Mags?

[HeadzorTailz]

Hey all just wondering what kinda mags most are running in thier m4s. I'm currently running two g&g hi caps which are great but tbh I'm not a fan of the crank wheel plus I want more of the realism of running out of rounds and having to change mags on the fly. What are some of the better mags out there? I tried a buddy's ics midcap which was really nice but again with approx 120 rounds in the clip I'm not really in a position where I'm forced to change out. So what are some of the smaller more realible mags on the market currently?

[BioRage]

Best mags are Magpul PTS PMAGs and PTS EPM's, though they cost a bit.

I've had positive results with VFC QRS mags, and I see some people like KWA mid cap mags as well.

[BobbyDangerous]

I just bought 10 pmags off a guy here on the forum. The G&P Training mags are nice too they fed flawlessly for me and the king arms plastic stanag mags are same. Feed flawlessly. At least from my experience.


If you’re running a G&G you might find a firmament issue where mags won’t feed and are loose. You can get the anti scratch felt stuff from the dollar store and shave a piece down to fit in the back of your magwell to help push the mag forward to feed

[LeSharkey]

I am running the Ares Amoeba mags in my G&G as well as my Krytac. They are 140rds though, but they work flawlessly for me.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

[SawBone]

Originally Posted by HeadzorTailz

I tried a buddy's ics midcap which was really nice but again with approx 120 rounds in the clip I'm not really in a position where I'm forced to change out.

You don't really need to fill your mags to max capacity, even if it's a 120 rounds or more. I will normally fill mine to 70~80 and that's plenty for me.

I run the KWA K120 midcap in my Krytac. I have the occasional miss feed once every few mag, but I can live with that. I had to do the velcro tape mod to ensure a proper fit.

[Kozure]

Was doing research into AEG M4 magazines a while back and came across this video. This guy really applied a methodical testing approach and ran a bunch of interesting benchmarks.

https://youtu.be/4ymp_WUvRvA

If you don't want to watch the video, check out this Google Sheets spreadsheet summary:

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https...rYQNASlH2lydvg

I needed to buy five new magazines for a milsim which used real-cap magazine limits. I figured that since I was buying magazines anyway, I could take the opportunity to explore build quality, feed and compatibility by buying a number of different types of magazines.

I own:

- ARES Amoeba 140rd High Grade Mid-Cap Magazine (MAG-AM4-140Sx1-DE)
- CYMA 140rd M4 Metal Mid cap Magazine ( CY-M013)
- G&P 130rd "Ball Ball" Mid-Cap (model GP-MAG007BK)
- Hexmag Airsoft 120rds Polymer Mid-Cap Magazine (model MAG-HMAG-Mag01-ATFG)
- PTS 150rd Mid-Cap Enhanced Polymer Magazine (EPM) (model MAG-PT096450307-BK)
- VFC 120rd Steel Stamped GI Midcap Magazine (model Mag-VFC-M4-120-GR)
- VFC QRS 120 Round Polymer Mid Capacity (model Mag-UX-2273309)

So far the G&P, VFC QRS, PTS EPM, Hexmag and ARES all fit and feed fine, but the G&P is extremely tight in the magwell - needing to be slid in with a lot of pressure - and does not drop out on it's own. I wouldn't recommended this G&P mag for VFC VR16 Saber Carbines due to this tightness in the magwell. On the positive side, there is zero "wobble" in the magazine.

Of the lot, VFC QRS polymer and GI metal magazines seem to fit and feed best, but I would expect that with a VFC AEG. [EDIT] I went and ran about 10 tactical mag drop and reloads with each one, and I take back what I said about the VFCs. See below[/EDIT]

Honestly, if you have a moment, check out that video and spreadsheet. He really does test them, albeit a little unscientifically for my tastes.

The only magazine-related misfeed problems I've encountered so far is when I would try to feed the absolute maximum number of BBs into a CYMA steel magazine. The feed spring gets all jammed up and doesn't feed properly in those. As the poster above indicated, don't overfeed your mags, or better, put in 10 rounds or so less than max, and you won't be in danger of over-compressing the spring.

[Freeze]

I personally own:

Magpul PTS Gen 2 PMAGs (from the olden days)
-these were a bit loose in my VFC, I put a piece of velcro inside the magwell now they are snug.

Magpul PTS TMAG (transparent version)
-these are just slightly wider than the PMAGs

Dytac Hexmags
-with the 3d printed followers from Blackblitz these feed excellently

King Arms Metal STANAG
-works, fits snugly in my VFC

VFC Grey Metal STANAG
-literally the tightest thing I've ever tried to shove into anywhere. I had to smack the bottom a few times to get it to seat.

MAG Mag midcaps
-bought from Toronto Airsoft they're the $10 or $15 polymer ones, they work pretty nicely, fit, feed, but feels cheap (because they are)

If you're looking for lower capacity don't. As most people above have said, just get a midcap and underfill.

