Pre-Ban magazines

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Posted: 2/25/2006 1:36:22 PM EDT

I am new to the site and AR-15s. I just bought a new Bushmaster M4 type carbine, and I am looking for some good quality 30rd magazines. The problem is that I live in Massachusetts...and they limit us to pre-ban ONLY magazines. I bought some at a local gun shop that were pre-ban aftermarket, and they would not always hold the bolt open on the last round. They were black, with black followers. My question is how do I know if a magazine is pre-ban...and more importantly how do the authorities identify it as NOT pre-ban.

So...my real question is where do I find good quality, reliable magazines that are pre-ban. All of the good magazines that I have found online do not ship to the people's republic of Massachusetts. Thanks in advance for any/all help.

Here is a pic of my new rifle with one of the questionable magazines...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a338/black-z71/DSCF0322.jpg

Posted: 2/25/2006 1:56:14 PM EDT

[#1]

Simple, go to Ammoman.com and get some of their USGI pre-ban mags in any finish. Add some Magpul followers and you got yourself a great magazine. They ship to MA.

I, myself, have 10 of them ( a bit pricey as opposed to the brand new D&H mags that 44mag.com sells) but they fit the bill of what you want: preban and good quality.

Most post ban mags have date stamps on the mag itself.

Posted: 2/25/2006 2:13:02 PM EDT

[#2]

Any mag made before September 1994 is "pre-ban"
All mags made between September 1994 and September 2004 are marked LE Only.

Interestingly enough, mags made after the ban ended are not marked with LE markings.
Make of that what you will.

Posted: 2/25/2006 3:30:39 PM EDT

[#3]

Excellent...thanks for all the info. I will order up some of those mags from Ammoman.com...this is just what I was looking for. Thanks again.

Posted: 2/25/2006 3:46:35 PM EDT

[#4]

Shoot me an e-mail. I have a few prebans I can sell you.

Posted: 2/26/2006 3:33:19 PM EDT

[#5]

Here is a little update...I was just on the AMMOMAN.COM website, and on the bottom of the page it says "sorry we do not ship to Massachusetts". I don't get it ...they are pre-ban. I guess people just don't want to take a chance...I am going to buy some in the EE. Thanks again.

Posted: 2/27/2006 10:56:36 AM EDT

[#6]

Plenty of people selling decent-quality preban 30's here. As a fellow Masshole, I understand your pain - but still have managed to acquire 20 or so 30rd (half of htem Colt) and a dozen 20rd Colt mags with no problem.

Sadly, I think I paid the most for the 20's back during the ban. Maybe $25 ea. My latest 30's are $7ea. Try Magman here. I founds some Magpul followers for $5/pack, some USGI springs, and then some teflon bake-on from Brownells. The mags will be NIB-quality and teflon for $12 ea when I'm done. (Well, $11 and change.)

Posted: 2/27/2006 11:01:42 AM EDT

[#7]

Try 79Transam on the EE. He doesn't spend as much time selling mags as he used to, but he has pre ban mags.

Posted: 2/27/2006 12:19:33 PM EDT

[#8]

tag, thinking of trading my preban mags for newer style, no promises yet

Posted: 2/27/2006 12:22:04 PM EDT

[#9]

I have a trade offer in the magazine section for 4 20's and 4 30's, all pre-ban. There is a tacked thread in one of the EE forums offering such trades for youz Massholes too. Look around a little.

ETA: Trade offer

EATA: Trade offer thread in EE

Generally speaking, post ban mags will have a date of mfg. on them, proving they are made during then ban. Very few mags had date markings on them prior to the ban and are usually considered pre-ban since date of mfg. cannot be easily determined....

Posted: 2/27/2006 3:44:02 PM EDT

[#10]

So what your saying is all pre ban mags DONT have a date on them? Wow I have about 25-30 that I bought back in the 80's that dont even have green followers in them I went out and picked up new green followers and springs planning on rebuilding them just to have more around. I guess I should think about over hauling and selling them in the EE to help out some of our lee fortunate memebers who loive in worse states than Washington.

Posted: 2/28/2006 2:28:25 AM EDT

[#11]

Thanks for all the replys...I found someone in the EE that I am buying some pre-ban mags from.

Posted: 2/28/2006 3:17:16 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
So what your saying is all pre ban mags DONT have a date on them?

I believe that Creative Products 30-round magazines do not have a date stamp on them, but are not pre-ban. They were made after the ban expired, but are not legal for New Yorkers or others living in states with their own bans.

Posted: 2/28/2006 7:41:06 AM EDT

[#13]

. . . and unless the magazines look substantially different from mags made 12 years ago, NY is gonna have a HARD time proving otherwise.

Put a Ranger Plate on the sucker and how does one know it's preban or postban??? No date at all! I think MA and NY have really painted themselves in a corner on this one. It's too hard to detrmine. When teh ATF was your enemy, it was easy to stay "legal." (Esp. with all post-ban mags from 1994-2004 saying "LEO ONLY" on them.) Now that you've got that mish-mash mix, what'll they do? Radio-carbon dating???? It's a do-nothing law that appeases sheeple voters and allows useless representatives to show they are tough on crime while doing no ACTUAL work.

Posted: 2/28/2006 9:03:07 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
. . . and unless the magazines look substantially different from mags made 12 years ago, NY is gonna have a HARD time proving otherwise.

Put a Ranger Plate on the sucker and how does one know it's preban or postban??? No date at all! I think MA and NY have really painted themselves in a corner on this one. It's too hard to detrmine. When teh ATF was your enemy, it was easy to stay "legal." (Esp. with all post-ban mags from 1994-2004 saying "LEO ONLY" on them.) Now that you've got that mish-mash mix, what'll they do? Radio-carbon dating???? It's a do-nothing law that appeases sheeple voters and allows useless representatives to show they are tough on crime while doing no ACTUAL work.

You don't even have to put Ranger plates on 'em. The floor plates aren't dated. If anyone asks, they are prebans that you re-built with new springs, followers and floor plates. This is all hypothetical, of course. I know you would never break the law like that!

Posted: 2/28/2006 4:14:44 PM EDT

[#15]

Some post-bans do not have LEO markings but do have small date codes stamped on the mag body. Be careful, I'd just buy old pre-bans and upgrade them. CYO don't you know

Posted: 2/28/2006 6:34:49 PM EDT

[#16]

Shameless plug:

I have 8 preban 30 round USGI mags I'm looking to sell/trade for new current production mags. Email me if interested. They're all clean and in very good to like new condition. I'd take $80 shipped.

mccullom (the "at" symbol) epix ("dot") net

my ad is listed below:
www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=24&t=328875

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