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Posted: 5/1/2006 4:01:40 PM EDT
I'll be the first to admit, I'm about as graceful as a bear on a bicycle. So while practicing tac re-loads the other night using the "pistol method" I ended up dropping two fully loaded magazines on the concrete deck. In both instances the rear of the mag body split wide open, spewing all 28 rounds of XM193 all over the place. I realize this is my own damn fault for not practicing a new drill on a softer surface, and for not learning my lesson the first time.  However, without getting into manufacturer names or pro & cons of ranger plates, do think your standard, 30 round, USGI mag, should be able to withstand a drop of 4 feet without exploding? The only point I'm trying to make here, is that I'm just a weekend warrior and I know our men and women in uniform are a hell of a lot hard on this equipment then I'll ever be. It just make one wonder what type of equipment are we sending our boys into harm way with? Now discuss, flame, complain, whatever you do best. |
| King C, both mags that blew up were bare bones stock magazines, green follower, CS spring, metal floor plate, less than 6 months old with little use. I was kind of looking for horror stories of what other people have done to their magazines and they held together. Always like good story. |
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Dropping an emplty mag on the concrete is not good for it, but we do it all the time on the range with no frequent problems. Dropping a loaded mag on a hard surface like concrete leaves a high chance of a catastrophic failure of the magazine. The weight of the loaded magazine striking the concrete can break baseplate tabs, cause the magazine to swell, damage the feed lips, and cause the rounds to expel or flip in the mag body. The black and green followers have a long spine and when the magazine is dropped on the baseplate on concrete, will strike the thin baseplate and either put a dent in it, or cause the baseplate to expel. The newer anti-tilt followers have a front and rear flat leg rather than a thin spine and are not as prone to doing this as the black and green followers. I recently did a drop test of the new stainless magazines being produced ( no name given as you asked not to. Hint, it is not HK ) and they survived the 4 foot drop test loaded and dropped on concrete. This was done numerous times with no visible damage other than scuffing and one time when a round expelled. The magazines were dropped from the weapon and typically hit the baseplate on the concrete. If the mag were to hit the feed lips, it would have a likelyhood of causing feed issues. The same drop test with the USGI aluminum magazines with the older followers causes the magazine to swell and baseplate to expel in the first or second drop. Full-Auto |
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One was an accident, AR out the window and I hit the mag release. The mag landed under the the wheel and the driver pulled forward on top of my mag. The second one was a test. Both mags are in my range bag. TS ETA: accident is an NHMTG mag, the test is C Products stainless to see if it would hold up to the same test, it did. Both loaded fully. NHMTG had Gen 1 magpul follower, the CP SS had their follower. |
| Full Auto, thanks for your input. I remember reading your post about the brand X magazines and your test. I guess thats what kind of shocked me about these magazines. Anyway, I'm positive that in both of my cases the mag landed on the feed lips due to the nature of the mag exchange being performed and the fact that the welds split at the top of the magazines and not the bottom. As I said before, noone to blame but myself. |
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Since you offered the flame option powereng & due to your generic post which lacks critical information which you admit purposefully withholding- here's my generic reply FWIW: Nothing in your post gives an opportunity for a manufacturer to address this issue. Nor can a potential purchaser take this information under consideration which may vary well save them from harm. So as much as I'd say "Shit happens" and things will break... I'd much prefer that any magazine of mine never failed in the way you just mentioned. As you did not disclose the manufacturer of these magazine which fatally failed you- nothing will come about your post as there's no utilizable information for me or for any manufacturer to consider.  May be a bit mild as far as flames are concerned but still, I'm left wanting the minutes back I just wasted reading through this post.  Sly |
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As full auto has posted he performed a drop test of his own and the stainless magazine held up just fine. We have had numerous T&E guys abuse the stainless steel magazine and it has never failed to function. Some have actually dropped them on the feed lips with no performance issues. All of the T&E magazines sent out are still fuctioning as well as the first day and they were sent out in January. Quite frankly, we designed it to take this type of abuse. We found the most knowledgable companies in the aerospace industry and worked with them on the heat treat. The material is the best for the heat treat we perform. We did not cut corners, every part of this magazine was completely thought out. We took what we felt were the major dimensional problems with the aluminum magazine and made the proper corrections. We worked with Magpul on the follower. Even the floor plate is stainless steel. Thanks for allowing me to talk about a product that everyone at C Products is extremely proud to be associated with. Larry C Products |
| Sly, I understand your point, but with all the D&H bashing going on around here I'd rather not drag another mag company thru the mud. Considering that said company has served me very well in the past and I only have myself to blame for my clumsiness. I was just trying to gather information for my own benefit. Don't like the thread, stop reading it! |
Excellent. Now that I have a decent supply of aluminum mags, which I didn't have during the AWB, I need to try some of your stainless mags. Looking forward to ordering soon. dvo |
I shipped the other mag body off to my buddy who is a welding engineer for a local company that specializes to automated stamping and welding. I'll let you know what he comes back with from there destructive lab testing. In the mean time, you be the judge. 
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