The Firearm Blog

I have covered the TangoDown ARC magazine in detail previously but this is the first photo I have seen of the transparent model.

Click to expand. Photo ⓒ Chen “SMGLee” Lee. Used with permission.

The magazine utilizes a unique two part design. By using a stronger opaque polymer for the upper part they can make a magazine that is hardier than if it was fully transparent. The “glue” that binds the two parts together is apparently harder than the rest of the mag.

More about the ARC here.

Over the past four years TangoDown have been working with the Navy Special Warfare Command and the United States Special Operations Command on a new polymer M16/SCAR/AR-15 magazine called the ARC. Although the magazine prototypes have been around for a few years, the ARC is finally entering production and should be on sale in January 2009.

Click to expand.

As the photos suggest, the magazine is manufactured in two parts. These parts are then “glued” together (I am sure they use a fancier word). The join is supposed to be very strong.

An o-ring type silicone seal prevents dirt getting into the action through the magazine well.

The design has no floorplate which adds to its strength. Cleaning is done by holding the magazine upside down and spraying water or compressed air through holes in the follower. If the spring needs replacing you throw out the magazine and buy a new one.

I dug up this forum post from earlier this year:

The two-piece housing assembly allows us to use optimum ammunition ’stack’ in the design. We can tightly control the molding process at the same time, as we are making 2 small shots instead of one long one. Material freeze off is no longer an issue. The industrial adhesive we use to join the 2 halves exceeds the strength of the base material. Additional benefit is that we can mold the entire lower half of the magazine in a transparent/translucent material for ammunition viewing, keeping the superior strength reinforced material up top for the feedlips, etc.

The ‘gasket’ between magwell and magazine is actually a soft durometer silicone seal that is bonded to the magazine. It can’t shift or migrate on the magazine body. We used a foam seal at the Show for demonstration purposes. A specific type of magazine carrier design is underway, to answer that question. It will be trick.

In all the studies we researched, the primary mechanical cause of magazine failure to feed was due to feedlip issues. Springs and followers were down the list. By using a high quality coated spring, our sealed design would need to be replaced only when the lips were worn out and/ or damaged.

The follower is pretty novel, and is driven differently than existing baseline G.I.-type followers

This photo by SMGLee of a rapid prototype model shows the follower design and the o-ring/gasket seal clearly:

The retail price is $24.95. The magazine is currently available for preorder at BravoCompanyUSA.com. At that price I can’t imagine it going up in price or going out of stock due to excessive demand.

A video of SMGLee testing the magazine:

More photos and the full press release after the jump …
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