Well I got my 30 and 40 round magazines in today and the results were mixed in terms of initial fit. I have not modified any magazines or any mag wells prior to this test. I broke out all my pistol caliber clones today. My observations at the bottom.
I will say this right now. I do not have a factory H&K receiver nor a contract HK receiver gun (MKE & POF) gun to test. However ETS has stated these will fit clones. The list of guns tested is as follows
- Dakota Tactical D54 SBR
- Dakota Tactical D54P SBR
- DJ Getz DF94SD SBR
- DJ Getz DF94KFS SBR
- Dakota Tactical D54KP-N w/ fleming auto sear
- DJ Getz DF89K SBR
- DJ Getz GF94 SBR
All testing was done starting on a closed bolt with an empty magazine. I will make notes about inserting on open bolts if needed. All listed guns will accept German magazines on closed bolt and POF magazines on closed bolts. The Dakota Tactical guns are equipped with HK German magazine catches built on LSC flats. The Getz guns are built on SW flats with SW magazine catches.
D54 SBR:
- 30 round empty: Insertion was very tight. Would not lock into mag catch without a stiff pull back or a solid whack from bottom the first few attempts. After 10 tries would lock in on initial insertion with a firm push. Inserted fine on closed bolt. Magazine extraction took basic straight pull down with no added motions
- 40 round empty: Same as 30rd
D54P SBR:
- 30 round empty: Same as D54 SBR above
- 40 round empty: Same as D54 SBR above
DF94SD SBR
- 30 round empty: Almost impossible to insert into mag well. No front back or side to side play. Would not lock magazine on closed bolt. Open bolt to get lock after a firm whack to bottom. Causing fair amount of bolt drag. Riding handle down bolt will stop mid travel. Magazine extraction took multiple little wiggles as it slowly moved down and finally would release
- 40 round empty: Even tighter than the 30rd round by a little bit
DF94KFS SBR
- 30 round empty: Will not lock in on open or closed bolt
- 40 round empty: Will not lock in on open or closed bolt
Dakota Tactical D54KP-N / sear
- 30 round empty: Locks in with closed bolt with minimal effort. Just slightly tougher than German mags. Very little heard click of magazine locking in to the catch. To be slightly assumed as it is not metal on metal
- 40 round empty: Same as above
DF89K SBR
- 30 round empty: Will not lock in on open or closed bolt. Moderate insertion pressure needed to insert
- 40 round empty: Same as above
GF94 SBR
- 30 round empty: Will not lock on closed bolt. Magazine has to be slammed in with excessive force to insert and lock on an open bolt. Very excessive amount of work to remove from magazine well. Normal bolt drag once finally locked in
- 40 round empty: Same as above except it was a fair amount easier to remove the 40 round magazine
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From my observations and experiences the variations in stamped receiver magazine wells and magazine catches doesn't lend particularly well to poly magazines, unlike AR15s which are machined receivers or pistols where there are larger fit tolerances. These magazines are much better than the poly MKEs of 4-6 years ago. I really want to get my hands on some HK and contract receiver guns and test them to see how these fair. I hope to shoot this weekend using a Dakota Tactical gun with my sear and to run at least 500 rounds through whichever gun I choose. More than likely will be the K due to higher cyclic rate with a higher chance for error and the best lock up. The springs are very stout and will feed reliably provided the mag well geometry is correct. Followers and floorplates look good to go. I did not perform any loaded test as this was my initial evaluations at my home where I cannot safely or legally discharge a firearm for recreational/testing purposes. I will follow up after the range trip.
Later down the road I may swap magazines catches in the DJ Getz guns for German counterparts and see if my results vary or if its too much variation in the mag catch location in the flat or the magazine itself.
Another observation I noted was the fronts of the magazines where the body tapers out to prevent over insertion was chewed fairly well (picture coming later tonight). Some guns may have a few thousandths longer mag well front edge from flat stamping variations between manufacturers. I may mess around with filing down the front edge a little bit to see if it makes insertion in some of the DJ Getz guns easier, but I have a feeling its the physical mag well creating most of my insertion issues. Take this information with a grain of salt as these are just my observations and comments on a few guns i own. If they run well in my DT guns I will purchase more. I will also see if screwing around with the other magazine catches will do anything. I do use ETS magazines almost exclusively in my M16 and AR15s with 100% function.
