AR-15/M16 Magazine FAQ (updated)
James & Linda, Rawles
In response to repeated requests from rec.guns readers, I'm posting a
list of the various magazines available on the civilian market for Colt
AR-15s, various AR-15 clones, and Colt Sporters. It lists the different
varieties, identifying markings, type of finish, and approximate values
(as of February, 1998).
Here they are (I may miss a few...)
(All of the following are gray anodized, unless otherwise noted.)
Orig. Armalite "waffle-sided." Similar in design to the AR-10 magazine.
Grey. Super scarce. Pre-1963 production. $90+ each
Early Air Force contract 20 round. Circa 1965-1967. Earliest had bright alloy
followers, later manufacture had dull followers. Scarce. Marked Colt
w/prancing pony and ".223" on floorplate. Usually $25+ each
Army and late Air Force contract 20 round. Circa 1966 to 1971. Dull alloy
followers. Marked Colt w/pony and "5.56 mm" on floorplate. (These usually
sell for $15 to $20 at gun shows.)
Army and late Air Force contract 20 round. Circa 1966 to 1971. Dull alloy
followers. Most marked Simmons or Adventureline on floorplate. Usually
$10 to $15 ea. (Actually these are scarcer than Colt made 20s, but few
collectors realize it, and oddly they pay more for Colts!)
Colt commercial 20 round. Circa 1980 to 1989. Black plastic followers.
Marked Colt w/pony on floorplate. Usually $20+ each.
Colt commercial 5 round. Black plastic followers. Marked Colt w/pony and
"5.56mm" on floorplate. Early style (no floorplate rivet.) Circa 1989 to
around 1991. Usually $25+ each.
Colt commercial 5 round. Black plastic followers. Marked Colt w/pony and
"5.56mm" on floorplate. Later style (riveted floorplate but rivet can be
drilled out.) Circa 1991 to 1994. Usually $20+ each.
Colt commercial 5 round. Marked Colt. Latest bastardized
style--permanently blocked) Circa late 1994 to present Usually around
$15 each.
Colt early G.I. contract 30 round. Green plastic followers. Marked Colt
w/pony and "5.56mm" on floorplate. Circa 1968 to 1975. Usually $30+ each,
depending on condition.
Colt late G.I. contract 30 round. Black plastic followers. Marked Colt
w/pony and "5.56mm" on floorplate. Circa 1975 to present. Usually $20+
each, depending on condition. Colt hasn't had a military contract in many
years. Most of these are sold to police departments. A few pre-ban ones
make it out to the civilian market through police supply houses.
G.I. contract 30 round. Black plastic followers. The most common M16 found
on the surplus market. (Countless millions made.) Circa 1975 to 1994.
Marked with contractor's name and usually location (city) on floorplate.
Anodized finish. Usually $6 to $11, depending on condition. Contractors
included: Adventureline, Parsons Precision Products, Labelle Industries,
Sanchez, Okay industries, and Cooper Industries, and a few others. Some
interesting background: There were actually two sets of tooling, both
built by Colt that wandered around from contractor to contractor. These
contracts were usually "minority or small business set-asides." Typically
what would happen is a small business would get set up with the tooling,
and start to crank out a contract. Then, the contract was so lucrative
that the business no longer qualified as a "small business", the
contractwas cancelled, and the tooling got yanked and sent on to the next
contractor. All of these G.I, contract 30s work fine, except for some
early Cooper Industries production. (These were recalled for destruction
by the military in the early 1980s, due to poor tolerances. NEVER buy
Coopers, since they may be from a bad lot!)
G.I. contract 30 round. Black plastic followers. Teflon finish. This is
the latest mil. spec., which started only last summer (around June, 1994).
Functionally, these are the best of the breed, because they have a slick,
durable Teflon coat inside and out. Very few of these magazines made it
onto the civilian market before the ban started on Sept. 13, 1994. All
were made by Labelle Industries. They made batches for the civilian market
in both grey and black Teflon. Most of these were marked: Cal. 5.56mm, a
part number, and Made in U.S.A. (Note that Bushmaster/Quality Parts had
Labelle make up a batch for them with BFI floorplates. Labelle did the
same for Defense Procurement Management Service (DPMS). Military
production pre-Sept 13, 1994 are not date stamped. Post Sept. 13, 1994
production are date stamped an a no-no for U.S. civilians to possess. Most
dealers get $30 each for pre-ban Teflon coated 30s nowadays. I recently
sold out, but I靶e heard that Quality Parts/Bushmaster (BFI) still has
some.
Israeli Orlite magazines. Black plastic with a weave of metal
reinforcement in the top inch. These work well with most AR-15s. These
usually come with plastic dust caps. Most dealers get about $15 each for
these.
Thermold (Canadian) magazines. Black plastic with no reinforcing. These
work just as well as Orlites, but are a little more flimsy. They also use
alower melting-point plastic than the Orlite. (The Canadian soldiers
jokingly refer to them as "Thermelts", because the feed lips melt if you
get a M16 really hot (usually from firing blanks with a blank firing
device.) These usually sell for $12 to $18 each at gun shows.
Aftermarket (civilian) manufacture. Most of these are total junk! Don't
even bother with any of these unless they are marked Defense Procurement
Management Service (DPMS) or BFI/Bushmaster (which were made by Labelle
Industries to military specs.)
Drum magazines: The 90 round drums made by MWG work surprisingly well,
and are surprisingly still under $150. The Beta C-Mags (100 round double
snail drum) function flawlessly, but have an annoying rattle when you
walk around. They sell for $650+ these days. The Chinese-made AR-15 drums
(various capacities) are absolute garbage and don't feed properly, from
what my customers have told me.
I hope you find this info useful...
James Wesley, Rawles "There are three kinds of people:
Clearwater Trading Co. Those who make things happen,
c/o P.O. Box 642 Those who watch things happen,
Penn Valley, Calif. [95946] And those who wonder...
voice: (916)639-1999 'What the heck happened?'"
e-mail: raw...@usa.net
Let me know if you'd like my updated and expanded catalog of
shootable antique guns (primarily pre-1899 production "No FFL"
Mausers and S&Ws), gun accessories (mainly clips and
magazines), ammunition, sleeping bags, tents, and waterproof gun/gear cases.
I雋 the author of the pro-gun survival novel TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World
as We Know It. For info on the novel, see:
http://www.teleport.com/~ammon/gn/cover.htm
EChell454
#G.I. contract 30 round. Black plastic followers. The most common M16 found
#on the surplus market. (Countless millions made.) Circa 1975 to 1994.
#Marked with contractor's name and usually location (city) on floorplate.
#Anodized finish. Usually $6 to $11, depending on condition. Contractors
#included: Adventureline, Parsons Precision Products, Labelle Industries,
#Sanchez, Okay industries, and Cooper Industries, and a few others.
Does anyone have have info on the ones from Rikart Mfg. Inc. The floor plate
is marked "Center Industries Corp. Wichitaw, KS" I purchased several that
appar to be in GI type sealed plastic bags with the part number (8448670), date
(4-91) contract number, etc. They have the black plastic follower. I have not
had a chance to test them out yet.