In January of last year,
I posted this.
I was getting severe wear on my tower, causing the rounds to hang up when feeding. The response then from Betaco was that it was common, and that the mags should be loaded tipped back. I was asked to send the magazine in, which I did, and after a few weeks I got it back with a new tower on it.
Fast forward to this year. Since the repair, I've probably ran the magazine less that 10 times, and the wear on the tower is present again, resulting in multiple FTFs.
I sent Betaco an email about it last night:
To whom it may concern,
Almost a year ago, I had a problem with my M16 betamag, the rounds had worn into the front of the tower, and caused the rounds not to feed properly.
I spoke with Cullen, and he advised me to tilt the magazine back when loading, and that this was a common problem with Beta Mags.
Since then, I’ve done just that, and now, just over a year later, the tower has enough wear in it again to cause issues.
I can count the times I’ve loaded and emptied the magazine on two hands.
I’m very disappointed that my $250+ magazine wears out so quickly, and then becomes useless.
The last time the tower was replaced under warranty, which meant shipping the magazine back to you, and be gone for quite some time.
Instead of warranty repair, can I just get a replacement tower sent to me this time?
Please advise, I’d appreciate a response.
Regards,
Monkey_Wrench
and got this response today:
I understand your concern, but the two grooves you see at
the top front of the Feed Clip are purely cosmetic and do not affect the
function of the magazine. This happens on all C-MAG’s. That being
said, if your C-MAG is not functioning properly we would be happy to take a
look at it and repair whatever the issue may be. Per our company policy I
cannot send out free product i.e. a new tower unless we have the opportunity to
inspect it. Again, if your C-MAG is not feeding properly or jamming please
send it to the address below so our repairs department may address the
issue. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Cullen Coogan
Sales Manager
My response:
It’s almost at that point again,
and I had three FTFs with the mag last Sunday. (Federal M855 used, non-bulk)
Same gun, same upper, same
magazine. All rounds loaded with the magazine tipped back, per your
instructions.
It ran fine when new/repaired,
doesn’t run when the tower is worn like that.
If the gun doesn’t have M4 ramps
cut in it, the rounds will most definitely hang up on the barrel
extension/upper area.
It’s a shame that your company
policy is getting in the way of keeping your customers satisfied.
It would seem to me that customer satisfaction precedes company policy, not
vice versa.
I will not return the magazine
to you again for a simple feed tower replacement.
Instead, I will sell the magazine, and look for alternatives. It seems the
Surefire magazines are getting sorted out.
Sincerely,
Monkey_Wrench
So I'm done with Betamags. I can't justify owning a $275 MSRP mag that has to be sent in for repair every 10 cycles.
What other alternatives are there? Who made that other giant dual drum?
Originally Posted By hoodornament96:
it looks like the beta drum maybe more reliable than sure fire 100 round box.
Still crappy huh...
I thought people were epoxying a thin strip of steel against the front wall of the tower to alleviate this problem.
Here for the 150 rounder
It is pretty impressive, just can't swing the dollars right now.
Monkey Wrench,
The BETA tower does start to show wear. It is all from loading. The speedloader doesn't fit very snug on the tower in the front to back relationship and does not adequately clear the tips of the cartridges from going into the tower when using a speed loader. I think it is worse with the 5 rd loose plungers but very evident on both of their loaders. This really should not change function though. I don't know if the function issues are related to the tower. Lubed it recently? You may just need to wipe that thing out. If you ever get it dirty with sand a round will not begin to come out, you then have to take it apart, wipe it out, and lube it generously. Even then it seems like some of the sand is in the pores maybe. Hence the additional lubrication.
If you are imparting this much damage to the front of the tower, imaging what the cartridge is going through because if you're using a plunger, the round is being stopped by its very tip, when you power through you can bend the projectile relative to the body of the case. You can also put a ding in the case, and you can kill the front of the tower. How do you know if you didn't accidentally do some small damage to the cartridge, this design like Surefires takes 2 rows of ammunition on each side and funnels them together. This makes the rounds have to act like a
ball bearing.. If there is anything causing additional case stickiness or dings, this funneling can have a hiccup.
My suggestion, get one of these loaders, seems like it would be harder to do the damage because you don't have a plunger to have the mechanical advantage. Also, inspect ammo, you wouldn't believe it, but steel cased ammo has less problems being dinged from loading conditions. It can be stickier though but if you're dry lubing it doesn't matter. You may also put a shim in the rear of your loader to bring it more rear on your tower, you may also take a .010 thin sheet of shim stock, and bend it over the front area of your tower when loading. The shim method might not prevent your stoppages if they are from cartridge damage.
These magazines aren't very "fast" to begin with so you need to not have anything funny in there. If you're ejecting ahead of 2 to 3 o'clock maybe go with a heavier buffer. Hope this helps you out.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=thermold+loader&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=73595814210766161&sa=X&ei=IiVZT_XTIYre0QG-87yuDw&ved=0CFIQ8wIwAQThe ARMATAC 150 round drum has a steel tower, so that wouldnt be an issue.
I've been wanting to pick one up so, I need to do it.
I have a BetaCmag too, and I've noticed that issue, if you load them by hand it doesnt happen, but you shouldnt have to do that.
I havent had any malfunctions with mine though.
Originally Posted By Southrnshooter:
Here for the 150 rounder
It is pretty impressive, just can't swing the dollars right now.
I've been wanting to get one of those but for me, it will end up as an expensive novelty item. It would be cool if they come out with one for 9mm. That I could use at subgun matches.
