Went to a Gunshow yesterday , saw all kinds of AR mags.
New -Used-Cheap-Expensive -20s-30s.

Now I am really happy that the Ban is over , and we have many choices in magazines.
During the ban years I paid high prices for prebans , just in case.

Looking back though - they were all govt. contract mags. in sealed bags, and I have
complete confidence that they are reliable and went through a QC process.

Can you say the same of all the mags available now?

I saw some straight 20s ,aluminum dry coated ,green followers  ,looked great and only
$10 each  - I passed

30rd Teflon coated , green followers,in bulk $13 - I passed.

For range/plinking , I have a few used mags I know are reliable , and I will occasionally
buy a cheap gunshow mag if it looks decent and is made to original/general military standards
(no plastic - steel- or curved 20s)

I have no gripes about the new fancy shmancy "upgraded" mags with $10 springs
and floorplates either , they are cool to have.

But for serious purposes , I will stick to my "bagged Mags" (after testing) and plan on
picking up some more.  ("still new" older Colt mags. are acceptable to me also)

The occasional $20-25 I spend on a non-commercial "real mag"  is cheap insurance,
and gives me peace of mind.

Why would you want to spend the extra money on mags ??? Price is not what makes them reliable.
I would never trust ANY mag until I run it a few times thru my AR, then and only then is when I trust it, regardless if it cost me$9 or $19 dollars.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that all those "Govt. contract mags in sealed bags that have gone through a QC process" are any better then what's out their now.

You wanna keep shelling out $20-25 bucks for a perception...knock yourself out...

Quoted: ...they were all govt. contract mags. in sealed bags, and I have complete confidence that they are reliable and went through a QC process....

...that were manufactured by the lowest bidder on an 8A set-aside contract.  Just like the M-9 Beretta magazines manufactured by Check-mate.

Hell, I have NIW (bags) Labelle mags that I'll sell you for $20.00 apeice, if you think they are better just cause they are expensive non-commercial "real mags".

Seriously though, just about any of the mags you see in the EE are quality mags & under $10.00 in most cases. As long as they aren't the  cheapie Chinese steel mags, I'd trust them to be reliable in any situation, after function testing of course.

All my mags are military contract magazines made by Okay industries and Labelle (Now known as D&H). I have checked them front to back and have upgraded most of them with Magpul Enhanced followers and brand new springs from Bushmaster. I can assure you that Mil-Spec magazines are as good if not better than those pricey mags from H&K that everyone adores so much.

Second, when you do maintenance on your AR15, you should also pay close attention to your magazines; clean them, oil them with silicone oil and inspect them for dents, cracks on the welds, worn out springs and cracked floorplates. I trust my life on my equipment because i take the time to ensure that my equipment is fully operational and ready to go on a moment's notice.

Any soldier/policeman/hunter worth his salt knows this and practices it to the letter; never give in to a fad, do what's already tried and true.

You are right. Magazines are critical components and there’s no point in using crappy ones.

But D&H and C Products are making high quality USGI magazines and selling them for around $10.00 each. Both companies are supplying both the Military and LEO with magazines so these are as “official” as you can get.

And USGI mags are almost a throwaway item. If ammo prices go up anymore or magazine prices come down anymore, it’s gonna cost more to load the magazine than it will to buy it. The USGI magazine design appears to be fairly inexpensive to manufacture, however they do seem to be very reliable. Point is, there probably isn’t much quality control after the magazine leaves the factory. It would just cost too much to do any kind of testing. It makes more sense to just issue them and let the individual troops verify functionality.

If the factory quality control doesn’t catch a problem, and I don’t catch it either, then there’s not much chance that some military inspection process would have caught the problem.

C Products (and probably D&H) are going to stand by their product is something’s wrong with it, I don’t know if I can say the same about some unknown contractor.

Enjoy you're AK magazine's :"AKsRule"...

What was the point of you're post, again?

Sly

PS: Literally, I hope AKsRule has an AR15 & isn't just trying to stir the pot.  I have AKs & I have ARs, it's the ARs that brought me to the site, and I just so happened to find some excellent info on the AK side of things... Which I happen to respect, and wouldn't post abrasive sh*t, in the wrong forum about...  (Please tell me you're intent wasn't a product of an alternative motive AKsRule)

AKsRule I'm going to add a couple to my post, I'm not trying to be abrasive either, it's just that I understand AKs & ARs-  I don't care to get into the "which is best" discussion" here.  Owning both,  I agree on each's merits and lack thereof.

Quoted: Enjoy you're AK magazine's :"AKsRule"... What was the point of you're post, again? Sly PS: Literally, I hope AKsRule has an AR15 & isn't just trying to stir the pot.  I have AKs & I have ARs, it's the ARs that brought me to the site, and I just so happened to find some excellent info on the AK side of things... Which I happen to respect, and wouldn't post abrasive sh*t, in the wrong forum about...  (Please tell me you're intent wasn't a product of an alternative motive AKsRule) AKsRule I'm going to add a couple to my post, I'm not trying to be abrasive either, it's just that I understand AKs & ARs-  I don't care to get into the "which is best" discussion" here.  Owning both,  I agree on each's merits and lack thereof.

No offense taken
Those who have read my posts over the years here know that i am NOT a Gun Snob of either
persuasion.
I do have a special fondness for AKs , but I also Loaded my first  30rd mag into
my issue M16 back in 1972,  so I think I have a little bit of Credibility.

I own multiple ARs and AKs and love them all.

My main point was that commercial products are what they are , while the
"low Bidder" Govt. stuff has stood the test of time.

AKsRule-

Point(s) well taken.

I currently have numerous ARs, but refuse to give up my pre-89 AKs.  (Although I've been toying w/ the idea of trading off the few for many SKS-s...)  

I understand you're drawing the line between military/Mil-Spec magazines and "commercial". However, I am much enthused that CProducts has been offering magazines which, for all intent and purpose, appear to be made to military specification and yet; marketed to the commercial consumer.

(Not trying to speak for CProducts as I'm sure they'd love to have military contracts, it's just that if they did/do, they haven't forgotten about the commercial side of things.  As evidenced by their SS mags and 7.62x39 AR magazines)

Take care,

Sly