^ This, *_ALWAYS_*.
In some less-friendly states/areas, this could be a
big problem!
-------
and
^ This is really the long and short of it.
Any serious-use magazine - be it for duty/service, self-defense, competition, or even just serious training/practice (er...a weekend-long class that I choose to not spend time with my family and pay $300+ for? yeah, you bet I'm taking that seriously! and same goes for the range-time I need to carve out of my daily life) - needs to and should always be vetted.
It doesn't matter if the magazine is aftermarket or factory. Yes, aftermarket often presents more concerns, but even with factory magazines, tolerance-stacking is very much still a real-world phenomenon that, although likely rare, is probably going to be at the very least less-than-desirable when it comes to the consequences involved, in a serious-use context.
And don't just bank on brand-name. Virtually *every* make has had issues somewhere in the past: it's like trying to find a car manufacturer that hasn't had a recall.
Yes, even the big-names like Magpul, Lancer, STI, and Springfield Armory have had issues in the past: issues which each manufacturer readily resolved to the satisfaction of their customers, but issues, nonetheless.
Also, it's worth putting in the effort to segregate your vetted serious-use magazines versus your range-beaters. Even those expensive STI and HK magazines are in the end disposable, and only so much retrofitting/repairs can occur. Magazines which are not dependable should be segregated immediately from general use: I like to put them into a "training" pile, particulary if they can reliably cause spontaneous stoppages/malfunctions (and for me, this is a one shot deal: prove to me you're not dependable just one time, and it's into the training pile you go!). In-practice, I will drop magazines just as I would in real-life, but for those times where I check my serious-use magazines for function, I will handle them with more respect, so that I preserve their bodies/components against potential damage.
And towards that final concern, indelibly mark every magazine in an unique manner so that they can be tracked.
View attachment 447
^ That's my #4 practice/training 30-round Lancer L5AWM, sent as a "hostage/proof-of-life" picture by one of my favorite local instructors, when I'd accidentally left it behind at his range after a weekend's worth of learning.
One side is stenciled with a number, the other with my last name. Just a sloppy and quick job because I really don't care much about these mags - remember, they are all expendable.
There's three on the deck in this pic, plus the one in the gun, and there's two more on my support side, covered by my fat trunk-section in this pic.
View attachment 448
^ Excuse the unloaded yet holstered sidearm - that's a big no-no, I know. This was at morning zeroing at a beginner-level class (one of the first that I attended!), and we had yet to make-ready our sidearms. [ That's my Daniel Defense M4V5LW, c. 2012, so it's still got that monster pic rail! Look at me, I didn't know enough in this class to even know to pull my stock out farther. We all learn! ]
We know that modern duty/service/defensive-grade firearms are extremely reliable, and that perhaps one of their only weak areas are the box magazines from which they are fed. During troubleshooting of a faulty firearm, being able to isolate the problematic magazine(s) will save you a tremendous amount of time and headache.
xproducts.com
I have another set of 10 range-mags for my AR that are GenM2 PMags, and they're just plane-Jane black, but hit with the same paint, I typically bring both sets of mags fully-loaded to classes, one type stuffed 62-grain range-fodder, the other with 55-gr. of the same, albeit without the steel core in case the instructional cadre doesn't want that on their steel or if there are range restrictions).
