A local shop has brand new steel magazines with no markings whatsoever. They appear to be parkerized steel, and contain a gray follower that looks like it has been marbalized (plastic molding pattern is very swirly)... Upon opening the magazine up, the dealer and I noticed the follower is the new anti tilt follower... but its gray instead of green.

Price is 18 bucks, can anyone help me ID this magazine? Probably asking for something that cant happen, but I would like to know if their a reputable brand so I can buy him out.

buy usgi and you wont regret it. i also own some us made thermolds and they are great as well but overall stick to usgi or you will regret it. also as of late there have been some great usgi mags on the EE for 15.00 or so.that would be the wise move

Maybe it is a british mag. I have heard that they look like a USGI mag but they are steel.

I have 3 usgi, but was looking for something new.

I think you may be right, from other posts it appears to be a SA-80 british magazine.

The follower is a little cheap looking, im gonna change it out soon.  

If it's a British SA-80 mag, it's probably quite good.  They're steel mags done right.

I have noticed that lately, there's a lot of unmarked mags available, particularly at gun shows, that don't look at all like they're more than nine years old.  Not even close.  They look like fresh production.

I wonder if maybe there's not some operation cranking out new mags somewhere, illegally.   I have no problem with that as the law is unjust, though.


CJ

I have some of these brit mags.. Love them.. I own 7 now. Only wish I could refinish them to a nice black but I've been told the park + another layer of finish will be too thick and come off easy. :[

I've already dropped (practically threw it) one of the SA80 mags, and it hit the corner of my table HARD. Left a little dent in the side of the mag body, and the thing still feeds. For some reason aluminum mags have always felt cheap.. Even really complex hk mags.

I have "painted" several of the British mags black and the finish is holding up quite well.  It does tend to scrape off at the magazine latch, but what doesn't?  I used Brownell's Aluma-Hyde II.  All you do is clean it very well with mineral spirits or alcohol, then follow the directions on the can.  After spraying, it is important to let it set-up for 24 hours without touching, then put it away for a week.  It takes a week for the paint to cure completely and when cured, it is extremely durable.  The only thing I have found that will damage the paint after curing is acetone.  It makes for a very nice flat black finish that when oiled turns into a very attractive semi-gloss finish that matches the DPMS and Armalite black finish exactly.

The SA80 magazines have been stored for years in ware houses, piled high. That is why they appear to be new mags.

Royal Ord. mags are commonly known to have problems with the magazine catch. A file should take care of that though.

I've seen a few extreme cases where a few Royal Ordnance mags wouldnt even insert into a receiver.

Most seem to be good mags though. Hope this helps,

Cody @ Magazine Specialties