This was a very small batch of PMAG’s that had this issue. We addressed the issues internally and solved the problem. We also followed up with all of our customers that we thought may have received these issue mags. Problem solved.

There is a discussion at the M4Carbine.net forum about Magpul polymer PMAGs cracking. Steve from Triad Tactical was running a training program and noticed a bunch of the PMAGs cracking in the same spot.

By the end of the first class, 50% of the pmags were broken. All of them had split where the feed lips meet to form a V on the spine. I called Magpul and they over nighted me 50 new pmags and a prepaid return label for all 50 of the ones I had, broken or not. They asked me a bunch of questions about the who, what, when, where and how the mags had been used. This was very cool and I was pleased with the way it was handled. I was back on track and had one course of 26 in the books, 25 to go.

More here.

The moral of the story is that diversity is the key. Don’t rely on one brand of magazine, especially if you are buying a whole lot at once. If a batch is faulty, regardless of wether it is metal or polymer, and you bought a whole lot you are screwed.

Many thank to Jay for the link.

Click to expand.

Specs:

Model: M&P15 MOE
Barrel Length: 16”
Barrel Twist: 1 in 9”
Front Sight: M4 – A2Post
Rear Sight: Folding Magpul MBUS)
Overall Length: 35 ”Extended / 32” Collapsed
Stock: Magpul MOE
Weight: 6.5 lbs.
Finish: Hard Coat Black Anodized
Other Features: Magpul MOE Grip, Magpul Handguard, Magpul PMAG

Two colors will be available: Black and Flat Dark Earth (what the cool kids call tan these days).

Overall I think this is a compelling package. Instead of buying and AR-15, only to spend more on Magpul accessories you can just get an M&P15 MOE.

No word on pricing.

There is not much information available and some of the forums I have read are saying contradictory things. This is my take on it, I may be wrong and if I am I will update this post with the correct information.

The EMAG is a 5.56mm slick-sided STANAG magazine. It is compatible with all rifles that use STANAG magazines, such as the HK416, FN2000, Steyr AUG (NATO variant) and many other rifles civilian and military . This is a very clever move by Magpul and could dramatically increase their export sales.

EMAG

The 7.62mm PMAG is compatible with SR-25 compatible rifles and the Magpul Massoud.

seven point six two


LaRue Tactical with what appears to be a PMAG

UPDATE: I was right (that does not happen very often!). EMAG is short for Export Magazine. It will retail for $22.95.

Click to expand.

One more teaser photo from Magpul after the jump (frontpage is currently clogged up with photos)

So to the drop test. I wanted to see what they could do in the cold. I dropped it from the same table (3′ high) I have dropped metal mags from on the range. If you drop a metal mag on concrete from the same height it will damage the feed lips as to be unuseable-but you can bend them back. I was planning on dropping them on all sides but it broke before I could try it. From the table, fully loaded, no cover, both feed lips shattered when they hit the concrete. I expected it to break/crack but these things shot off and rounds went everywhere. I stopped the test right there as didn’t want to try it with any others on the other sides. You can see in the AK HTF that if empty they do fine in the cold.

So what does this mean.

IF you drop ANY mag loaded on the feed lips it will be useless. The Pmags might survive during the summer but all metal mags will bent hot/or cold. The metal mags can be bent back.

The plastic shatters when cold (duh) it doesn’t just crack.

I finally got a answer as to what these can do.

This test was dropping on concrete in cold weather. I had to clean off a spot to get down to the concrete. If the mags are dropped in the snow vs just concrete they do just fine. So the possibility of hitting on the feed lips in cold weather on a hard surface-very unlikely

The covers are great to keep out the snow – huge plus.

Overall they do just fine. I was surprised at the complete breaking vs. cracking buts that’s what cold can do.

The result: cracked/split feed lips:

uafgrad tried a simular experiment in even colder weather:

Ok Back to tougher in Alaska
…
Here is where it set for a period of about 18 hours. This was the “hi” temp for the period
…
The mag was fully loaded and dropped from a height of 36″ directly onto the feedlips (as previously requested) striking bare concrete.

Once it hit the ground, all but 6 of the rounds exited the magazine on to the ground.

Some plastics becomes become brittle in cold conditions, so this is not surprising. The good news is that Magpul are not sitting on their laurels. Their latest version of the PMAG can survive a drop from 5 feet onto concrete feed lip first, fully loaded in -30 F. See this video shot with a high speed camera:

A big thanks to Jay for the link.

Thanks to Raif for letting me know about the video.

Could you tell me a bit about yourself, your background in the Firearms industry and involvement in the Masada project?

