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The Unscientific Plastic Magazine Test - Videos pg15 - Part 2 pg16 -(mobile users/56k do not click) (Page 1 of 13)
Posted: 8/10/2012 4:34:15 PM EDT
[Last Edit: WI57][Edited]
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I decided to do an assorted magazine "shoot off".
I ordered an assortment of different mags from MidwayUSA, I only ordered solid black to be fair across the board. Different mfg's had offered to send me mags to test, but I figured I'd just buy my own so there was no favoritism. The test specimens. 
Unboxing them. 
The Troy Battle Mag, first thing I did was pop the tab thing out and put the flat one in. 
The TangoDown ARC MK2 mag. 
The Pmag, since magpul hasn't released their newest mag I can't test it, so this is what I used. I am not using the dust cover for any of these tests. 
The Lancer L5 AWM. 
The Tapco Intrafuse mag. 
The Tan Follower GI mag. 
And the Green Follower GI mag. 
So Left to Right, Troy, TangoDown, Pmag, Lancer, Tapco, Tan GI, and Green GI. 
I used my SR-15 as the host gun for the mag well fitting, all dropped free empty.. Troy 
TangoDown 
Pmag 
Lancer 
Tapco 
Tan GI 
Green GI 
I plan on testing them all with a wide variety of ammunition. I will be using IMI 5.56 M855 for the first function test. 
Troy 
TangoDown 
Pmag 
Lancer 
Tapco 
Tan GI 
Green GI 
Off to the range we go... 
eta- 56k warning. eta- phone user warning. eta- video eta- part 2 |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its a beautiful day at the range for testing.
I am using IMI M855 for the live ammo test. 
All mags are loaded with a StripLula, making loading very easy. 
210 rounds ready. 
The tarp so I don't have to fish brass out of the grass, as I shot I just tossed the mags onto the tarp. 
Well that was boring, all functioned just fine. 
So lets mix things up a little, we'll try blanks and see how the feed. 
The host gun this time is an A4 clone. 
StripLula FTW! 
Let the test begin. 
All was well until the Tapco mag, it just nosed dived the round into the barrel extension. 
Only the Right side jammed. 
Did it three times out of 30. 
The rest of the mags worked no problem. 
Things started to get a little carboned up with all these blanks. 
The mags are pretty dirty and full of carbon. 
How are we going to clean that off...? |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Since the mags are covered in carbon, what better thing to remove it than Carbon Removing Compound?
The mags in the soaking tank. 
All filled up. 
Who knew mags floated? 
Sitting on the back deck for a soak. 
I'll check back later...
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
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Originally Posted By rx7dryver:
I would have liked to see how the usually trash talked thermold held up. I knew I forgot one... 
I'll add it to the next test. |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
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I completly forgot about Thermolds, I just checked gander mtn and they don't carry them.
I'll try to swing by fleet farm tomorrow and see what they have. Anyways, I tucked them in for the night like I "forgot" to take them out of the parts washer.
We will see what tomorrow brings... |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
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Sun is shining, its looking to be a good day.
Mags are still sitting in the jar. 
My plan is to take them out, see how well they drain, and wipe them off. 
They look fine from here. 
Troy first, drains from the three small holes. 
Right away I noticed the base plate is "softer" than when I put it in, also turned grey. 
Follower looks like it sits higher than normal, but thats the way it is. 
TangoDown, it does not drain. 
Have to turn it upside down to drain, follower has giant holes so it drains fast. 
TangoDown, nothing changed. 
Pmag drains pretty fast from the rear of the baseplate. 
Pmag, nothing changed. 
Lancer barely drains from the bottom. 
Lancer drains fast from the top. 
Lancer remains unchanged. 
Except for this little purple thing... 
Don't know what that is... 
Tapco doesn't drain. 
But it drians from the follower pretty good. 
Tapco nothing changed. 
Green GI mag drains from the floor plate. 
Green GI nothing changed. 
Tan GI drains from the floor plate. 
Tan GI nothing changed. 
I am going to let them drip/sun dry and check back later. 
Nothing nasty left in the solution. 
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
The mags dried most the morning, so now it's time to go shoot them.
Here we are again at the range. 
Mags, all cleaned up from last nights soaking. 
