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Tag: magazines

Marking Your Magazines

This is a Blast From the Past from a few years ago about marking AR magazines(or any mags) for easy identification. Figured some of you may have missed it. Well, here it is……

I’ve recently started marking all my gun magazines. I’m doing this for a couple different reasons.

First – if I have any type of firearm performance issue I will be able to differentiate the suspect magazine from other mags for the same gun. This will help narrow down if the performance issue is related to a specific magazine or possibly ammunition or a gun problem.

Second – ownership is a consideration. Numerous times I have been shooting with friends and having common armament has led to confusion on who owns which magazine. Marking them solves that dilemma.

For rifle magazines I use a stencil with numbers/letters. As can be seen above the first few I had some overspray. I took the plastic front cover off a 3-ring binder and cut a square to place the stencil. This stopped the overspray issue.

I am using large characters on the AR magazines for easy recognition. A small number on the floor plate would work but I want maximum visibility.

For pistol magazines, a simple Sharpie does the trick.

Some shooters I know only mark magazines they have problems with and then chuck ’em if the problem repeats. That’s fine just not my preference. I’ve seen in forums that some people put their initials and even their address on them. Gotta pass on those two choices.

One last use of magazine markings is to identify the type of ammunition used in the magazine. It may be advantageous to know that Magazine #4 is loaded with 28 rounds of XM855 while the others have standard XM183’s.

Thoughts?

Rourke

Follow this link or click the image above for a great selection of AR magazines

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PRI-G Fuel Stabilizer/Storage Additive

Maxpedition Mini Organizer

OD Musette Bag

Tremors 5: Bloodlines DVD

Stanley Adventure Camp Set

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Recommended reading for every Patriot?

January 27, 2022
Rourke’s Favorite AR Magazines

I previously published this a few years ago and with new people visiting the site thought it would be a good idea to bring it back around. – Rourke

It seems every time I turn around there is a new manufacturer of AR-type weapons as well as magazines. Magazines are incredibly important and can render the nicest weapon almost useless if it won’t feed correctly. A $750 paperweight is not really needed….is it? Maybe it’s just me.

Here are my favorite magazines:

1. Lancer L5 Advanced Warfighter 30-round Magazines – Surprised? I love the Lancer. They are extremely reliable and the metal feed lips are reassuring. When pulling from a chest rig or a belt they are easy to grab. The translucent ones provide feedback as to how many rounds are left. Click HERE for more information.

2. Magpul PMAG 30-round Magazine – Generation 2 or 3 I don’t care. These things work and have proven super reliable and the absolute best bang for the buck. By far I have more PMAG’s than any other mag. This is primarily due to their price. Click HERE for more information.

3. Brownells USGI Aluminum 30-round Magazine – excellent quality control and superb reliability. Advantage of these aluminum magazines is they will fit just fine where some polymer magazines are a tight fit. Click HERE for more information.

4. D&H Aluminum 30-rd. Magazines – These magazines are traditionally less expensive than others and work great. I have over 10 of them and have no issues. D&H magazines are aluminum and have proven to be reliable – at least for me.

5. Hexmag 30-round Magazine – Newer on the market the Hexmag is an excellent magazine. I have experienced a couple of issues with these being snug in certain lowers. For the most part these are right on par with PMAG’s. Click HERE for more information.

There you have it. Only 5? Yes – those are the ones that made the cut.

Now I know what your thinking – Which ones didn’t make the cut? I’ll mention a couple.

The SureFire 60-round aluminum magazine is terrible. I have performed limited testing and while function was ALMOST perfect – loading it was horrible. I hated the thing. ProMag polymer 30-rounders look very similar to PMAG’s and functioned fantastic. The problem is out of 3 AR’s I tested them in they would not cleanly exit the magazine well. Seems that the magazine catch was catching on a logo or something on the side of the magazine. I filed the edges down to fix it. Still – that is ridiculous.

Keep your powder dry!

Rourke

September 27, 2021
Rourke’s Favorite AR Magazines

It seems every time I turn around there is a new manufacturer of AR-type weapons as well as magazines. Magazines are incredibly important and can render the nicest weapon almost useless if it won’t feed correctly. A $750 paperweight is not really needed….is it? Maybe it’s just me.

Here are my favorite magazines:

1. Lancer L5 Advanced Warfighter 30-round Magazines – Surprised? I love the Lancer. They are extremely reliable and the metal feed lips are reassuring. When pulling from a chest rig or a belt they are easy to grab. The translucent ones provide feedback as to how many rounds are left. Click HERE for more information.

2. Magpul PMAG 30-round Magazine – Generation 2 or 3 I don’t care. These things work and have proven super reliable and the absolute best bang for the buck. By far I have more PMAG’s than any other mag. This is primarily due to their price. Click HERE for more information.

3. Brownells USGI Aluminum 30-round Magazine – excellent quality control and superb reliability. Advantage of these aluminum magazines is they will fit just fine where some polymer magazines are a tight fit. Click HERE for more information.

4. D&H Aluminum 30-rd. Magazines – These magazines are traditionally less expensive than others and work great. I have over 10 of them and have no issues. D&H magazines are aluminum and have proven to be reliable – at least for me.

5. Hexmag 30-round Magazine – Newer on the market the Hexmag is an excellent magazine. I have experienced a couple of issues with these being snug in certain lowers. For the most part these are right on par with PMAG’s. Click HERE for more information.

There you have it. Only 5? Yes – those are the ones that made the cut.

Now I know what your thinking – Which ones didn’t make the cut? I’ll mention a couple.

