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ARC vs MDT 10rd. mags

kombayotch

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 20, 2007
1,888
85
Between the ARC 10rd. mag and the MDT 10rd. mag (new metal one), which is shorter and which is more reliable?

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ARC sucks, have two basically new I'll sell you cheap if you want em.

They run well when clean, if you even fart in a dusty environment near an ARC mag it starts jamming.
 
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The MDT 12-round mags are shorter than standard 10-round AICS. I have not had any issues getting mine to run perfectly after tweaking/polishing the feed lips.

To be clear, I believe every mag needs to be tuned to your specific rifle. It takes minimal time and effort and in my experience, produces significantly better feeding.
 
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ARC mags will not work with a Remington action or a Curtis Axiom action unless you cut a groove in the feed ramp of the action. I wasn’t willing to do this and sold my ARC mags the next day. Couldn’t get half the rounds to feed.
 
Best deal on New metal mags is the “Ruger 90353” magazine

it’s a 10 round Accurate Mag that you can get for $45
 
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MDT for sure on this one. ARC makes some great products. However their mags do not run reliably in dusty conditions.
 
I have 2 Mdt 12 rd mags and havent had any issues running them on my rpr
 
I've run the MDT 12 rounders (shorter than AICS/Accurate 10 rounders) since they were prototypes. No issues at all over 6 or so mags in 2 Rem 700s, a Nucleus and a Defiance Deviant Elite. I also have an early MDT 10 rounder which is shorter yet and the only issue I've fond with it is that the first round is a bit tight. I normally only run 8-9 rds in it when I use it, which is rare since I pretty much use the 12 rounders all the time.
 
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I’m trying MDT next. ARC has not impressed me. Rather run Magpuls. Waiting in LRI followers to ship, so MK Machining ones are in the way. It’s a race for reliability. So nice to say for a $70 mag.
 
Another shout out for MDT - No experience with any others but the MDT mags run flawlessly in my MDT LSS-XLGen2 with Savage barrel/action.

VooDoo
 
ARC shouldn’t be selling those mags.

It’s hurt their reputation quite a bit in my opinion.

Kinda makes me wonder how long it will be before they leave guys high and dry on a new flash in the pan $1,600 action that doesn’t work.
 
I have been using MDT’s in my Tikka /KRG Bravo combo.
I had one mag that wasn’t 100 %, so I asked Ryan @MDT_OFFICIAL while at PRE two weekends ago to look at it.
He confiscated that mag and had a new one in the mail the following Tuesday - he didn’t have a Non- Binder Plate mag with him or he would have swapped it out on the spot.
He said it was an early production mag, and they had improved on them since that one was produced.
 
The MDT magazines are more reliable but the ARC mags are considerably shorter.

Personally I have had no issues with the ARC mags using them for a 6BR rifle over the past 1.5 years. I do not use a spacer kit with the ARC mag, which is one of the big reasons that I like them (besides the short profile). They feed well with no spacer kit because of the shorter feed lips (the round pops free earlier) and the coil spring (similar to an AR magazine, it does a better job of preventing the follower from tilting) vs the usual accordion flat spring.

I am, however, very careful to keep my magazines clean and I keep a spare magazine with me in case I drop one of them. If I drop a magazine into the dirt that mag goes back into my pack and doesn't come back out until after the match once it's been cleaned. If you get dirt or sand into the magazine it will immediately give you trouble and cause feeding problems, they need to be kept clean.

I also have a pair of MDT mags, a 12rd with a spacer and a 10rd with no spacer. My rifle (Impact Precision in an XLR chassis) did not feed 6br from the 10rd with no spacer kit, but it feeds great from the 12rd mag with a spacer kit. No complaints at all with these, they're just taller than the ARC mags that I prefer.
 
Anyone have a picture of the ARC next to the MDT 10 rounder?
 
From left to right: Accurate Mag, ARC Mag, 10 Round MDT, 12 round MDT

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Hope that helps give you the comparison you were looking for. The ARC mag is more or less the same size as an AIAW magazine, while the MDT sits just about exactly in the middle between the AICS and the AIAW.
 
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