Hello all,

I picked up a few 30 round mags at a gunshow this past weekend. They are in brand new condition, grey parkerized metal, and still in the wrapper. They were marked with a adhesive label that simply said "England", but had no marks on the floorplate or anywhere else. Anyone have any of these? Are these good mags? I was planning on a GF upgrade.

Thanks for any info and advice.

Hep

I have 25 of the brit mags, I upgrade all of them to Computer guys orange followers, the 24 of them run great and no problems I have one that I just cant get to feed. so I don't use it I put the original follower back in it so I could tell it apart it is now a range mag. for the money they are a good deal, but im still looking for usgi. this is just my opinion though. Ronald

Sounds good.  Anybody else use the Brit mags?

You buy things of unknown quality?  Not a habit I practice.

The english mags have a pretty good reputation.  After reading reviews, I bought 5 at the last show and they've worked as well as USGI's.

My Brit mags had the improved follower design with the longer leg (black) so they didn't need an upgrade.

Your habitual DO's and DON'Ts aside, I've read mention of the "British" mags on AR15.com and wanted more information, practical and historical.
My observation at the gunshow was that the welds were solid and clean, the spring crisp and the condition NIW, so I picked up a few since I have no AR mags whatsoever and wanted to hit the range this week with my new Fulton carbine.

Thanks very much for the info.

BTW, how much did you pay for them?

Hep

$18 each.

I saw some as high as $30, and they were $20 at the last show.

The reason I come down a little hard - I've got a buddy new to AR's.  I warned him not to just buy anything he thought was a good buy, but to ask me first.  He didn't listen.  He ordered a bunch of used mags, and got a pile of shit in exchange for his money.  All the floor tabs are broken off and the baseplates are wired on.  His loss.

I just get worried when it seems like folks buy things w/out knowing about them.  You can get really taken if you don't know what you are buying.

Hey, sorry if my response was a little jerky.  I know exactly what you mean and I truely appreciate any wisdom you fellows on the board will share with a FNG. I've been a shooter for about 15 years and I'm very familiar with Mil rifles like Mauser 98s, Garands and the like. The AR is a new bag for me and I appreciate your comments. The day before I went to the show I did some mag research on AR15.com and saw that the Royal Ord mags were considered solid, but not much else was said. When I found one dealer with mags that matched the description (down to the "England" sticker)I picked up a few since the majority of the mags elsewhere at the show were garbage (broken,bent or weak floor tabs, bent, bad welds on the seam, etc) and many were over priced. I paid $25, which seemed resonable for NIW mags. I knew I didn't get a deal, but I didn't get ripped.  I even saw filthy beat up Orlite mags for $30+.

Speaking of which, what's your opinion on the Orlites?

Again, many thanks for "looking out for a FNG"  LOL

Kurt

No problem, I was a little short too....

$18 was a very good price for the Brit mags.  Prices vary widely.

People like the Orlites, but I haven't seen a good one yet.  I don't own any, and don't desire to.

All the ones I've seen had metal mesh showing in the feedlips.  I've seen one that was spreading too much at the top.

Add to that the fact many have to be modified to fit my Bushmasters, and I just avoid them.

Thermolds are great in a plastic mag.  Just get the H21 or H22 American made ones.

Glad you guys have had good result w/your unmarked Brit mags.  My experience has not been so fortunate. They'reworking now, but it took some work.

Both the mags I bought seated too high in all four of my ARs, and I had to open up the retaining slot. They only held 29 rounds, until I cut the center rib of the floorplate 1/4 inch.  Wierdest of all, even tho both mags have the same outer length, one of them will only seat issue length ammo (Q3131A) with the noses rubbing the front wall, while the other has the usual 1/32" or so clearance.

I have 6 and they all work fine with the original followers, dunno mabey im just lucky. The only "bad" thing about them is that they are steel. I prefer aluminium but Im not gonna argue at $15 a piece.