Loading with IMI M855. 
Again thank goodness for the StripLula. 
This time I'll do a drop test... 
And here it goes: 
These are the results, most the feed lips look ok. 
Since I read on here about everyone using motor oil to lube their BCG, I decided I'd try it. 
Everything was fine until the very end, all the plastic mags worked great. The only stoppage was the green follower GI mag. 
The last two rounds had a bolt over malfunction, not sure how that happened... 
...because the bolt didn't lock back and the follower was all jacked up. 
So other than the green GI mag giving me a fit at the end, everything went well. 
But now the mags are all dirty again... 
I'll be cleaning my bore with this so I have to be careful. 
Don't want to get any on the mags, might be bad for them... 
Oops. 
Well since they are in there, let's see what happens overnight. 
Soaking in RBC for the night. 
eta-spelling |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
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The RBC is darker than the carbon removing compound so it was hard to get a picture.
But here they sit, waiting for the sun to come up. 
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
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I find this thread very interesting....
Thanks OP for doing this test it is appreciated. |
The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
After soaking all night in RBC...
Troy mag, no change. 
TangoDown mag, no change. 
Pmag. no change. 
Lancer mag, no change. 
Tapco mag, no change. 
Tan GI mag, no change. 
Green GI mag, no change. 
Nothing left in the RBC. 
Letting them air dry, not much for sun today so it might take a while. 
Back at the range again.
Pre-drop magazines. 
Loading with IMI M855. 
Setting up for the drop test. 
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
|
The drop test, this is the second time I have dropped the mags. I will be dropping them loaded on their spines.
The spines held up pretty good. 
Mags did ok, Pmag is developing a small crack. 
Nothing really bad in the spines of the magazines. 
Then I decided to drop them on their lips one more time.
And straight from the drop test they go to a test fire. Troy.
TangoDown.
Pmag. (Even with the crack)
Lancer.
Tapco.
Tan GI.
Green GI mag. (Pretty sure this one is junk now)
Poor SR-15 is getting a workout... 
The feed lips seemed to be ok, besides the green GI mag not feeding. 
Pmag and Tapco cracked from the last drop test. 
Pmag crack. 
Tapco crack. 
Figured I'd do a quick "chevy truck test" since I have one. 
Nothing happened, they just got dirty. 
Cracks didn't get any bigger. 
So now that they are dirty I'll have to clean them up... I'm feeling lazy and figure I'll just toss them in the dishwasher. 
Lets see what happens. 
Too easy... 
eta- Fix lancer video |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Out of the wash.
I must say they sure did clean up nicely, all dirt, oils, and carbon is gone. 
Even the followers look good. 
Cracks didn't change. 
The Lancer is beginning to rust on its steel lips. 
And they mags are still kinda water logged, so a quick bake should help.... 
I'll try to check back in 30 min...
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
|
Originally Posted By Aimless:
You put that shit in your dishwasher?  He must be single. Or is soon to be. Whatever, I am interested in the results of this thread, following it from inception |
http://blog.ryjones.org/
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2013/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
Come visit: http://boomershoot.org/2013/blast.htm I'm in spot 1, all the way east.
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Originally Posted By RyJones:
Originally Posted By Aimless:
You put that shit in your dishwasher? He must be single. Or is soon to be. Whatever, I am interested in the results of this thread, following it from inception Not single. Wife has a "dishwasher phobia" so she refuses to use it. Its my magazine washer now. 
Until we buy a new dishwasher, then no more parts washer.
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
|
This This and This
My wife would flip shit 
Originally Posted By RyJones:
Originally Posted By Aimless:
You put that shit in your dishwasher? He must be single. Or is soon to be. Whatever, I am interested in the results of this thread, following it from inception |
So the mags dried off, and I found out my oven is off by one degree. 
Troy mag disassembled. 
The Troy base plate is not liking something and starting to dissolve. 
Troy mag body is just fine. 
TangoDown mag doesn't disassemble, it's glued together. 
But everything looks normal inside. 
Pmag disassembled. 
Pmag is just fine. 
Lancer mag disassembled. 
Lancer's steel lips are rusting. 
But the Lancer body is just fine. 
Tapco mag disassembled. 
Tapco mag is just fine. 
