I had the same thoughts, eventually I went for the 922r compliant factory mags, they look cool and give a more original feel to the gun. The magpul mags however work great.

My main decision was I already bought 10 g36 mags in error years ago thinking they would fit my sl8..... oh how we learn things.

 

I had the same thoughts, eventually I went for the 922r compliant factory mags, they look cool and give a more original feel to the gun. The magpul mags however work great.

My main decision was I already bought 10 g36 mags in error years ago thinking they would fit my sl8..... oh how we learn things.

Where does one find them?

 

I've got the G36 mags, Magpul mags, and the factory 416 (AR) magwell. I prefer the Magpul mags over the G36 mags for a couple of reasons. You don't have to worry about finding, and spending extra money for, 922r parts for each mag. Also, the lugs sticking out of the G36 mag body are annoying. HK does have newer G36 mags without the lugs, but they seem to be pretty rare in the US. Skip the AR magwell conversion. The bolt hold open is wonky with the AR magwell (HK says to disable the BHO in their installation instructions), and the mag release is in an awkward position.

 

Do you ever lock 2 HK mags together with the lugs? Just curious. With the MAgpuls counting as 3 parts, there is a certain amount of appeal there - I just like the look of the OE ones so much though.

 

I used H&K G36 mags and Magpul in G36 (not mine, German Army) and my SL-8.

Reliability
no difference both work great.

Price
egun.de is full of G36-mags (99% "liberated" by German Army soldiers...) which are much cheaper than the SL-8 10-round mags and also cheaper than the Magpul ones. Note: This is for the European market, I have no idea about the USA.

Handling
If you use a plate carrier, battle belt, Chest rig the H&K G36 mags are a pain in the ass 'cause of the lugs. It's almost impossible to put them in the mag pouches without looking. That's the advantage of the magpul mags or you just cut off the lugs like a lot of German soldiers... However if you use the gun just at the range it's not a problem.
Locking together two original mags works great never had any problems with live rounds or blanks.

 

That's a beautiful G36C conversion, TheChunkNorris.

I have put thousands of rounds through my SL8-1/G36K TBT conversion, and use both the OEM and Magpul magazines equally.

My observations have been both are excellent, reliable mags, and I'd trust either in a serious situation. As far as cosmetics, I like the HK G36 mags more. I agree the lugs on the factory mags can be a problem with magazine pouches, which are more than likely designed to fit the slimmer AR-15 magazines. The PMags definitely are easier to remove from pouches, as they have no lugs or a large rim to catch on anything. The G36 magazines without the lugs (currently uncommon in the US, and expensive) address this issue partially.

I have had factory G36 magazines that developed cracked feed lips under normal use. I ran the mags until the cracks worsened to where you could easily move the cracked portion. This never caused any malfunctions, most likely because they were retired before they could. It's important to inspect all parts and magazines before cleaning, and remove and replace wear items. The only parts I have ever had to replace due to wear on this family of firearm, would be the magazine bodies and gas piston rings. None of them caused any problems, but it was necessary preventative maintenance. Keep to extra gas piston rings on hand. Always replace all 3 at the same time if you need to. I believe they are supposed to be changed every 12,000 rounds, or if the piston easily falls out of the gas block when you hold it against gravity (ensure both are dry of lube before doing this)

I have never had a Magpul PMag feed lip crack on me yet, however, the springs seem to be a little weaker. On the uncommon occasion my G36 bolt fails to lock open on the last round, it is almost always on a Magpul magazine. I run a German bolt, so that's not the issue. I suspect the Magpul magazine has a weaker spring, or the follower has a dimensional difference that causes the infrequent issue. Either way, it's not really a big deal to me.

Both mags are priced almost the same depending on where you buy them, with Magpuls being a little cheaper. The PMags also are nice and inexpensive for addressing 922r if it's applicable.

You can go wrong with either mag, I'd buy both since they are close to the same price. RTG Parts has a great deal on G36 magazines right now.

 

Well said and one thing that I found that was causing stoppages was the extractor roll pin. It was backing out and causing the rifle FTE... thank god it was just the pin and not the bolt being screwed up. Just checked where I got the Magpul magazines last year and they're at 24.95ea... way more than what I paid.

 

AWESOME information and insight guys - thanks much!

 

I'm using Magpul and they work great (cheaper than HK mags aswell)

 

I have both. Both work great. I have thought about taking my Dremel to the lugs of the factory G36 mags.

 

I have both, but prefer the German ones. In order to use the German magazines I needed one more US part, and nothing more was available. I found a thread here of modifying AR followers, and that worked like a charm. The thread is here:
http://www.hkpro.com/forum/hk-long-gun-talk/93977-ar15-followers-g36-mags.html