AR-15 Magazine Buyer’s Guide

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Let’s look at some options for AR-15 magazines.

We’re going to look at 30 round and 60 round magazines for the AR-15/M-4 series of rifles (like the soon to be released WWSD2020 Rifle.

PMAG with clear window
This Marine is using a PMAG style polymer magazine with a clear or translucent window to check load status. This is the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. William Chockey)

Here’s some of the models we are going to look at:

AR-15 Magazine 5.56mm 30-Rd Aluminum Grey Each Brownells 5.56mm AR-15 magazine is built to military specifications and are held to ISO quality-control standards and are made by Brownells itself. Built with welded-aluminum body, a stainless-steel spring, and is treated with a hard-anodized finish to protect against corrosion

AR-15 Magazine 5.56mm 30-Rd Aluminum Desert Tan Also available in Desert Tan - otherwise it has all the same features as the grey magazine.

AR-15 PMAG GEN M3 Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Black These are made with polymer and feature a clear window so you can visually confirm how many rounds are left in the mag.

AR-15 PMAG GEN M3 Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Black These are MAGPUL mags made from the same tough polymer, but without the clear window.

AR-15 L5AWM Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Smoke Gray Like the idea of visibility into the contents of your magazine? See the whole thing with these translucent magazines from Lancer Systems.

AR-15 L5AWM Translucent Clear Magazine 30-Rd Lancer also sells AWM mags that are clear polymer.

AR-15 Magazine 223/5.56 60Rd Aluminum Gray Ultra-high capacity magazines keep your rifle running longer between mag changes during competition or tactical operations. These magazines meet NATO STANAG 4179 specifications and are compatible with all rifles that accept AR-15/M16/M4 magazines.

AR-15 PMAG D-60 223/5.56 60rd Polymer Black from MagPul Like PMAGs? The PMAG D-60 is a durable, lightweight, highly reliable 60-round 5.56x45 NATO/.223 Remington polymer magazine for AR-15/M4 compatible weapons.

AR-15 Magazines – Overview

Several of these magazines are high-capacity. As such, please check with your state regulations for ownership of high capacity magazines. Several states restrict ownership or possession of high capacity mags!

Let’s talk about construction first.

AR-15 mags are made from steel, aluminum, or a polymer material. This is what makes up the body of the magazine.

There are also 3 other parts are used: a spring, a follower and a floor plate.

The spring is long and will conform to the shape of the mag.

The part that rests on top of the spring is the follower.

The follower is the part of the magazine that the bullets actually rest upon.

The spring pushes the follower which moves the bullets upwards toward the mouth of the magazine.

The follower is critical in facilitating feeding rounds into the firearm’s chamber.

The floor plate is what makes up the bottom of the box. Some mags are enclosed and others feature a removable floor plate.

A magazine with a removable floor plate will be easier to clean.

Got mags? Get a dump pouch to keep those empties and check out the best mag pouches so you can carry with ease.

Brownells AR-15 30rd Magazine

Need a trouble-free high capacity magazine for your AR-15 rifle?

Brownells has a lot of options – that are made in the USA and covered by their “Guaranteed. Forever.” policy.

Brownells AR-15 Magazine 30 Rd
Brownells has a line of made in the USA 30 round AR-15 mags. These are covered by their "Guaranteed. Forever" policy.

As such, these are affordable but are our recommended 30 round AR-15 mags.

Designed, built, and tested by Brownells these include the following features:

The body is made with welded-aluminum, inside is a stainless-steel spring.

Brownells AR-15 Magazine
Inside the welded aluminum body is a stainless steel spring. The exterior is given a hard-anodized finish to resist corrosion.

Lastly the exterior is given a hard-anodized finish to keep corrosion at bay.

As a plus, it includes a Magpul anti-tilt follower.

Brownells AR-15 Magazine - Side view
This 30 round capacity ar-15 magazine is made in the USA.

These are built to military specifications and are held to ISO quality-control standards and are made by Brownells itself.

These are also available in Desert Tan.

AR-15 Magazine 5.56mm 30-Rd Aluminum Desert Tan
AR-15 Magazine 5.56mm 30-Rd Aluminum Desert Tan

These are NATO 5.56mm STANAG compatible. They also work with Remington 5.56mm.

Need lots of mags? Buy in bulk and get a 10 pack (there’s a 100 pack also!).

When you buy in bulk like this the unit price drops significantly.

10 pack of AR-15 Magazine 5.56mm 30-Rd Aluminum Grey 10-Pk
Buy in bulk for savings.

Polymer – AR-15 PMAG GEN M3 Magazine Black

What’s a PMAG? That’s shorthand for polymer magazine.

These are super-durable. This is a 3rd generation technology and offers even better strength, reliability and versatility as compared to the original PMAG.

These are made by MAGPUL.

AR-15 PMAG GEN M3 Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Black with Window
AR-15 PMAG GEN M3 Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Black. Note the clear polymer window so you can check load status without letting dust and grit ingress.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the polymer magazine revolutionized magazine technology for the AR-15/M16/M4 platform – and now it’s even better.

This mag is also fully compatible with the HK 416 and MR556A1, M27 IAR, British SA-80, and the FN® SCAR™ MK 16/16S.

