Pmag long term life vs steel

[Tim K]

I have plenty of Pmags, just like most of you. I also bought some E-Lander mags, steel bodied mags from Israel. I have more mags than I need at the moment, so as a knee jerk reaction I put the Elander's up for sale. I'm wondering now if I should keep them and dump some Pmags. The reason is LONG term durability. I know Pmags hold up well, but if these stupid laws stick and are enforced, we could be stuck with only the mags we own as of July 1. With that in mind, I'm wondering if it might be prudent to keep the steel mags. Steel isn't going to get brittle over time or degrade the way plastic might.

So, does anyone have experience with really old Pmags? Does such a thing even exist (I have no idea how long they've been around)?

[MarkCO]

PMags will last a long time in the Colorado climate as long as they are not soaked in petroleum based chemicals and not used. Polymer and aluminum, unlike steel, have much lower deformation limits than steel. For steel, the deformation strength is over 90% of ulitmate strength. For polymers, it is about 20% and for aluminum, just 2-3%. That means that the stress levels will initiate deformation at those levels. Basically, Aluminum feedlips are guaranteed to wear out with use while the polymer ones will also deform, and at an accelerated rate as they age. Problem is, the creep curves for polymers stop at 10 years, and PMags have been on the market for about 6 years. The stress level that causes the problem is the spring moving the column up everytime a round is stripped during firing.

Polymer and Aluminum magazines ARE considered disposable items as originally designed and as used by military. PMags, after thousands and thousands of rounds, the feedlips start to roll out and or crack. This usually results in double feeds, and in some cases, a full mag dump.

The Lancer AWMs have polymer bodies, but where the stresses are, steel. I have several, as do the boys. The next best bet is the SS C-Products or AR-Stoner mags. I use these for the 12 and 15 round .450 Bushmaster mags since feedlip abuse is greater. The E-Landers are third on the list. I would certainly keep a handful for each family member if I were you. I have PMags for the boys and I for matches, and when they start doubling, well, I'll deal with it then. I have thrown a handful of PMags in the trash over the years with the thought that a $10 mag is not even worth trying to get replaced by MagPul. But now, I wish I had them back.

[Mick-Boy]

PMags have only been on the market since '07 so there aren't any *really* old PMags out there yet. I've had bad luck with steel magazines (HK) so I tend to steer towards aluminum and polymer. Either way they're going to wear so stack them deep..

[MarkCO]

Agree!

[ray1970]

If you look around you can find a torture test article from Shotgun News from several years ago. After seeing the results I was swayed towards the aluminum GI mags.

I know that doesn't really address your question of long term durability based solely off of material composition.

Still an interesting read.

[Tim K]

I think I'm going to keep my steel magazines and trade off my excess Pmags. Thanks for the input, gents.

[Mick-Boy]

Unless you're hurting for ready cash I'd hang onto every standard capacity magazine you can get your hands on right now. But to each his own.

[Ed@DarkStorm]

I have some early 90's (used to be known a pre-ban here in NY) that ran like new, yet were 20 years old. I have to imagine PMAGs will do the same.

[ben4372]

I know polymers get better and better with every generation. The simple fact is when plastic gets old it gets junky. Find a 1980's glock, they feel funny and look weird. When plastic bits at work get old they turn brittle and sometimes shape shift. And it sound crazy, buy you could weld or reshape a metal mag. Try welding a pmag.

[brutal]

I have a 25 year old Colt 20 rd mag that followed me home after ETS. I use it fairly regularly at the range, but will cease doing so after consideration of this thread and recent legislation, and it has yet to fail me. In fact, I'm going to buy/trade some new pmags for serviceable 30rd anti-tilt GI mags and put them away for a rainy day.

[DHC]

For anyone looking for all-steel mags, I just posted about PRi mags arriving at Midway today - see post here --> http://www.ar-15.co/threads/101535-PRi-All-Steel-AR-15-Mags-Just-Arrived

IHTH

[Boba Fett]

Maybe in the future Magpul could offer Colorado residents a parts exchange program, exchanging worn mag parts for new parts. The company could perhaps recycle the polymer you'd send in for exchange, and for a small fee your mags would be good as new.

Edit: Nevermind. Mag repair kits.

Sent from my ZTE V768 using Tapatalk 2

[Sawin]

fyi -for anyone looking to add a few more metal mags to their range bags before June 30:

new c-products mags for $11 each. 20 mag limit per customer.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=MCPAR30BA&name=C%20Products%20AR15/M16%2030rd%20.223/5.56%20Aluminum%20AT%20Mag