Slightly Ahead Of One Curve Anyway

I've been trying to find an unredacted copy of:

M855A1 Conformance Testing on Commercial Magazines

ATEC Project Number: 2014-DT-ATC-M4CAR-F9278

Report Number: ATC-11684

It's the test that the Marines used to decide to make the tan bodied USGI EPM magazine training only and to start buying Magpul's PMAG M3 with window in Medium Coyote Tan.

Since I first noticed and made my post tracking the NSN's, the Coast Guard and the Air Force have joined the Marines in making the PMAG the standard.  Even the Army is doing it.

I started buying M3 PMAGs when I first discovered them in the sand color and started playing with Rit Dye, in 2017.  I'd officially converted my "go-bag" to M2 or MOE PMAGs in foliage green some time in 2016.

Behind the Marines, but ahead of the Coast Guard.

Why PMAG?

Proven design.  Extensively tested by entities who wished to stay with a metal body magazine, including one who had a favored in-house design.

I admit, I'm a bit miffed at the lack of colors in the new generation and the discontinuation of those colors in the previous gen.

It was relentless improvement in the design that led to those colors going away.

With the M3 came a new material.  A material that couldn't successfully be dyed in the boutique colors without compromising the mechanical properties of the new materials.

The MOE line was updated to the new material at the same time.

Anticipating the outcry at the loss of the colors, in addition to black, they offered a beige color they called "sand" along with an ad campaign showing all the fun things one could do with Rit Dye.

Don't feel bad if you missed that campaign, I did too.  But some internet sleuthing reveals that it did, indeed, happen.

About the time I noticed the two years old sand color, it was being discontinued.

Why?

Lack of sales.  I got most of my sand mags for $5 each on clearance from Midway.

If you're going to complain you've been abandoned by a manufacturer, you'd better have bought a ton of the model they're shedding; otherwise you're part of the reason it's gone.

Magpul even stated at the SHOT show they introduced the M3 that the flat dark earth, foliage green and olive drab magazines were not hot sellers and an occasional run was enough for years of supply to the distributors.

Black plastic magazines sell.  Notice that everyone has a black one?

I dug around a bit and found that you can get other colors from other maker's plastic magazines.

But are they as good?

The Aberdeen report indicates; maybe not.  But I can't find an unredacted copy telling us who each manufacturer is.  We know know that "Foxtrot" is Magpul because they mentioned it in an interview.

Rumor has it that "Golf" is Lancer, and they're the most colorful of all.

Alpha, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Juliet, Kilo and Lima all had no stoppages that could be attributed to the magazine.  Bravo had 8, Charlie had 5, Golf had 23 (!), India had 16 (rumored to be the Army's pet EPM).

But I don't want rumors, I want data.

Availability is another factor.  There's magazines I've read about but have never seen in the wild.  Looking for some of them online gives discouraging results.  If Cheaper Than Yellowcake Dirt is the only vendor selling them, the company making them is probably not very healthy.

Looking right now shows a lot of out of stock for a lot of models, but Midway and Brownell's still have PMAGs.