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One of my personal hobbies even before writing for TFB was looking at different products and seeing what works best for me at the range. Rifle magazines were one of the first products I really enjoyed buying to test out on my rifles and AR pistols. In the past, I’ve written up my take on polymer vs metal magazines in a previous article.
Basically, as a quick recap, I have had better luck with certain metal mags over the polymer magazines. My range has a concrete area outside and its hard on mags when doing reloads in drills. I have broken several magazines but typically the metal magazines hold up better in that situation. I recently have been testing out the Okay Industries SureFeed magazines on my range days.
Specs
Okay Industries has been making magazines for the military for more than 40 years. The original 30 round magazines used in Vietnam were often made by Okay Industries, and they have been making different kinds of magazines for years. Recently, SureFeed came out with the new E2 style magazines with a few improvements from the standard GI aluminum magazines. The first thing I noticed when I picked up a SureFeed E2 magazine was the side panel texturing The side panel texture is something that’s rather unexpected but does add texture to magazines.
Another difference between the E2 and regular metal magazine is the feed lip system. The E2 feed lip system is redesigned so the rounds are pushed into the chamber at a flatter angle. This helps reliably feed the rounds into the chamber making it less likely to have a magazine caused malfunction. One other improvement they add is an anti-tilt follower so rounds are consistently fed without tilting inside the magazine. The new E2 magazines come in several colors including flat dark earth, black, and gray. The gray color does show more wear marks than black or FDE magazines. The upgraded magazines are priced at $12.50 through Gunmag Warehouse and other dealers so they are equally or even lower than similar polymer magazines.
Range Sessions
After six months of running these magazines, I can happily say that they have held up past my expectations. I originally picked up 6 magazines to run as my primary range magazines to test out and evaluate. Out of the 6 magazines I ordered, I took two of the aluminum gray magazines and decided to run them really hard and treated those magazines as my torture test subjects. I would throw these magazines down and put them inside sand and dirt to test out their functionality. The last 6 months have really been hard on the magazines, especially the two aluminum magazine I have been using as the torture test samples. I can happily report they have yet to malfunction and have been 100% even being covered in dirt or sand.
The big difference between the E2 magazines and something like a PMAG or Lancer magazine is reliability over time. The SureFeed E2 magazines do weigh more than traditional polymer magazines like the Magpul PMAGs. I haven’t had the best luck with polymer magazines in the past. I will admit I tend to be very hard on guns and gear usually. In the past, I have broken my share of metal and polymer magazines. Typically, I shoot on a cement pad most of the time. After a while, dropping magazines from the rifle or AR pistol will make any magazine break overtime after taking abuse. The big difference from the E2 is the sturdy construction and reinforced feed lips. The improvements have made it fairly difficult to bend or break various parts of the magazine.
The E2 Ammo Compatibility
One test I often run on magazines is the how well the magazine feeds different calibers like 125 gr and 220gr .300 Blackout rounds. Typically, in my experience, most magazines will either feed 5.56 NATO rounds or .300 Blackout but not both. One of the best parts of the SureFeed E2 magazine is the fact it has fed every caliber and type of round. Sometimes, certain magazines won’t feed .300 Blackout reliability but can be 100% reliable with 5.56 ammo.
Lancer Hybrid mags tend to be like this where they only feed certain calibers and rounds reliably from my experience. So far though the SureFeed E2 magazines have done a great job feeding and working with multiple calibers. Since the E2 magazines have been feeding reliable, I’ve switched all my SIG Sauer MCX Rattler magazines over to the E2 magazines. In my time of owning a Rattler, it has chewed through several magazines, but the E2 magazines have been solid.
Overall Impressions
As a whole, I have been extremely happy with how the SureFeed E2 magazines have performed so far. I’m excited to see what the Rattler does to the SureFeed magazines. I think the subtle changes SureFeed has done with the added grip texture and feed lip design has really improved user functionality and reliability for the E2 magazine.
For a magazine that costs $12.50, I’ve been rather impressed with how the E2 have functioned. They’ve done a really nice job running different calibers and gun platforms. If you’re looking to order a few more magazines anytime soon, I would recommend checking out some of the SureFeed magazines. Let me know in the comments below what your experience with SureFeed or Okay Industries magazines has been. If you have a question, feel free to send me a message on my Instagram page @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there!
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