Do your magazines fit your rig?

Bluez

Full Access Member
With the explosion of different magazine types in recent years, we now have more choices than ever.
From low priced polymers (such as promag and others) to US GI alum., to Pmags to Troys, Lancer and Tangodowns and many others.

With these different designs strength of body and lip are not the same.
And as a result neither are dimensions.

The extreme example is the TangoDown shown on he right of the first couple attachments.
Also Check out the very first pic contrasting the USGI with the Tangodown ,I think its easy to see how much bigger the TD is, even though it even sits a hair higher, you can see it extends much lower.
Pmags are the 2nd thickest/longest of all the magazines shown after the TDs.

The TD however is incredible strong and you can probably beat someone to death with that magazine and then the next guy too and then load and shoot all day.
And in pure strenght the Lancer is probably a close second and it even has Steel lips(!).
But I digress ,this is about fit, not ruggedness/function etc.

And here we get to the crux of the topic.

Many times I’ve seen students struggle at class with magazines that were too large for their rigs , (PMags in ALICE for example) or where too “bumpy” at the base and so gave some students trouble for the one hand TAC reloads .

If you run a rig whether is the preferred battle belt set up, or an ALICE rig or a FLC chest rig or a Blawkhawk or a UW gear rig, etc, you will see different dimensions available in those pouches for your magazines.

As a rule USGI rigs such as ALICE and FLC do not tolerate the bigger magazines well, sometimes not at all.
This is because they were designed for the dimensions of the slim USGI Mags.

For example my Tangodowns dont fit into an ALICE rig or my FLC at all, no matter what the effort, you simply cannot close the flap!
Pmags are also a problem but can be made to work with some effort as can Lancers (with a bit less effort on the Lancers)
But there will be some time consuming struggle on the lane with those 2 (never mind the TDs)

If you run gear like that and you wan to “operate” smoothly then you pretty much are limited to USGI Mags or Troy mags (FS for $9 at Quantico tactical, used to be a $13-15 mag!)
Troys are also nice and flat at the base and so facilitate your one handed TAC reloads.

When I was running my Army-issue FLC I pretty much transitioned from PMags to Troys after a while.
The troys are even a tad slimmer than the USGIs and were a wonderful fit in that rig.

Many of the aftermarket rigs especially those with Velcro or the adjustable “open” mag holders are much more tolerant of the larger mags such as PMags and Tangodowns.

In the end the bulk of my mags are still Pmags,… but I find myself rarely using them now…
This is because when I use a tight rig like a FLC (or my ALICE back-up to the back-up) I will run my troys and when using a more generous pouch (such as Blawkhawk etc) I like to take advantage of my super premium Mags such as the Lancers and TDs.

When I run a rig thats in-between, such as UW gear ,I can run USGI, Troys and Lancers.
PMags are a bit tight but can be made to work as well, though they are slightly taller/thicker than a Lancer.
TD’s are a no go.
In the end though I just run Troys in those mid sized rigs too.

I hope this all made a bit of sense, when you are struggling with the mags in your rig, maybe it’s not you, but your mags are just a tad too bulky for your rig.
 

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Concealed 27

Full Access Member
I'm in love with mags, in my eyes it's the best for my dpms ...... I have ten total pus the two factory steel mags which are great. I don't mess around with the off brands and have never had a problem with my mags but thanks for the info, very good to know.... Concealed 27
 

Bluez

Full Access Member
Concleaed.

Mags are cheap right now.
10 is alittle thin IMO to support a true tactical rig.

Since we all trian on ranges and can pick ujp our mags it covers up the fact that they are expendables.

if you ever run your rifle "in anger" you will find yourself executing emergency reloads with the drop of a mag with each reload.....
..... if you use the AR as intended , as a Tactical Rifle, you cannot count on owning the battelfield afterwards and picking up your Mags.
 

kwo51

Full Access Member
Would need a wheelbarrow to carry extra 100 round mags. I guess you could have a gun mount on it and have someone push you.
 

Bluez

Full Access Member
Would need a wheelbarrow to carry extra 100 round mags. I guess you could have a gun mount on it and have someone push you.

The extra Mags can be at your house to sustain Ops in a grid down siutation or cached.
 

Jo6pak

Full Access Member
Palmer, I see the point you are trying to make concerning magazines in combat and such.
But if my 12 mags don't do the job for me in a SHTF scenario, then 12 more won't make a difference. In fact, 5 are brand new Pmags still in the wrappers.

Quite frankly, except for my carry piece, my guns are for fun and hunting (which is fun too). The run-gun games we do are not for "training" for the end of the world or actual combat. They are just a nice challenge and add a bit of exercise to our range time. I have a double mag pouch for my Pmags, and that's it because, even when we limit our mags to 10 rounds each, I never need more than 30 to finish a stage.

Chances that I will use my carry gun is miniscule, and the chances of firing anything else in anger is in orders of magnitude smaller than that.
 

kwo51

Full Access Member
That is what we hope for. Train for the worst and hope for the best. Dropping a half full plastic ar mag on concret could be problematic ! I have found that most things follow Murphy when SHTF is in order.
 

Bluez

Full Access Member
I redcently picked up some H&K mags that were at a crazy low (by HK standards) sale.

As expected they felt and functioned well and where real solid.
Remined me a lot of the beautiful Tnago downs.
However they were just as bulky as the TangoDown the otherwise most bulky mags on the market.

So all comments on the TangoDown in this thread apply to the H&K mags as well, except they offer the additional feature of transparency.

Pics show HK Mag in my primary training rifle.
 

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kwo51

Full Access Member
Would like to find some 223 ammo on stripper clips in bandoleers like we had on the play ground.
 

Concealed 27

Full Access Member
If I need more than that I will b dead I think......
 

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Rusty Shackleford

Full Access Member
The vast majority of my mags are good quality USGI mags with Magpul followers, not sexy by any means but they work and fit anywhere. Don't get me wrong I like and have Pmags etc but its hard to beat the standard when you can get them for $7 bucks each.
 

The War Wagon

Full Access Member
Checking mag fit is a good idea, although for G.I. mags and Gen.2+ PMags, it's usually not an issue. If you're into having your mag drop FREE, that's a different issue, and DEFINITELY needs to be checked.

With most lowers being reputably made, fitment hasn't been an issue for forged lowers for about a decade (or MORE, with higher end mfgs.). BILLET lowers tend to be where you find your finicky mag wells. I owned a Gen.III POF-415 for a few years, and while most GI mags would drop free, most PMags didn't.

Again, that may be a personal preference issue, but definitely note it accordingly.
 

kwo51

Full Access Member
I don't like bouncing wilson mags off the concrete floors. I have some old range mags I use for this.
 

The War Wagon

Full Access Member
I don't like bouncing wilson mags off the concrete floors. I have some old range mags I use for this.

I understand that mags are "consumable," but I'm with YOU! I'm not dropping perfectly good mags on the deck, UNTIL rounds are coming from the OTHER direction!!!
 

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