Both the 20 and 30 round ar15 magazines...how is the reliability, etc???  thanks!

Save yourself the pain... don't bother.  Some seem to get the cheap steel mags running, most seem to curse them... Stick with USGI magazines and don't look back!

Every Western Metal magazine I've seen has been complete crap.

1) Set magazine down.
2) Run away from said magazine.
3) Repeat as necessary.

Thanks for the quick and informative responses!  It's a shame cause they're so damn cheap!

and now you know why.....

Before I knew any better I ordered a bunch of Westerns for my Beretta, Mini-14, AR-15.

The Beretta 92 mags would actually work, but the feed lips would bend if you approached max capacity.

Half the Mini-14 and AR-15 mags wouldn't even fit in the mag wells...  Needless to say, those that did fit did not function worth a damn.

Fortuantely the place I ordered from took the mags back and I only had to eat shipping.

The only mags I use aside from USGI are British Steel SA80 mags.  You can find these new for $15-16 NIW if you look.  Good used USGI can be found in the same price range.

Do yourself a favor and get good mags.  The only jams I've ever had were due to bad magazines.

Thanks Nate, I've been eyeballing those british mags @ Rguns.net for $15 a piece and $14 if you order 10 or more.  Also, they have some Colt very good condition 20 rounders for $17, I guess the first thing I should do with a used is change out the springs and followers?  Or should I try them out first?

Try them out first!  There is no sense fixing something that isn't broken...

I have 10 of the English steel mags from Rguns.  2 of them were out of spec and they replaced them with no problems, even sent green followers with the replacements.

I didn't like the flimsy followers that came with them, so I replaced them with black followers I had laying around.  They all run 100%  My only complaint with them is that they are blued steel, so you have to wipe them down with oily rag after handling to avoid finger prints...

Guns4Musenic,
Don't listen the the previous posts.  [:D]

Western/USA/Promag/etc mags are not milspec or factory spec.  They are cheap, and easily replaced.  Why use your expensive Thermolds for practise/three gun/IDPA?  Most of the cheap mags will function if you work with them.  In the meantime they provide great training in clearing jams without costing you potentially irreplaceble mil spec mags.

Buy and use them!!!!!!


ps  The British mags should be mil spec, if they are the same ones I have seen.

They are such pieces of shit we stopped carrying them.  Too many returns.

Absolute garbadge!


Balming