AR-15 PMAG GEN M3 Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Black Reverse Side
This is a 30 round magazine.

This mag is molded from a polymer formula that delivers greater resistance to crushing and all forms of impact, with extra reinforcement in the mag catch and feed lip areas.

A four-way anti-tilt follower ensures smooth feeding and it will resist both dust or grit.

These mags come with a removable dust cover which will minimize debris intrusion and prevent damage during storage.

The floorplate of the mag is removable.

Why a polymer mag? You can have a clear polymer window on each side that lets you see the load status at a glance.

The clear polymer formula used in this version of the mag is even further improved as compared to the original.

Also available in Sand color.

Polymer mag window tan
Also available in Sand color.

Want polymer toughness and durability but without the clear window? Brownells has those too.

AR-15 PMAG GEN M3 Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Black No Window
Also available with polymer toughness and no window.

AR-15 L5AWM Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Smoke Gray

Want to see it all? Go with a translucent mag like these from Lancer Systems.

AR-15 L5AWM Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Smoke Gray
AR-15 L5AWM Magazine 223/5.56 30rd Polymer Smoke Gray

Beyond visibility into magazine load status, these are super-tough too.

They have an anti-tilt follower and use a constant-radius body curve to ensure smooth, snag-free feed of rounds into the chamber.

The 30-round model will fit pouches designed for standard US-GI-spec magazines (that may not have the constant radius curve.)

They also have a model that is clear (rather than translucent.)

AR-15 L5AWM Translucent Clear Magazine 30-Rd
AR-15 L5AWM Translucent Clear Magazine 30-Rd

Ultra-High Capacity Magazines for AR-15/M4

30 rounds not enough? There are 60 round options too.

A 60 round, ultra-high capacity mag will keep your rifle running longer between mag changes – no matter whether you are doing a competition or performing a tactical operation.

There are two major designs – drum and not drum (think like a double stack pistol magazine.)

The AR-15 Magazine 223/5.56 60Rd Aluminum Gray from SureFire is not a drum design – and that’s a good thing – because these will fit in most dual mag pouches for 30 round magazines.

SureFire AR-15 Magazine 223/5.56 60Rd Aluminum Gray
AR-15 Magazine 223/5.56 60Rd Aluminum Gray from SureFire. This is not a drum, and will fit in most dual-mag pouches.

The SureFire mag meets NATO STANAG 4179 specifications and is compatible with all rifles that accept AR-15/M16/M4 magazines.

It’s actually less than two 30 round magazines wide, so it is easy to handle it with one hand.

These weigh just about 2 pounds when full loaded.

Further advantages are keeping the weight centered, which helps you use a normal shooting grip and stance.

These are have an aluminum body with a hardcoat anodized, matte gray finish.

Nylon follower plus cadmium-coated springs to reduce friction and resist corrosion.

Here’s a drum design.

The AR-15 Drum Magazine 5.56mm Polymer Black 65 Round from ProMag is a drum style design that holds 65 rounds.

AR-15 Drum Magazine 5.56mm Polymer Black 65 Round from ProMag
65 rounds in a drum-style magazine.

Made in the USA, it uses a polymer material (a proprietary DuPont Zytel formulation) for the body and also uses an injection molded follower.

Feed lips and magazine catch are stamped steel for robustness.

The mag spring is formed from heat treated chrome silicon wire.

AR-15 Drum Magazine 5.56mm Polymer Black 65 Round from ProMag
Top view

Here’s another polymer based drum mag – made by the experts – MagPul.

The AR-15 PMAG D-60 223/5.56 60rd Polymer Black offers ultra-high capacity for your shooting needs.

pmag d60 ar-15 drum magazine view 1
AR-15 PMAG D-60 223/5.56 60rd Polymer Black

The PMAG D-60 is a durable, lightweight, highly reliable 60-round 5.56×45 NATO/.223 Remington polymer magazine for AR-15/M4 compatible weapons.

The height of this magazine is manageable whcih allows for prone firing, as well as easier storage.

Use the MagLevel system for instant capacity indication.

This ultra-high capacity mag will work with a wide range of NATO firearms such as the M4, M16, SCAR MK16/16S, HK416, MR556, M27 IAR, and others.

pmag d60 ar-15 drum magazine view 1
AR-15 PMAG D-60 223/5.56 60rd Polymer Black – view from the front

AR-15 Magazines – In Summary

AR-15 magazines are available in a variety of capacities and made from different materials.

30 round magazines are common, but ultra-high capacity mags that hold 60 or more rounds are available too.

No matter which style you choose, buy high quality mags to avoid feeding problems at the worst moment.

You may also be interested in our AK mags buyer’s guide.

Photo Credits

Some Product photos on this page are property of Brownells.

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

Affiliate Disclaimer

We are an affiliate of Brownells. If you buy gear after clicking the links in this article, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us to bring you in-depth information and content on these great sporting items.

MagPul PMAGS in mag pouches
Coalition soldier has magazines loaded and ready to sharpen his shooting skills at a firing range on Forward Operating Base Bastion, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 18, 2013. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Richard W. Jones Jr.)