In 1999, Sgt. Richard Fitzpatrick (a Recon Marine) developed Magpul Industries, a leading manufacturer of composite and polymer firearms accessories. The company’s name is derived from the first product designed by Magpul: a Magazine Puller, a handle that attaches to the base of a magazine, making it easier and faster to pull out under adverse conditions.

Not long thereafter, Magpul began developing polymer magazines for rifles, and from there, things took off. Today, the company manufactures some of the most sought-after gear on the planet for tactical firearms. And it just happens to be very reasonably priced at the same time (especially their magazines).

Magpul has two divisions: Magpul Industries, which makes firearms accessories, and Magpul Core, which was founded in 2008 as Magpul Dynamics. Magpul Dynamics provides firearms training and makes instructional videos.

Originally, Magpul was based in Boulder, Colorado. However, when Colorado introduced legislation that would ban high-capacity magazines, Magpul announced that they would be leaving the state in 2013 because many of their products would become illegal. Magpul did relocate its production facilities to Wyoming after the passage of the law, and moved their corporate offices to Austin, Texas. Nice move, Colorado; you lost revenue and jobs because of your anti-gun nonsense.

Products

Though it had humble beginnings, Magpul has branched out dramatically from those early days. In addition to their PMAGs, the company also makes shotgun stocks, rifle stocks, cases and organizers, slings, grips, sights, handguards, and other gear.

Their magazine selection is expansive and includes magazines for the AR15/M4/M16, Tmags for AR15/M4 (these are translucent magazines, so the payload can be seen), AR10/SR25/M110, AK/AKM, Glock, Sig P320/M17, bolt-action rifles, CZ Scorpion, H&K MP5, the SA-80, G36, and Steyr AUG.

Magpul offers magazines in a wide range of capacities and drums for many platforms. One huge bonus in my book is that Magpul products are all made in the USA. I’ll review some of the magazines that I have experience with here.

Durability

Before I talk about specific magazines, let’s touch on the durability aspect for a moment. I’ve never had a rifle Pmag fail throughout my years of shooting them. Mind you, I haven’t tried to get them to fail, as I treat all my equipment with respect. It gets used but usually not abused.

However, I have seen them abused by others. Some were dunked in mud, dust, and dirt. They’ve been thrown across the range. Even run over by vehicles. To a large extent, Pmags survive such insults very well. Occasionally, the feed lips might crack if the impact is harsh enough. Overall, though, these magazines can tolerate a stupid amount of abuse that would kill many other types of magazines. The older, aluminum AR15/M16 magazines certainly wouldn’t put up with that level of abuse and still function. But even with cracked feed lips, Pmags will most often still feed rounds into the rifle.

To put it simply, Magpul magazines do live up to the hype.

AR15/M4/M16 PMAGs

PMAGs for the AR15 platform come in 10-, 20-, 30-, and 40-round capacities, as well as a 60-round drum. I’ve never used the drum, but I have used 20- and 30-round magazines.

There are Generation 2 and 3 magazines available, with each successive generation incorporating various improvements. They also come in a few different colors to suit users’ tastes. Some are available with a window that shows how many rounds are still left in the magazine.

Aside from fitting the AR15/M16 series, they will also work in the HK416, British SA-80, and the FN SCAR.

What first attracted me (and many others) to these magazines is their incredibly inexpensive price point (they are available for as low as $12.99 per magazine). I could actually afford to buy quite a few of them, which is great. There’s an old saying, “Quantity has its own quality.”

The next selling point is their durability, which I’ve already talked a little bit about. I don’t have to worry about babying these magazines, as they seem to last forever. Their lightweight design is another excellent aspect of these magazines. When compared to steel magazines, they’re feathery light.

Although most agencies and the military use 30-round magazines as a standard, I’ve taken a shine to the 20-round magazines because of their more compact nature. When the magazine is in the rifle, it doesn’t protrude underneath quite as much as the 30-round magazines.

Pmags have an anti-tilt, self-lubricating follower that seems to run forever. It’s polymer, and the fact that the magazine’s body is polymer means that they run together very smoothly. Polymer-on-polymer contact doesn’t seem to require any lubrication, and the less lube in the magazine, the less crud and dirt it attracts. The stainless steel spring inside won’t rust easily and gives great service.

The texturing outside of the magazine both reinforces the mag body and also gives hands a nice surface with which to get a good purchase on, as they won’t easily slip out of the hands during combat conditions.

With magazines available this inexpensively, there’s no reason not to have quite a few on hand. Given that the powers-that-be are constantly trying to ban them, I’d grab up a few handfuls of these magazines. You can always buy a few at a time, so it’s not a financial burden.

AK-47

I have an AK-63D, an underfolder version of the AK-47, and it’s a bit finicky when it comes to magazines. Not all of them want to fit into the magazine well, and the fact that AK magazine tolerances vary according to the place they were manufactured doesn’t help matters. Some steel magazines will fit, while the magazine well is too tight for others. It’s a real hit-and-miss proposition.

I’ve discovered, however, that Magpul Pmags fit 100% of the time, and that is reassuring. Naturally, they also work perfectly. Pmags are available in 10, 20, and 30 round capacities.

Personally, I really love the 20-rounders in the AK platform because they are appreciably shorter than the 30-round variety. The weight difference between the steel AK mags and the polymer ones from Magpul is dramatic, with the Magpuls being far lighter.

Magpul’s Gen 3 AK magazines are made from polymer, with an anti-tilt follower similar to the AR magazines and a stainless steel spring. However, the Gen 3 AK magazines also feature steel locking lugs for additional durability. These steel lugs really seem to elevate the longevity of the magazines, although the first generation of magazines that didn’t have these lugs seem to be chugging along quite well in my rifle.

The Gen 3 mags also have thicker side walls for added durability. Although these magazines cost a few bucks more than the first-generation mags, I think they’re worth it.

So far, every AK mag that I have has functioned flawlessly and is holding up like a champ. Like their other magazines, the AK mags have texturing on the outside that goes a long way toward helping to get a good purchase on the mags.

Service Branches

Many law enforcement agencies in the United States use the PMAG, as do regular citizens. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines also use PMAGs. Many service members prefer the PMAG to the older aluminum magazines for many of the reasons discussed here so far.

I can tell you that, had PMAGs existed when I was a sniper, I’d have absolutely loved to have used them. But alas, my time in that unit was before Magpul invented these wonderful magazines, and so we used (suffered) the standard aluminum magazines, which did not have the longevity of PMAGs. To be fair, the aluminum magazines were originally designed, way back in the day, to be used once and then discarded. So the fact that they’d last as long as they did was actually astounding.

Final Thoughts

If you haven’t discovered Magpul products yet, especially their PMAGs, it’s high time that you do. The combination of high quality, low price, and great performance, in addition to their light weight and durability, make these magazines a no-brainer.

It’s almost hard to believe that the company makes a profit, given some of the modest prices that these mags sell for.

On top of all of that, I have never had one fail, nor have any of my firearms ever suffered a stoppage while using a PMAG. The quality control from Magpul is absolutely top-notch. If I had one wish for Magpul, it would be this: that they’d make magazines for Ruger’s Mini-14! That would knock my socks off if they’d grant me that one very small wish. Otherwise, I feel great about supporting this American company because they put out top notch quality at very affordable prices.

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