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Posted: 1/29/2009 8:59:11 AM EDT
| I saw this http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=967146&page=1and started looking around here. Problems seem more common than I would have thought/liked. USGI the way to go? |
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Considering how many are out there... This is still an extremely low failure rate.
Look how many USGI magazines are returned for various problems... look how some have their welds split. There are a lot with drop-free problems, which require they be stuck in a vice. Then there is the old burr problem, along with rough spot welding inside. If a PMag that has been used for several years develops a very small crack, which does not even interfere with function, I don't really care. If you are inspecting your gear like you should (like these people have) you will discover this quite a while before there would be a failure from it. I am no MagPul employee... but I would assume they are constantly tweaking the formula, trying to make a better product. I know one of their representatives said they has made alterations for better function in cold temperatures. The date I have seen on these cracked magazines was 2 years ago... for all we know, it could be a different formula now. PS.... maybe a small, aluminum reinforcing band is necessary? Just to take a little strain off the polymer at what appears to be a major stress point. Look how uniform the cracks are... same shape and location... |
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From Justin,
I run the Tech Support Department at Magpul and Drake's numbers are correct- we run about a .02% defective rate on average. We've sold over a million PMAGs so far with tens-of-thousands shipping every week and I can count on one hand the number of defective ones we get back on a weekly basis. Since the PMAGs inception two years ago we've made a number of improvements in both design and manufacturing processes and are constantly making a good product better. There are no specific date codes to avoid and there are PMAGs from our first batches which are still running strong with many thousands of rounds through them. True, IF a PMAG will crack it will most likely happen at that exact same spot and it will usually only happen very early on. However this is not the norm by any means but, like any product from any manufacturer, bad ones can occasionally make it out the door. As always, we'll replace any defective PMAG with no hassles. Steve, Do you have any pics of the mag-catch shelf? Since we've never seen this many failures with one customer before I'm trying to determine if you simply got a bad batch or if it is something procedural in your training? Are there a lot a "tap-rack-bang's" and other magazine swap drills? Since all the weapons are the same configuration with a variety of different manufacturer's parts I'm wondering if that has something to do with the failures as well... Justin Beard Magpul Industries Tech Support / Customer Service |
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Just looking at this with common sense, it seems like there would be no force applied to the magazine while it is seated in the magwell. The reciprocating bolt strips the next round but does not, or should not contact the magazine.
So this has to be happening when the mag is being seated in the rifle. People are smacking the magazine hard enough to cause it to crack against the bolt release. To me it's a matter of method. I probably would never have a problem as I like to manually hold the bolt back and seat the mag and use the bolt release to strip the first round. I'm no operator and I'm not going to seat my mags with a 5lb sledgehammer either. I'm not worried. My P-mags are good to go. |
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I've seen first hand guys smack the shit out of the mag to insert into the mag well. When this happens the bolt catch hits the mag. This is IMO a training issue. There a lot of guys out there that have been loading 30 rounds in their USGI mags for years and have had to insert them super hard in order to get the mag to seat properly on a closed bolt. We corrected the issue with the PMAG. Fully loading a PMAG to 30 does not require He-Man force to insert the mag on a closed bolt.
We've seen similar training issues with stripper clips. Guys are use to having to cram the rounds in USGI mags via the stripper clip on the side of a table for the rounds to push into the mag. The PMAG is not as difficult to laod with strippers. Old habbits die hard and we're doing our part to remove problems that stem from old habbits. Cheers. |
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