ASC.

I know that. Unfortunately I have no source of straight vinegar here, so I have to use whatever I can find in the DFAC.

I loaded the mags today after polishing the rounds and noticed an immediate difference in the travel up and down of the rounds and follower. A BIG difference, and much smoother travel in the feed column.

It works better than just wiping the ammo down, because I tried that first, and the rough texture of the tarnish and crud didn’t help with feed column movement like this treatment did.

I know someone at Niagara. She might hook me up if I bring my own container.

Thanks for the tip!

So Stoner was right to spec aluminum followers on his plastic wunder gewehr.

Cleaned and inspected another set of rifle and pistol mags today, and found lots of dirty, dented ammo, warped followers and linked springs.

Cleaned and sorted the ammo according to condition, and reloaded with as much good ammo as possible, then loaded the shitty ammo into the bottoms of the last two M4 mags and marked them for reference.

It’s about the best we can do here at this point. We’re accountable for every round, and the Army is not willing to DX dented or damaged ammo.

Still, these mags work again, and that’s good enough.

Damn, and I got shit load of ammo I'm just burning barrels away.

CD

Man, every opportunity I would get I was scrounging ammo over there. It would take time but would generally have pretty decent supply by the end of.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/2338223_Preban-mags-to-Massachusetts-thread-Striker-approved-.html

ASC was started after a vendor sued and won against C-Products. They got the (At least a big part of the) plant and renamed the company. The plaintiff became ASC.

Not impressed by ASC quality.

The original owner(s) moved to FL and started C Products Defense. They are the gold standard in non-556 AR mags.  

So, my wife sent me my Okay Surefeed E2s from Primary Arms, and I am well pleased. They’re holding up very well after a week of getting dusted and knocked around, and the finish isn’t showing much more than slight wear.

Looking forward to getting some range time with these and comparing them to the ASCs in actual use. IF we get range time.

Also got my Beretta mag springs and recoil spring from Brownell’s sent over, and I’ve marked my mags with my weapon number and asked the Armorer to keep them separated from the other mags getting issued out. Why we don’t assign magazines to each weapon is something he has never satisfactorily explained, but I’m going to nudge that idea forward until i see some reaction one way or another.

The other guys on this contract do not seem to make any kind of priority out of having working weapons, which I view as incredibly unprofessional, not to mention a huge risk if this place ever gets hit with a complex attack.

I asked some of the guys if they ever cleaned their mags, and one of them said, “why would I do that, when I’m getting a whole other set of mags tomorrow and the next day? Fuck cleaning mags for somebody else.”

The explained that if everyone cleaned their mags, eventually we would all get clean, serviceable mags at issue, but he just looked like a deer in the headlights trying to figure that out.

A lot of them talk a lot about how they’re going forward with DOS applications for mobile gigs and whatnot, and I just have to quietly smile, because with the attitudes I’ve seen here, a lot of these guys won’t last more than a week in that training environment, just from the shitty, argumentative attitudes alone, much less the lack of maturity or stewardship they bring to this gig.

Col. Charlie Beckwith once said, “I’d rather go up the river with seven studs than a hundred shitheads.” He was right.

I got a couple of ASC magazines i bought as an impulse buy leaving a gun store one day.   Total garbage. I dont even use them for training anymore.  Each one has some issue.  Ive been meaning to use them for targets and then toss them so no one else has to deal with them.

102 x 30 round mags of mixed black follower, green follower, tan follower, newest blue follower, PMags, FN Mk16 SCAR magazines.  These are all loaded with a mix of M855, M855A1, M856, M995 and Mk262.  Plus 3 old USGI 20 rd mags (2xMk318, 1xM995 AP)

Total of 3,120 rds and all magazine work semi and auto from 10.3"/14.5" URGs.

Attached File



CD

Glad to see you sorting this out.

Very interesting thread, guess op does contracted base security?

I don't get it - why would they be issued a different set of weapons/magazines/ammo every day? I must be missing something - I'd figure you'd get issued one set of stuff to use while in country for the duration? Of course, I haven't been on that side of the world in 30 years. And getting issued items that don't work? Is there a clause in the contract that weapons and equipment must be serviceable?
Please be safe over there.

I don’t know about his particular contract but it sounds like weapons are individually assigned, however mags are not. Armory might not have the space, or they are just to lazy to have assign mags to individuals.

Yes.

“Nothing will ever happen here” syndrome is in full effect.

I don’t believe that for a second, but it’s hard to convince these kids that things are easy and laid back until they aren’t.

If you wait till then to get serious, it’s already too late.

I am incredibly jealous right now.

Y’all should come hang out at KAF.

We have surf and turf at Cambridge.

