Have successsfully used preban Thermold 30 round mags for years, w/o any problems at all, so was happy to see them back on the market. Picked up one of the 20 rounders at the show yesterday. and have ended up as a very unhappy camper.
Hand cycling a full 20 rounds I found that the last 5 rounds sit too low at the base to be caught by the forward bolt, and will not even begin to feed. When I disassembled the thing, the spring is a very chinzy looking item, with far fewer coils than the spring on a GI mag. On a hunch, I pulled the spring from a GI mag and installed it in the Thermold. Mag now worked just fine, BUT now only holds 19 rounds.
While this new mag is marked "Wilson, NC, the bag it came in shows a South Carolina address. The mag shows a "95" on the side, which I assume is a manufacture date; since it's also marked " Law Enforcement & Govt Use Only".
Someone has either bought up a bunch of unassembled pieces. or the molds from the 1995 production of these mags, and used a piece of crap spring to assemble hem. We've had postings on this site that the Wilson, NC plant has been closed and empty for years.
Guess I'll pick uip a new GI spec spring, and use the thing as a 19 rounder for sighting in at the range; but I urge y'all to stay the hell away from them.
If anyone else has had experience with this product, or the 30 round version, I'll be interestd to hear about your experience.