Tan GI mag disassembled. 
Tan GI mag is just fine. 
Green GI mag disassembled. 
Green GI mag is mechanically fine, even though it wont feed 100%. 
Well that was kinda boring, I figured something would have bubbled or corroded more then just the Troy base plate. What to try next... How about good ol' Simple Green? 
Should work wonders cleaning these already clean mags. 
I seem to recall this stuff attacks aluminium... So let's see.
And back on the porch, if I have time I'll pull them out before work, otherwise I'll get them when I get home. 
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Gold membership generously donated by mac130.
Joined:
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Posts:
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TX, USA
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Originally Posted By rock71:
Most awesome thread in a while. Thanks. Yep. Thanks! |
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its maximum hour of danger. You are that generation, that is your role, this is that moment.
-Judge Napolitano
-Judge Napolitano
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Originally Posted By dpmmn:
Pure unmixed Simple Green is potent I hope so. So far these things are chemical proof... 
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
|
Originally Posted By oogabooga289:
Are you an engineer? Because you sure do write up some damn thorough reports
PLEASE keep up the good work and documentation. No, but I believe in the spirit of if you are going to do something, do it right and document EVERYTHING.
Originally Posted By InfiniteGrim:
Thought you were waiting for the new pmags to come out? I was. Magpul will probably release it right after I destroy these so I have to do it all over again... 
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Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
|
That purple spec on the L5 AWM is the sealant from the tip of the blanks
Also what did the lancer feeddlips look like before they started to rust. I thought they had some kind of finish on them. Also can I request something.... Drop all the mags on their baseplate, feelips, spine, and front 3 times, then see what happens. One drop each mag isn't enough destruction!
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Didn't get a chance to pull them out before work, so they'll soak until I get home.
It's too dark for good pictures anyways. 
Originally Posted By InfiniteGrim:
That purple spec on the L5 AWM is the sealant from the tip of the blanks
Also what did the lancer feeddlips look like before they started to rust. I thought they had some kind of finish on them. Also can I request something.... Drop all the mags on their baseplate, feelips, spine, and front 3 times, then see what happens. One drop each mag isn't enough destruction! That's probably what the purple was, just a chunk of sealant. The lancer had a nice almost parkerised finish on the steel, but the dishwasher rusted it. I'll do the three drop test next time I run to the range. |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
|
TAG!!! I am so IN!!! Keep up the great work! Would have been nice to see a couple other metal mags included... Those are the dry film mags correct? Would have liked to seen what the teflon finish, stainless steel, steel, etc mags would have done through the chemical washes, etc. But still love the work! |
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What chemical will be next? chlorinated brake cleaner? How about throwing the mags into the bottom of a duffle bag, then do whatever it takes to make that bag weigh about 100 lbs. Throw the bag out of the back of your truck mag side down to simulate a tactical bellyflop onto a chest rig full of mags.
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A combination AK-57, Uzi, radar, laser, triple-barreled,double scoped, heat seeking shotgun.
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Ok, finally got home to check them out.
Still sitting on the porch. 
Nothing fun floating in the jar like I had been expecting. 
Troy mag, nothing changed. 
TangoDown mag, nothing changed. 
Pmag, nothing changed. 
Lancer mag, nothing changed. 
Feed lips are still rusted. 
Tapco mag, nothing changed. 
Tan GI mag, nothing, no corrosion, nothing. 
Green GI mag, nothing major either. 
Some dry film lube has flaked off though. 
I decided I better rinse the simple green off, my luck it would ruin my KAC rifle. 
So in a nut shell, all the Simple Green did was make the mags smell like Simple Green.
Now to download the drop test videos... |
Its not the guy that walks in with a gun and says he is going to start shooting that you have to worry about.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
Its the guy that just walks in and just starts shooting.
|
Outstanding thread ! Looking forward to drop test videos and whatever else you come up with. I'd like to see you put the mags in a chest rig and then hit the deck hard as if reacting to fire. Thanks.
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"We know that not all ARs are the same and only a fool believes that parts are parts." Pat Rogers.
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM.
SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM.
The Unscientific Plastic Magazine Test - Videos pg15 - Part 2 pg16 -(mobile users/56k do not click) (Page 1 of 13)
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