The serviceability clause is there, it’s just that no one seems to give a shit about it. That really weirds me out, but I’ve instituted weekly weapon maintenance and I do spot inspections every so often.

The mag situation is being worked slowly, but surely in the direction of getting all the mags numbered to each assigned weapon. It takes a lot of convincing, but I have no doubt I’ll bring it off. I won’t stop pestering them until it happens.

A lot of these guys are taking about moving on to DOS contracts, but with these lackadaisical attitudes, I don’t see them getting very far.

My last contract was with PAE-INL in Kabul, and we got issued weapons with a set of assigned mags, and we cleaned and serviced everything before ever going out on our first mission. It just made sense to ensure your shit was in as good a condition as possible before rolling out into the city.

These guys need to wake up to that if they plan to move up.

@doubleclaw


Get any time in on those E2 mags yet?

Everyone wants the DOS contracts but don’t want to put in the work. Plus the fact that the bench for those is over a year last I heard.

I’d almost recommend just getting your hands on a label maker and just start making labels for mags on your own. If you do the leg work the armory would probably have no issue with handing them out with the proper weapons.

I phased out my D&H's after having ftf issues with brand new mags changed to other brands and the same ammo with no problems.

So OP has to turn in his mags to the armory too?

That's pretty dumb. If I can't trust you with mags, I'm not giving you a gun to fit them.

Any dogs or something stupid you could blast those junk rounds off at without getting in trouble? Maybe you could get away with the mag full of them falling out of your gun "sorry I bumped the mag release" and tumbling down the guard tower?

I do not accept that the army doesn't have more ammo to replace what's messed up. I remember usmc garrison order was 6mos, tarnished, dented, etc. So being over seas they should be handing it out like candy unless you're seriously out in no-man's land with no resupply.

OP are you gen pop or management/supervisor? This whole thing is such a disgrace and disservice to you, your fellow guards, the soldiers you're supposed to protect, and the base. Obviously not your fault, but it's fucked up. I hope if anything ever happens, the dipshits making these calls go to Leavenworth.

The biggest problem the Army has is that all their rules concerning guns are made by people with literally zero knowledge, skill or experience with them.

That goes for our government back home as well, at every level.

Unfamiliarity, ignorance and fear breeds contempt in the eyes of timorous bureaucrats, and they make rules accordingly.

Please update us when you get the new mags.

Update on Surefeed E2s:

They feed and function very well compared to all the issued mags we have here. The sand colored finish is starting to show wear from everyday bumps and abrasion in my rig, but they’re holding up very well otherwise.

They are far less susceptible to sand and dust contamination thanks to the ribs built into the mag body, and the springs don’t rust as quickly.

The follower doesn’t hang up with the 855A1 ammo, which means I can get more than three rounds out of my rifle without a feed malfunction. Boogity.

Unfortunately, I will be “donating” my rifle and pistol mags to the company when I leave, because Registered Mail is no more, and DHL closed on the 25th of last month, so there is no way I can get these items out of theater.

Will definitely be purchasing some replacements when I get home, though. I like these mags!

I didn't now the  m855a1 is  a hair longer than m855.   I can see that causing trouble for sure.

The ASC follower was made by ASC so they would not have to pay Magpul a any money for their follower.  

I have some ASC mags but with orange magpul brand followers.  That work.  I had some of their fake followers ones from a group buy in 2012 that did not work so well.  

I have run LaBelle/D&H, Colt, Okay, Center, Brownells, Pmag M1, Pmag M3, and older CProducts with magpul followers, in country no issues.  Why no M2's?  Because all my PMAG M1's had windows and were Foliage and OD green.   I know, I know.  Now I mainly just buy M2's since I am getting close to retirement but I am heading back down range so I might grab some PMAG M3's in FDE just because well election and things.  

Now I am keeping my M9 as much as I can and not to trade in for the M17.  I really prefer my old Gen3 Glock 19 I ran in Mosul in 2017 (that thing looked beatup but it still ran, and my old Gen3 Glock 19 I used when I was still an action guy stuff.

Well, I’m getting close to end of contract, and it looks like I’m hosed as far as getting my Gucci mags home.

They shut down registered mail here at KAF, and now I’m looking at abandoning my Surefeeds and M9A3 mags.

Still, it was worth it to have mags that I could depend on, instead of walking around with junk.

I sent all my personal TA-50 out last month before DHL shut down, and there are a few kids here who weren’t so lucky. One of our guys is looking at abandoning his high cut helmet and plates, so the cost of my mags doesn’t look so steep by comparison.

Too bad they decided to hose us on the mail, but pretty soon it won’t be my problem anymore.