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We're going to check the tilt, and if we can jam up the follower.
We're going to measure from a known point on the gun to the tip of a bullet to see if the feed angles are different. With four rounds loaded, from the top of the lower to the center of the round with the magazine hanging naturally seems fair.
We're going to assume that the vintage magazines are in good enough shape to get honest measurements.
Kaylee has a typical magwell for a modern AR. Sabrina is known to be tight.
Colt p/n 62667 gray aluminum body, emerald green 62665A follower
Measures 0.214"
Falls free from both test guns.
Readily tilts and binds.
NSN 1005-00-921-5004 gray aluminum body, black follower
Measures 0.249"
Falls free from both test guns.
Readily tilts and binds.
NSN 1005-00-921-5004 gray aluminum body, light green follower
Measures 0.263"
Falls free from both test guns.
Readily tilts but difficult to bind.
NSN 1005-00-921-5004 gray aluminum body, with light green follower replaced with Gen II Magpul Self Leveling Follower
Measures 0.222"
Falls free from both test guns.
Cannot be made to tilt or bind.
NSN 1005-00-561-7200 gray aluminum body, tan follower
Measures 0.227"
Falls free from both test guns.
Cannot be made to tilt or bind.
NSN 1005-01-615-5169 black, windowed PMAG-30 M3
Measures 0.260"
Falls free from both test guns.
Cannot be made to tilt or bind.
NSN 1005-01-630-9508 tan aluminum body, sky-blue follower "Enhanced Performance Magazine"
Measures 0.327".
Falls free from Kaylee, not from Sabrina.
Cannot be made to tilt or bind.
NSN 1005-01-659-7086 medium coyote tan, windowed PMAG-30 M3
Measures 0.260"
Falls free from both test guns.
Cannot be made to tilt or bind.
Based on tilt and binding issues, Magpul had the problem solved in 2004. I wonder if it was royalties or not-invented-here that caused the Army to spend taxpayer money recreating the Magpul follower's performance.
UPDATE 18Feb26: I'm consolidating some commercial magazines below from future posts.
Lancer L5 AWM30
Measures 0.265"
Doesn't fall free from either gun.
Cannot
be made to tilt or bind. Pushing down on the back of the follower will
bind going down, but not going up so we're just going to note that and
keep an eye on it.
Magpul TMAG-30
Measures 0.262"
Falls free from both test guns.
Cannot be made to tilt or bind.
Orlite 30-round magazine
Measures 0.210"
Falls free from neither test gun.
Readily tilts and binds.
2012 made Thermold 30-round magazine
Measures 0.159"
Falls free from neither test gun.
Readily tilts and binds.
Brownell's 20-round Retro Steel Waffle Magazine
Measures 0.265"
Falls free from both test guns.
Readily tilts and binds.
Brownell's 25-round Retro Steel Magazine
Measures 0.315"
Falls free from Kaylee, not from Sabrina.
Readily tilts and binds.
Or some lingering problems from the AWB. PMAGs are the bomb.
ReplyDeleteHey Angus;
ReplyDeleteYep, from what I have heard, Magpul solved the problem, although I never had problems with my old GI magazines, I did replace them with newer magazines, and moved my USGI mags to the reserve stack.
All of my black-follower mags, carefully hoarded during the dark days of the AWB, which showed any balking at all got a new spring and a Magpul follower.
DeleteOnce the ban lifted, I ordered those Magpul followers for every mag. I have a pile of green followers around here.
It took me a long time to embrace the PMAG, now that I have, I'm not looking back (no matter how much it bothers poor Mr Willard).