Lancer L5 Magazine

[John Moses Browning]

I recall reading about these while they were still in the preproduction phase. Unlike other translucent or polymer magazines, these have metal reinforcements.

Funny, it only took the AR community 20+ years to catch up with the AK world, this idea is far from novel, but is certainly past due.

Link:
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/L..._Magazine.html

[Gman]

What makes these mags worth twice as many D&H mags for the same money?

[John Moses Browning]

They're made by a company that doesn't produce firearm accessories, until now however, so that's probably what is in part - not to mention they're a brand new product.

You'll also notice that the mags are curved, like an AK mag is. Unlike conventional aluminum mags, which have a noticeable "joint" where it leaves the magazine well. This is supposed to aid in proper feeding, and I believe MagPuls have this as well.

It's more of a novelty than anything else really, just like most translucent magazines are. I don't foresee anyone selling off all their good D&H's for the sake of these. .

Plus, they're only $4-5 more than a good D&H anyway.

[Gman]

Have D&H mags gone up that much. I bought 10 @ $10 each (shipped) the night of the last Congressional elections.

...and I've never had a feeding problem and they're a proven design. I'll be curious to see how the feed lips hold up on these plastic wonders over time. Wear should be good but having the dissimilar materials I can see a potential for cracking of the plastic in that area.

ETA: Just found D&H mags for $9.99 here;
http://www.44mag.com/products.asp?dept=1335

I've bought mags from these folks a few times.

[John Moses Browning]

You're right about the D&H's, I was thinking of C-Products, because I ordered a few from 44mag.com a while ago.

But yeah, I'd imagine if you used the magazine heavily year-round, year-after-year, you'll eventually end up with metal/plastic separation, or perhaps a crack or two. But like I said, I think it's more of a novelty fun/range mag than anything else. They certainly look cool, that's for sure.

As for the way the mag is curved compared to aluminum mags, I'm in the same boat as you. It's just what I heard for the logic behind that.

[BadShot]

Just remember, if you can see how many rounds you have left in your mag, so can the bad guy

I agree that they are a novelty, at $5 more than a non-windowed PMag (MSRP) I can't see the justification especially with the track record that the PMag is developing over seas.

[Tora]

Just remember, if you can see how many rounds you have left in your mag, so can the bad guy

+1 Thats why I would never ues then. Now if it had just a clear back, like the C mags, i'd give it a try. More then once soliders have lived by bluffing, but not with one of these.

[Roger]

If the bad guy is close enough to count my rounds I'm really screwed. And I probably deserve to get shot. I seriously doubt that would ever be an issue. And since you should be pointing your gun at the bad guy, all he'll see is the leading edge of the magazine, and that's not much. Chances are he'll be looking at your hands or eyes, not at your magazine.

And if I have time to look at my magazine, I better be behind cover.

[DocMedic]

Just remember, if you can see how many rounds you have left in your mag, so can the bad guy

I agree that they are a novelty, at $5 more than a non-windowed PMag (MSRP) I can't see the justification especially with the track record that the PMag is developing over seas.

+1 Thats why I would never ues then. Now if it had just a clear back, like the C mags, i'd give it a try. More then once soliders have lived by bluffing, but not with one of these.

Yea, cause you never know when you'll run into a Speical ops Bad guy that is trained in counting how many rounds you already shot off.

All seriousness though, they look fragile.

[John Moses Browning]

If the bad guy is close enough to count my rounds I'm really screwed. And I probably deserve to get shot. I seriously doubt that would ever be an issue. And since you should be pointing your gun at the bad guy, all he'll see is the leading edge of the magazine, and that's not much. Chances are he'll be looking at your hands or eyes, not at your magazine.

And if I have time to look at my magazine, I better be behind cover.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Other gun owners from other forums have said the same thing about counting rounds in the magazine, it's just lame and unrealistic.

I can just picture some bad guy pointing with his finger, and saying under his breath, "One .223, two .223's, three .223's. . ."

"Hmm, he only has 22 rounds left, it's probably safe to attack him now!"

All seriousness though, they look fragile.

The translucent polymers ARE more fragile than the solid colored ones. The more translucent they are, the more fragile they will be.

But like I said before, I think they'll serve nicely for a fun novelty magazine.