10:33:21 AM EDT
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For context, I'm in Virginia and it is my last two months of freedom. I think midwayusa is having a cutoff date for when they'll ship to Virginia with "ban" items. If you were to stock up on magazines, which ones and why? I'd like to stick with .223 and .308 magazines. So far I think pmags are the best but I'm a bit worried about longevity of them. Steel magazines are a no go for me since I have had the lips snap and the rounds coming out like popcorn. Anyone have any opinions or experience keeping magazines long term before either the law flipped or you're still in a deep communist state? |
| I wasn't picky. Mostly pmags, good amount of aluminum ones, and I've had a few steel ones here and there. I do have some other brand polymer mags, but I don't leave those loaded. |
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| I still have a sealed case of Pmags in my basement from the 2013 panic. Properly stored (basically not exposed to UV), they should last quite a long time. |
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Luckily when the mag ban was coming for us here in WA I only had to stock up on 5.56 AR mags and HK VP9 mags. For AR mags I stocked up on windowed 30 round PMAGs (both Gen 2 and 3), Lancer's translucent smoke AWM 30s, Beretta's steel 30 round ARX mags and Okay 20s, and 30s which were running out of stock everywhere quick due to Okay ending their magazine production. Glad I have what I have. |
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Originally Posted By Bowhntr6pt: Having had two P-mags break on me I'd stick with USGI Aluminum type if were faced with a buy now/buy for last time situation. https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/jtk8IH.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/opLq9I.jpg USGI aluminum will out live you. These mags were like new, not abused or dropped. Ouch, that is kind of my fear as well with these pmags. I had steel mags with the lips snapping on me a couple of times. Hmm tough choices here. |
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I haven't experienced any problems with PMAGs but from what I've read, they will deform at the feed lips if left loaded for many years. Aluminum USGI mags can remain loaded indefinitely. If you're storing them empty and out of UV light, they're both great. I'd buy aluminum USGI spec mags. |
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Originally Posted By Bowhntr6pt: Having had two P-mags break on me I'd stick with USGI Aluminum type if were faced with a buy now/buy for last time situation. https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/jtk8IH.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/opLq9I.jpg USGI aluminum will out live you. These mags were like new, not abused or dropped. I’ve seen that happen before as a student in an instructor school. 3 guys from the same agency took Pmags out of the wrapper and they cracked at first use. I think I have one (given to me) Pmags and 2 Tmags, the rest are USGI. |
If a 147 grn 9mm at 1000 FPS is the hammer of Thor then a 165 grn. 40 at 1200 fps must a lightening bolt from Zeus!
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Originally Posted By dalle0001: Ouch, that is kind of my fear as well with these pmags. I had steel mags with the lips snapping on me a couple of times. Hmm tough choices here. Steel or aluminum? I know the ends/corners of aluminum mags can crack over a very long period of time... but not like the P-Mags... but the ones I've seen were so old most of the finish was worn off... you're not going to have any issues with recently produced USGI type aluminum mags... they will out live you. |
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Honestly, all magazines are wear/consumable items and shouldn't be expected to last forever in storage. I'd buy whatever I thought I'd use up across the next 5 years and plan for a road trip at that point. Magazines aren't bulky or heavy. Just do a road trip when you need to and buy a dozen or whatever at that time. It's not like you're moving to Europe or something. |
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Originally Posted By Bowhntr6pt: Having had two P-mags break on me I'd stick with USGI Aluminum type if were faced with a buy now/buy for last time situation. https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/jtk8IH.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/opLq9I.jpg USGI aluminum will out live you. These mags were like new, not abused or dropped. Yep. I'd buy aluminum mags. I know they are US issue now, but you don't have Uncle Sam buying new ones for you. |
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Originally Posted By gojoe: I remember that! I remember it so well that I have never, ever bought anything from them since. Originally Posted By gojoe: Originally Posted By runguns: I remember that year, and the nice companies like Cheaper Than Dirt helping out by selling $99.00 pmags I remember that! I remember it so well that I have never, ever bought anything from them since. Rotten fuckers.  
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Honestly the best mags to get were the Okay Industries standard or surefeed GI mags when you could get them for as low as $10-11 a unit. Now they're long gone and scalpers want like $40 a pop so no longer worth it, and I don't know if I trust any other GI mag to bother investing in them all that much, especially if down the road you're in a ban state and they turn to shit. That leaves the gen 3 pmag. If I was about to get fucked with bullshit anti-2a state law and had to just stack them all at once, I'd buy like 2 cases of them, or at least one. Some retailers will give you bulk rates if you buy 100+. |
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| I have been planning for another ban for so long I have more than enough magazines to last several lifetimes. I have a mix of pretty much everything |
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Originally Posted By Bowhntr6pt: Having had two P-mags break on me I'd stick with USGI Aluminum type if were faced with a buy now/buy for last time situation. https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/jtk8IH.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q70/922/opLq9I.jpg USGI aluminum will out live you. These mags were like new, not abused or dropped. Those are ancient Gen 1 PMAGs. The polymer formula has probably been updated and strengthened a dozen times or so in the two decades since those were introduced, and the design of the PMAG has been revised several times. |
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