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Quality AR10 .308 Magazines

AZgeek

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 30, 2014
831
386
Tucson AZ
Need to purchase a few before the election. Only have (1) 20 round and (2) 25 round Gen M3 mags. Have not put these through the paces in terms of fully stacked, rapid fire drills yet. Are these GTG or should I be looking at another product line?

The rifle has an Aero M5 upper and lower. Functions flawlessly. Need to make sure my mags are up to the task. This is for SHTF use, not target shooting!

Thanks.

AZ
 
The steel DPMS mag that came with my lr308 has never failed. SR25 magpul pmags are great. Elander mags are really pretty, but I haven’t put any rounds through the few I have. (I haven’t been impressed with the elander Grendel mags I’ve used so far). Honestly, for stacking deep, the pmags are the winner on cost and reliability. Knights and Larue mags allow longer coal, if that is what you’re after. I’m sure they are both durable and reliable, but at 3-5x the cost of pmags, you really gotta want them.
 
I think KAC mags allow the longest COL. They're well built too, but expensive. Those and the SCAR mags were made well enough though that I settled on ten or eleven each vs. the 100+ mags each I have for 5.56, .300 and 6.5G. Sock ten away for what ifs and use one for the range.
 
I’m a fan of the Lancer Mags.
I have never shot a Lancer L7-AWM magazine, but I have played with them in my hands enough for the follower to stick multiple times across multiple mags. Lost confidence in them right then and there. I keep some KACs and Magpuls around, but hope to supplement with more KACs and Larues at some point.
 
Never had an issue with any pmags in the past 14 years or so. If they weren’t gtg they wouldn’t have been so popular all these years.
 
25s are longer. I know, no duh, right? Might start to get in the way for prone shooting. They’re also not insubstantially heavier when loaded. Expensive, but I put Taran tactical 5 round extensions on the 10 round pmags I use in comps. More rounds than 10, shorter than 20s. That did require a slight mod to the magazines, to prevent the follower from hanging up. Just a few minutes with a file on the internal central rib of the mag.
 
P mags restrict OAL to no more than 2.81”. 2.80” being a safer best for proper feeding. I use ASC 10 round mags in several 6.5 CM AR’s without issue, and are able to feed reliably at 2.875-2.88”. If your rifle shoots best at the longer OAL, ASC or KAC May be your options, ASC’s being 25% the cost of KAC’s.
 
2.87 wont run in an ASC mag, without modification...

9E0B0BB5-EFEF-494E-B39D-9D1B7868E603.jpeg

B592320D-1F4A-4C17-B753-46E2B0BB8CF7.jpeg

This is still a work in progress. Don’t do as I’ve done.
 
I have shot 6.5 Creedmore in several mags and the MagPul P mags seem to work very well. I only shoot factory ammo so overall length has not been an issue.
 
I'm not sure what ASC mags your running but all mine measure max internal length of 2.872-2.874. My 6 KAC's measure 2.866" internal.





When measured with calipers, the internal dimensions appear to be 2.874, and the loaded round is 2.868. I just remeasured these a few minutes ago. However, the corners of the mag body, as the sides bend around to the back, are not sharp, there is a defined radius. As a result, the loaded rounds do not sit flush with the back wall of the magazine. This eats up internal space, but is not obvious when just measuring front to back in the mag.

20 round magazine (Stainless steel)
The floor plate just says
ASC
NEW BRITAIN CT

Black ASC follower.

I bought the mag because it was supposed to have an internal length that would accommodate the long coal I was going for with this rifle. The rounds don’t fit without the mod shown- I tried. Reliability testing of the mag is still ongoing. This is my n=1 observation of ASC mags.
 
I dont use Magpul for the 308 due to swelling issues I have had. Fully loaded they stick going in and dont drop free when empty. Not just one magazine by the way, but all 10. Lancers have worked consistently for me. They cost more but work everytime I use them. So for me always gives me peace of mind. I am a steel magazine guy so I have been slow to go to plastic.
 