I was in the Air Force for four years. Got out in ‘99 and became a cop in California for about four years and was on the entry team. I moved on to Colorado and was a deputy sheriff. I got an offer from Rich, the owner of Magpul, to work at Magpul. Prior to that I was doing consultancy work for them. I have been working with magpul for about four years and full time for about a year. I am constantly keeping my skills up to date. I do a lot of training. I do some three gun shooting and recreational stuff.

Masada Rifle

Like everyone else I was amazed that it only took 4 months from idea to a working prototype. Is this common in the firearms industry? Ruger, for example, have recently said their new SR9 pistol was 20 years in the making!

It’s not common. For us it has been a project that has been in Rich and CEO Mike Mayberry’s minds for several years probably been ten years that we have had ideas about revamping the AR platform. Rich and Mike talked about it and we finally decided about this time last year, November to abandon the idea of a revamped AR. We went in a different direction and ended up drawing some sketches on a napkin at a breakfast meeting, four months later we had a functional prototype. So we had a lot of the ideas worked out before hand in our minds before going down and blueprinting the design of the rifle. We knew what goals we had and what we wanted to achieve and had a really good game plan going.

Overall it probably took us ten years to get the ideas squared away and then four months to put them on paper and make a functioning prototype.

That was still quick!

We have all the right resources and skills in plastic and prototyping. We have a lot of contacts in machining and injection molding. So for us to use those resources in combination with the talent we have got at Magpul it was just a matter of getting it done. We actually didn’t think it would happen that fast but we wanted to get something ready for SHOT Show. We were testing firing the day before we went up there!

Are you considering offering more exotic calibers such as 6.8 SPC, .50 Beowulf and .458 SOCOM in the future?

Yes. Specifically we are working on getting the 5.56mm prototype up and running. We put several thousands of rounds through six guns, I would put the estimate at 75,000-100,000 rounds. Which isn’t a lot but is decent amount for were we are at in the project.

We do have a functioning 6.8 SPC prototype that we have got up and running recently. Other calibers that we plan on doing are 5.45×39mm (AK-74), 6.5mm Grendel and 7.62×39mm.

6.8mm SPC

Is there going to be much demand for the 5.45×39mm round?

With current prices of 5.56mm rounds going through the roof, with similar ballistics to the 5.45mm and the 5.45mm being dramatically less expensive, although not as widely available, we think there is a possibility that it will be something that will take off.

5.45×39mm. Note the hollow tip.

Should we be expecting an AK compatible PMAG?

We plan on using existing AK-47 mags. It is undecided at this time whether or not we will offer a propriety 7.62×39mm mag.

Magpul 5.56mm PMAG

Is the semi-auto 16″ civilian versions’ projected price still going to be around $1400 and available next year?

That’s what we are shooting for. It will be around that price. We think that is a reasonable guesstimate.

The Masada seems to share the same goals as the Robinson Armament XCR Modular Weapon System. What advantages does the Masada have over the XCR?

Some background history, we make M16/AR-15 accessories, grips, rail panels, magazines, etc. we are not really a firearms manufacturer and never have been. We see the current mindset in the US market as being very stagnant as far as design is concerned I am not going to talk bad about Robinson Armament and the XCR. Its a new weapon, its an American company thats looking forward and trying to come up with something new.

If the XCR had fulfilled all the gaps and requirements of what a fighting rifle can be then we would have never moved forward with the Masada. If they had build something with the Masada’s features we would never have done it because our ultimate goal in this whole project has been to come up with a fighting weapon with specific requirements. These requirements are not necessarily set by the military, government or law enforcement but what the mission needs. It seems like a lot of these weapons do not fit these needs.

That said, we defiantly see the value in the XCR and what Robinson Armament are doing but its not really meeting all these requirements. There are a few things they didn’t do that we have done. Ergonomics for example are not what we think they should have been.

We have picked up the slack where they missed the mark a little bit.

The master goal in Magpul’s mind is to create a weapon that is superior to what is out there now, and with specific requirements. That is our ultimate goal. Whether we do it or whether someone else does it we don’t care. As long as someone does it.

The Masada is way bigger than Magpul. Robinson Armament, I don’t want to say bad things about them, there’s too much of that in the industry already. The internet seems to get a lot of otherwise good guys in trouble. We are both American companies and we want to be successful, the markets been very stagnant for a long time and we are both doing good things. We should embrace the competition and let it grow.

When you say you want to design the next best fighting weapon the trend has been towards bullpup rifles (Australia, NZ, UK, Israel). Why didn’t you go that route?

And the Chinese! We think the western perception would be one of the reasons. The primary reason would be for us is that we believe that the next best combat weapon needs to be a stopgap weapon that may only last 15 years until they can invent a laser gun or something that shoots caseless ammo.

