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Which G3 magazine is most reliable?

  • Steel

    Votes: 17 61%
  • Aluminum

    Votes: 11 39%

Reliability: Steel vs Aluminum G3 mags?

24K views 32 replies 18 participants last post by  Crashmc  
#1 ·
Hello!

I am going to be buying more magazines for my PTR-91 GI. So far I have 5 steel ones and the single aluminum one that came with the rifle. I'd like to get another 9 magazines so I'll have 15 all together. That should last a good long while, I will number all of them and rotate them to increase longevity of the springs etc.

I am planning on using my PTR-91 GI as my MBR/SHTF weapon and need it to be reliable. So far, it has been 100% reliable but I've only fired 100 rounds of ZQ 7.62x51mm 147 grain ammo through it using the aluminum mag that came from the factory. I have not shot the gun with the steel magazines I already have, and cannot because the rifle is currently being worked on by Bill Springfield to have a paddle magazine latch installed.

So, looks like I've got two options. If I'm looking for total reliability, should I go with the steel G3 magazines or the aluminum ones? Price doesn't concern me, I know the steel ones are about twice as expensive but "that ain't no thang" when the aluminum ones are like $3.00 LOL! I'm looking to buy the magazines from keepshooting.com, as I've had great luck with them. That's where I bought my 5 steel magazines and they were all in very good shape with no notable rust or anything like that. They offer both the steel and aluminums for a good price.

So if you were me, which would you buy? Which style is noted for being the most reliable overall?

Thanks guys! :43:
 
#5 ·
I have used both kinds for years. The steel ones seem to be more robust. The aluminum ones are substantially lighter. Aluminum also doesn't rust. Might be relevant in extended use in extremely humid/salty environments.

Guess it depends on how many you want to carry and what you think is likely to be the worse case scenario with regard to how banged up they might get. In general, I tend to think of magazines as being relatively disposable. When they get damaged just throw them away and use another. As G3 mags are insanely cheap, I would just suggest stocking them deep and tossing them when you find they are less than 100% reliable.

In my experience, which is limited to range use and light hiking around, both have been extremely reliable and I cannot honestly remember a time when I had a magazine related failure. YMMV.

Greg
 
#8 ·
I have at least 200 aluminum mags, 50 steel (including various 30 rders) and a 50 rd drum. I prefer aluminum for range work, steel are way more durable, and for me a battle pack for a GI would be 4 aluminum 20 rders, 2 steel 20 rders, 2 steel 30 rders. Mags do wear out, especially aluminum feed lips
 
#9 ·
I have a HI date code HK91, I use it as a DMR rifle, shoot match ammo. I have a SG1 stock on it and a Mark 4 leupold MRT scope. Bill Springfield trigger job as well. I use the THERMOLD plastic mags to reduce wear on the magwell. Want to keep the gun as nice as possible. I have several of the thermolds in 20 and 10 round. The 10 round work well for bipod target use or hunting. Just another option on mags to consider.
 
#11 ·
I've never seen a dented steel mag, but on the other hand, I've had severely dented alum. mags that ran fine.

Why not buy 10 of what you prefer, and then buy five cheap alloys and use them until they fail?

My own opinion is that there is no reason to rotate them because you can get them so cheap. I mean 5 mags for $15 or so is pretty dirt cheap. If one fails, strip the components and throw away the body, or use it for a Christmas ornament.
 
#12 ·
#15 ·
You might want to take a look at the customer reviews at CTD. The steel mags have a 4.0 out of 5 rating based on 123 customer reviews. The aluminum mags have a 4.6 out of 5 rating based on 404 reviews. I have about 40 to 50 of each and use them interchangeably in two rifles. One rifle is a JLD PTR91K; the other is a FMP rifle kit built on a JLD PTR receiver. Both types of mags have worked equally well. I can't think of any malfunctions over the years except when I screwed up and didn't properly seat the mags in the magwell.
 
#17 ·
The reason why there are so many cheap aluminum magazines is because the Germans during the Cold War made 60 million of them in preparation for invasion by the Soviets. They were intended to be disposable in time of war.

For citizen use and under normal shooting conditions I think the aluminum magazines do just fine.
 
#18 ·
If these mags end up being bad I'll just order some aluminum then, but the steel ones I got from Keep Shooting were in really nice shape but cost 2x as much as the ones from Cheaper than Dirt. Hopefully they are okay. I've already got the five main mags for my combat loadout: one in the rifle plus four in a chest rig, and will probably carry spares in my day pack.
 
#19 ·
UPDATE:

Well guys, I got the mags in from Cheaper than Dirt today.

They are AWESOME!!!

Image


Not in bad condition at all, for $2.95 a pop for steel magazines. Only one has any noticeable corrosion, and that's only some minor surface rust on the front of the magazine. All the others have some small scratches and marks with some tiny speckling of rust, again, $2.95. Two or three of them came with a plastic overwrap and a paper sleeve, not sure why.

Overall, great mags in very good shape. They are every bit as good as the 5 I got from Keep Shooting, which were twice the cost of these. I think I'll order up 10 more very soon.
 
#22 ·
Aside from my poor abused range mags I always break down mags, put on heavy neoprene gloves and scrub them inside and out with hot water~soapy dish detergent.. blow dry, then the insides get teflon spray
 
#26 ·
You should buy both steel and aluminum. Each have their own uses. Rheinmetall made all of my steel mags. I bought aluminum mags in sealed cases from HK Germany and (IIRC) Norway production. The price is right.
 
#29 ·
Slater:

My G3 German and Norway aluminum mags appear to be anodized. My Rheinmetall steel magazines appear to be given the phosphate treatment. I placed them in an oven, heated them up, and soaked oil into them. This is the proper treatment for phosphate steel...Heat them up and let them marinate and soak up the oil.