I see this is an old thread - please allow me to contribute

I recently discovered my Gen3 - 10 round PMAGS have different followers than my Gen 3 - 20 rounders. The 20 rounder design is visibly different and also allows the follower to push up high(er) enough to properly engage the bolt catch, while the 10 rounder follower does not, so I'm using a belt sander to modify the 10 round followers.

this is for LR/SR25 pattern mags for an Aero M5 build

an inquiry to Magpul thru their "contact us" feature came back with a a disappointing reply that they do not guarantee their mags to work in anything other than a Knights Armament SR25 rifle.
And...they do not offer individual SR25 pattern magazine followers for sale...."sorry"

I was not angling for any guarantee...I just wanted to buy more new gen followers - give them more money

one of my 4 - 20 rounders hangs up on the feed lips sometimes
both of my 2 - 10 rounders hangs up on the feed lips almost always
 
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I have 12 Gen 3 Pmags for my 308 and 6.5cm rifles. I had one issue with a new 25 round magazine not feeding properly. Other than that I have had very good luck with them.
 
I have been disappointed with my ASC mag. It's been giving me feeding problems after short use. I'm glad it was inexpensive. I had a pmag along with the ASC, and it has never given me an issue other than sometimes limiting my prone and barricade shooting. I promptly bought more pmags as I trust them to work. I'm hoping to get some KAC or KAC style for the lower profile, but I think I have eliminated ASC, unless I just got unlucky?
 
I can’t recommend asc. I bought 2 10 and 2 20rd to try out. They won’t seat, even empty in any of 3 Lmt mws, a q fix and desert tech mdr. I have some 20rd ar15 mags and 1/2 of them have a tendency to pop the last round out and lock the bolt back with a live round laying on top of the mag.
 
...going back to the OP and intent of "SHTF", looking for/recommending mags with greater than the 2.800" spec is meaningless....in a SHTF scenario, pre-SHTF stockpiling would most likely be commercially available ammo that was loaded to 2.800" or less, depending on the bullet. During an actual SHTF scenario, "scavenging" would be a viable source of resupply, again most likely commercial or LE/MIL ammo....mags that function reliably with "standard" ammo is the priority.
 
My P Mags bulge, are a pain to insert and don't drop in my MWS and my POF Revolution. The bulging and tight fit in the magwell was causing feeding failures- Switched to Lancer LW7's- absolutely zero problems since
Unloaded:
img_0709-jpg.7598031


Loaded:
img_0710-jpg.7598033



Lancer:
img_0711-jpg.7598035
 
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i use PMAGS in my Aero M5 no problems, and also in my 80% 308 knock-off lowers. 10rd, 20rd, no swelling, drops free. 308 & 6.5CM. I don't store rounds in the mags long-term, so maybe that has some bearing. I bought a few KAC's just in case SHTF. The KAC's work fine also, but then they had better, considering what they cost.
 
I posted my rec above for ASC mags in August, 2020, and at that time in my BRO lowers and that iteration of production, would recommend them. A more recent experience with a pair of Mega lowers was entirely different. I provided ASC mags for these builds and few would even lock up securely and would fall out freely upon firing. Part of the issue I’d attribute to ASC manufacturing tolerances and quality control-which is decidedly down from earlier examples, and the other to variable magazine well tolerances of non mil spec receivers between manufacturers. My older BRO receivers have a tighter mag well and hold old/new mags without issue, Mega had well that was about .020 larger, and in combination with new ASC mags that were about .020 narrower than older version, left enough tolerance for the mag to almost miss the magazine catch and fail to lock up securely. Entirely unsatisfactory, and had to deliver Magpul mags with the builds-also eliminating possibility to use longer OAL handloads with excellent Proof barrels.
All said, the stacking of variable mfg tolerances seems to be the core of the issue, as well as some loss of QC standards at ASC.
 
Weird because I've been running ASC SS mags in MEGA lr-308 and AR15 billet lowers for years. Probably have 10+ of each and they run excellent. Identical to my KAC mags....haven't bought any in he past 2yr...maybe something changed
 
How do Promag Industries steel magazines stack up to ASC's Larue's, or Knight's in regards to feeding, internal OAL, fit in magwell, and build quality/durability? Cost wise looks to be on par with ASC.
 
I have used Pmags in my AR10 and found that fully loaded they start to swell and over time malfunction.I have Lancer mags on order have heard good feedback on them so far.