[HeadzorTailz]

Thanks for the input guys I will look into those a bit more. I thought about getting a few midcaps and just running them with less inside after posting this as a suitable substitute to my dilemma. It's actually funny you posted that video I actually watched it like 2 days ago. I like gun gamers they've got some really decent vids out for information not to mention I always get a kick outta the big guy reminds me of Seth Rogen. I was looking into the pts epm midcaps but they are hard to find and the ones I did we're tan or dark earth (can't remember colour) but I need black mags. I did like the ics midcaps my buddy let me use but I want to look further into those pmags and the ARES before I make any solid decisions.

[Kozure]

As noted, tonight, after I got home I did 10 tactical mag dumps and reloads with each magazine. I retract what I previously said about the VFC mags fitting best.

Here's how I'd rank them for fit, feel and drop, from best to worst:

- PTS 150rd Mid-Cap Enhanced Polymer Magazine (EPM) (model MAG-PT096450307-BK)
Feels solid, looks great. Slides in and out like a charm. Love the orange follower. Little bit of wobble, nothing serious.

- Hexmag Airsoft 120rds Polymer Mid-Cap Magazine (model MAG-HMAG-Mag01-ATFG)
Really good fit, quick insert and dump. Probably tied for "solidity of feeling of plastic" with the PTS and the G&P. Also has an orange follower.

- ARES Amoeba 140rd High Grade Mid-Cap Magazine (MAG-AM4-140Sx1-DE)
Good fit and insert. I like the little fold out pull. Feels a bit cheap in the hand, plastic feels more "plastic-y" (light and breakable) than some of the other polymer mags.

- VFC QRS 120 Round Polymer Mid Capacity (model Mag-UX-2273309)
Decent insert, sometimes a little jiggle for the retention clip to engage is required. Doesn't always fall out in a dump easily. Nice grip.

- CYMA 140rd M4 Metal Mid cap Magazine ( CY-M013)
Solid weight, sometimes has to be indexed in for best engagement. Usually falls out easily. Some of these developed jamming and misfeed problems after filling them to capacity, two had to be taken apart to fix.

- VFC 120rd Steel Stamped GI Midcap Magazine (model Mag-VFC-M4-120-GR)
Sometimes tight insert, sometimes doesn't engage. Does not fall out on dump - must be pulled out. That said, this magazine has fired reliably since I got the gun.

- G&P 130rd "Ball Ball" Mid-Cap (model GP-MAG007BK)
Really tight insert, must be pulled out firmly. Does not always engage well. For a VFC VR16 Saber, I would call this a fail. On the plus side, zero wobble and has a nice, dense feel. Might be fine for other AEG brands. Definitely not a good choice for VFCs.

I actually wanted the PTS EPM to lose because it sounded like it was over-hyped. Nope - it really does work the best.

[HeadzorTailz]

I'm surprised at the hexmag recommend everything I've seen on that one says to stay away as they easily break and misfeed. The pts would be ideal as they really do seem to have the best track record from a variety of users shame they are not available in black.

[Kozure]

Originally Posted by HeadzorTailz

I'm surprised at the hexmag recommend everything I've seen on that one says to stay away as they easily break and misfeed. The pts would be ideal as they really do seem to have the best track record from a variety of users shame they are not available in black.

The black PTS EPMs are still available from Evike.com:

https://www.evike.com/products/51102/

I usually recommend buying from Canadian retailers to support the Canadian airsoft industry, but in this case, I wasn't able to easily source any of that product elsewhere at a Canadian store.

As for Hexmag, I've only run about three magazines' worth of BBs through it, so I don't have a long track record for feed reliability yet, but it feels solid. The "red" classification in that spreadsheet seems to be based mostly on it not fitting well in some rifles and a few misfeed issues. Since it fits fine in mine and it hasn't misfed yet... *shrug*.

[HeadzorTailz]

Sweet thanks for the share I will be putting in an order soon as I can get some funds shuffled around for it. Do you have any idea what their shipping is like? I generally get my stuff from either heros or airsoft depot not big on online orders.
Glad to hear your hexmags are working for you nothing worse then feeling like you've wasted money on something to learn the hard way it doesn't work for you. I have had that issue with a few items myself now.

[Kozure]

Originally Posted by HeadzorTailz

Sweet thanks for the share I will be putting in an order soon as I can get some funds shuffled around for it. Do you have any idea what their shipping is like? I generally get my stuff from either heros or airsoft depot not big on online orders.
Glad to hear your hexmags are working for you nothing worse then feeling like you've wasted money on something to learn the hard way it doesn't work for you. I have had that issue with a few items myself now.

Evike shipping is top drawer. I think there's a good reason why they're the go-to source for a lot of people, who will even choose it over Canadian web-retailers.

That said, it's great that you're supporting Canadian stores; keep it up! My policy is to try to only buy from Evike (or other US sources) if I can't find it at a Canadian retailer.

[Freeze]

P.s. Don't import EPMs they have fake bullet inserts which means they may not make it past customs and they'll flag you forever.

[devbro]

I bought these a while back:
http://airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=184658

honestly, they work nice and have no feeding issues. the plus is that they hold 190 but i only fill 120-150 in them. The other thing I like is that they are heavy, they feel like real steel which makes me love them more.