The SureFire 60-round aluminum magazine is terrible. I have performed limited testing and while function was ALMOST perfect – loading it was horrible. I hated the thing. ProMag polymer 30-rounders look very similar to PMAG’s and functioned fantastic. The problem is out of 3 AR’s I tested them in they would not cleanly exit the magazine well. Seems that the magazine catch was catching on a logo or something on the side of the magazine. I filed the edges down to fix it. Still – that is ridiculous.

Keep your powder dry!

Rourke

June 2, 2020
Was buying a bunch of magazines prior to the election bad?

The sales of guns, ammo, and magazines was massive prior to the election. Most of us thought Killary was going to contaminate the Oval Office for sure and along with that the risk of significant gun control measures was high. Hey – I’m not disappointed! Gun control seems to be way down the list of things to be concerned about. With that said – a question:

Was buying a bunch of magazines prior to the election bad?

Absolutely not. It’s risk versus reward. No one knows the future and what the anti-gun crowd will be able to accomplish. What I do know is we have a reprieve. Take advantage.

The future remains uncertain in so many ways.

Rourke

The Prepper’s Drone…..

January 19, 2017
From the Desk of John Rourke – November 2nd, 2016

I caught myself recently telling a friend that I just could not understand why a carbine such as the old Marlin Camp 9 was not made today. I mean – Ruger made a 9mm carbine and others have. Some were ridiculously expensive but I am looking for something like the Camp 9 – reasonably priced.

Then it hit me – the Hi Point 9mm carbine. Hell – I even have one that I picked up cheap via private sale. Brand new under $300 it certainly is an answer for those asking the right question.

I still miss my Camp 9.

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“Give the laziest man the hardest job he’ll find the easiest way to do it.”

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This day in 1755 – 70,000 people were killed due to an earthquake and resulting tsunami in Lisbon. Also November 2nd, 1765 the first direct tax was levied on the American people. There has been a steady increase in taxes ever since.

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GearBest.com is having a great sale on specialty batteries shipping from their US warehouse – check it out HERE.

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“Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”

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Leaving Magazines Loaded: Often a topic that creates heated arguments is whether to leve magazines loaded or unloaded over the “long term”. There is the key, isn’t it? What is “long term” to one person may not be to another. Here is my bottom line:

“If they must be loaded leave them loaded for as short of time as possible.”

If a box of magazines is stuck up on a shelf to sit and gather dust for a few years why load them? If a vest hangs in the corner ready-to-go in a moment’s notice load ’em up but regular practice should allow some rotation.

If one truly feels the need to load up a hundred magazines and store them away for years to come in ammo boxes real-world evidence shows they SHOULD function fine. Understanding that metal fatigue does occur EVENTUALLY regardless of the spring type I don’t see the reason to take the risk.

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Question: Does anyone follow Anonymous on YouTube?

November 2, 2016
Marking Your Magazines

I’ve recently started marking all my gun magazines. I’m doing this for a couple different reasons.

First – if I have any type of firearm performance issue I will be able to differentiate the suspect magazine from other mags for the same gun. This will help narrow down if the performance issue is related to a specific magazine or possibly ammunition or a gun problem.

Second – ownership is a consideration. Numerous times I have been shooting with friends and having common armament has led to confusion on who owns which magazine. Marking them solves that dilemma.

For rifle magazines I use a stencil with numbers/letters. As can be seen above the first few I had some overspray. I took the plastic front cover off a 3-ring binder and cut a square to place the stencil. This stopped the overspray issue.

I am using large characters on the AR magazines for easy recognition. A small number on the floor plate would work but I want maximum visibility.

For pistol magazines a simple Sharpie does the trick.

Some shooters I know only mark magazines they have problems with and then chuck ’em if the problem repeats. That’s fine just not my preference. I’ve seen in forums that some people put their initials and even their address on them. Gotta pass on those two choices.

One last use of magazine markings is to identify the type of ammunition used in the magazine. It may be advantageous to know that Magazine #4 is loaded with 28 rounds of XM855 while the others have standard XM183’s.

Rourke

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From the Supply Depot: RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES

PRI-G Fuel Stabilizer/Storage Additive

Maxpedition Mini Organizer

OD Musette Bag

Tremors 5: Bloodlines DVD

Stanley Adventure Camp Set

* * * * * * * * * * *

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Recommended reading for every Patriot?

July 26, 2016
Cheaper Than Dirt boycott continues

Remember when Cheaper Than Dirt jacked up prices on ammunition and magazines right after Sandy Hook? I do – and have avoided them like the plague ever since. Of course they had every right to charge whatever they wished and I – and countless thousands – have every right to tell them “Keep it!!”

I’ve had numerous people tell me they were practicing capitalism in a free market. Sure. They were also price gouging their customer base and taking advantage. My local gun shop went up in prices approx 20%. I gave them my business. This means I paid $1200 for a $1000 AR.

Why was it OK for them to increase their price and not Cheaper Than Dirt? I am not saying CTD shouldn’t have raised their prices. My local shop HAD to raise their price as supplies were drying up. They looked at a situation where they may have significantly lower inventory in the coming months thus severe decrease in business. The cost on future products – AR’s, magazines, ammunition was also going up. They very well couldn’t sell me a box of 5.56 for $8.00 that was going to cost them $8.00 or more to resupply. In order to stay in business they had to raise their prices.

No – Cheaper Than Dirt was different. They gouged the hell out of 2nd Amendment lovers and many others did the same thing. Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, NC started selling 5.56 and .223 rounds for $1.00 a round shortly after Sandy Hook. I haven’t set foot in that place and won’t.

Many predict another similar environment is just a matter of time when supply will pale in comparison to demand and prices will skyrocket. Those in a position to watch from the sidelines knowing their inventories are set will enjoy the show while those still in need of supplies will stress over their ability to stock up.

Stack it high – right now.

Rourke

July 5, 2016