AR Magazines, Buying The Right One, is There Really a Difference?

AR Magazines by the Numbers

The first measurements made were in the mag catch area.  I argue that these measures can influence the seated height and angle of the magazine, depending on your magazine catch.  One would expect that these numbers would all be similar, but they weren’t.  I can’t say which is best for your rifle, and in fact, they may all work, but it was an interesting finding.

With the statics out of the way, I wanted to know how much these AR rifle magazines flexed when loaded.  As mentioned earlier feed-lip width can influence a lot, so what happens to that measurement between empty and 50% load?  What about 24 hours later, 48 hours later, and one week later?  Can we store AR magazine loaded without effecting performance? This is where differences began to show.  As a precursor, I measured feed-lip width before loading and immediately after a 50% load.  Some of the changes were unexpected.

So what Magzine won?  That depends on what you’re looking for.  From this simple experiment, it appears that Mission First Tactical, Daniel Defense, 3rd Generation PMAG, and American Tactical are sure bets for maintaining geometry when stored loaded with ammo.  All of these magazines have run well in my rifles except for the Master Molder and Daniel Defense.

Once again this is a sample size of one and is intended to serve as an informative study, not a definitive judgment.

About Graham Baates“Graham Baates” is a pen name used by a 15-year active Army veteran who spent most of his time on the tactical side of the Intelligence community including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Post-Army Graham spent some time in the 3-Gun circuit before becoming a full-time NRA Certified defensive handgun instructor and now works as an industry writer while curating a YouTube channel on the side. Visit Graham on Youtube .

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