For now they need to work with that they have got such as 5.56 which will be in service for quite a while. We think that making something that is outside what our troops already have is going to be difficult as it will require dramatic retraining for millions of troops so if you look at the Masada features are very similar to the M16 so the crossover training will be minimal. There are a couple of changes that are the M16 such as charging handle and bolt lock, for example, is different but those are things that had to be changed and will not make an difference to the end user. You are getting M16 performance from a weapon that has the safety in the same place. The grip angle is the same. The magazine is the same. Charging the weapon and locking the bolt is a little different.

The Chinese QBZ-95

I read back in August that you were going to enter the Masada in the Army M4 “Sandstorm” test. [Editor: this interview was done before the test results were released)

We were not entered in that. We contacted congressmen and senators and talked to them about this and we just got a reply back today. To be honest with you, we do not have that much knowledge about this, nor do we have the contact in the military and government and we have no lobbyists. We are a small mom and pop shop with 15 employees and do our best to keep up but it's very hard. To the best of our knowledge outside of Colt the military only looked at foreign manufacturers, HK, FN and no one really had any interest [in other American manufacturers].

We tried to get in with short notice but we were not considered, no one contacted us, no one asked us. It is not open, there is nowhere that tells you how to submit your rifle. We did what we could at the last minute when we found out about the test. Saying that, we have been doing our best to conduct our own testing. I can’t go into the specifics but we are very satisfied with how the Masadas operates and functions in a dusty dirty environment We look forward to any future testing that we are invited to.

Masada with folding stock

From what I have read, the Army is not interested in replacing the M4 despite its obvious limitations and the test is only being held due to Senator Coburn’s efforts. In light of the recent Dragon Skin controversy it seems to me that the tests the rifles will be put under may not be very objective. What is your view on this?

I can tell you that my recent experience with military and government as far as sales of weapons go, and the involvement they have with selecting weapons it is very complex, way over my head. Our knowledge is limited in this area but we’re learning more every day.

To answer your question on whether or not they are fair: its up for interpretation, I don’t know. We have not been involved in one [testing and selection]. It is frustrating for us as an American firearms manufacturers to see foreign governments and companies providing American soldiers with weapons. We have the ingenuity, the know-how, the capabilities for doing this in our country, instead of relying on foreign entities. In my opinion we can do it better.

Don’t you think if American firms were not competing with overseas firms the quality would decrease?

Your right. Foreign ideas and weapon development do push the competition and makes sure we stay on our toes. We just would really like American soldiers carrying American weapons made by Americans and designed by Americans. We want the best for our guys.

There have been several US allies interested in the Masada platform. They are interested in seeing what the future holds for the platform itself.

FN SCAR Rifle

Can you give us any updates on the MagPul PDR?

We are moving forward on it. We are not releasing any info on it right now. We are happy with the design. It’s the bullpup style but a different mission. Its chambered in 5.56, takes GI mags and can easily be integrated into the military for use by tank operators and convoy drivers; the guys that would normally carry an M9 pistol but need the capability to reach out with the 5.56 round. With the short barrel the ballistics are not good after a couple hundred yards but the majority of combat these days is close quarters, anywhere from zero to a couple hundred feet. At the least the idea gives you more options than a pistol.

Magpul PDR

Magpul seems to take an interest in internet marketing. For example, you have many videos on youtube and are doing this interview with me. This is in contrast to Remington, who recently announced the R-15, their AR-15 hunting rifle. As of today their website offers no information or press release. I hope your internet marketing pays off for you in civilian sales.

We found that being a small mom and pop accessories shop we are in touch with the end user and that has a lot of impact in getting feedback. We find out things we need to look at or change or add. Most of our products are pretty well thought out before they go to market but product videos and gorilla marketing is great because it lets the public feel they have inside access to what we do every day. There are a lot of people really interested in the Masada and what we are doing.

Magpul Precision Rifle Stock

Giving someone the options of looking at what I did today and with a new video update showing how you take the Masada apart you get instant feedback and opinions on it. We don’t like to keep guys in the dark. We want to keep them as much in the light as we can. We are very proud of what we do. We have a lot of good ideas and we like to share them. If people can’t get their hands on it the next best thing is to watch it on TV or the computer.

We have hardly any influence on these [military and government] guys. Some of these companies have a lot of influence. They have the lobbyists that work for them that push their stuff. We don’t move in that direction. We want the product to speak for itself. We put our money and time into making the product. Our grassroots campaign is obviously working. I will go out and make a video for the internet and someone in the army will call me and say they want to test it out. Obviously we would love to have lobbyists and afford to say “Hey senator, let me take you out for dinner and have a chat about this new rifle”. At this time our money is better spent designing and making the most superior product we possibly can.

Magpul YouTube Videos. Note the high views!

YouTube Video released by Magpul