I recently received some of HK’s new magazines and offer the following review:
The first thing you notice is that this magazine is heavy. It’s over ½ a pound. HK lists it at 0.54 lbs. That’s twice as heavy as an aluminum mag and the weight difference is very noticeable.
HK has examined every aspect of the magazine and tried to improve upon it.
The follower is steel and reshaped for better feeding. It is also coated – probably to protect it from corrosion and to provide an anti-friction surface, both against the rounds and the inside of the magazine body. Finish color is black.
The spring is made from an advanced spring material – but the literature doesn’t specify exactly what it is or what the advantages and benefits are.
The floor plate and magazine bottom are redesigned. Instead of 4 bent tabs holding the floor plate in place, there is a slot cut into the front of the magazine for the floor plate to engage. I never had a problem with the old design but potentially this eliminates the problem of breaking off the small tabs and makes it easier to assemble/disassemble. The HK mag has a small rubber plug to prevent inadvertent loosening.
The magazine body is steel – with the Maritime version having an anti-corrosion and anti-friction surface finish. HK also offers a second version referred to as a Standard coating. Given the potential for rust, I recommend the Maritime coating. The coating color is black. This may be the Hostile Environment (HE) coating used on their handguns. The body and follower have been heat treated to relieve stress. The dimensions are held to tight tolerances to ensure proper functioning.
The area where the magazine catch is has been filled in. This is an open area on standard mags. By eliminating the opening they may prevent foreign material from getting into the inside of the mag. On the HK mag, this is where the date code is. Mine is stamped AE. This corresponds to 2004. Decoding info is provided at
www.hkpro.com/symbols.htm.
The forward and rearward facing sides lack the typical spot welds. Instead there is a fine tig welded seam.
The feed lip area has a reshaped back section though it’s not evident what’s gained. Then again, they wouldn’t have made the change unless there was some benefit.
Overall, the primary purpose of these changes is to make it the most reliable magazine of its type. It has been tested extensively and shown to provide improved feeding reliability.
The only negatives that I see are:
1. Heavy weight.
2. They have the Restricted legend on them. I would prefer to see this unnecessary imprint eliminated.
3. Higher price as compared to the aluminum USGI mags.
Positive endorsement of this mag is given by the US Army Special Forces who have adopted it for their M4 weapons. They recently bought 150,000 units.
More information is available at
www.hkdefense.us/corporate/media/pdf/416revised4-5-05.pdfLastly, I offer thanks to tripleh who sold me these NIB mags. He has a good price and fast shipping.