"Best" AICS pattern magazine

[cohunt]

Who makes the "best" aics short action/308 magazine?

3,4, or 5 round-- light, durable, reliable feeding, longest "coal"

I see a couple poly mags, the std 5 & 10 round metal, and the Hawkins 4 rd lightweight "flush" mags--- any I'm missing?

Your preference?

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

AICS

 

[Rob01]

AI mags are great and last but if you needed longer OAL then the MDT mags without binder plate will help with that and they are good mags too.

 

[XLR Industries]

On the different styles of magazines,
Polymer- No rattle, typically feed smooth from the factory, if they dont feed though you are SOL because you cannot tune them, and they tend to bind up when it gets dirty

Hawkins- Tighter lockup than most AICS magazines, lighter, rounds leave the mag a little smoother, but if you need to tune them you cant with the lips being fixed, seem to feed most standard calibers pretty well but the odd balls might need tuned.

AI/Accurate mag/MDT- Fit looser in the chassis/stock which means they could have a little rattle which is annoying. The feed lips tend to come a little rough from the factory. With that being said, you can polish the lips and tune them (if needed then they tend to run really well). As the mag starts to wear over time you can make fine tune adjustments to the feed lips to get it to feed better.

Overall favorite is the accurate mag, you just have to put a work in on them then they are great!

 

[Rob01]

As the mag starts to wear over time you can make fine tune adjustments to the feed lips to get it to feed better.

Never found that. Been using the same AI mags I bought in 2004 when I changed my match rifle over to DBM and they have run great with tens of thousands of rounds through them in multiple calibers.

 

[Weaver93]

AICS - 2.950" OAL
MDT - 2.960" OAL

I have both and either work well. Polymer versions are shorter.....I think OAL is 2.800"

 

[Weaver93]

"These flush magazines are specifically designed to be used in our Hunter DBM and give hunters additional magazine space for longer bullets/calibers."

Keep this in mind if you are looking for mags to fit M5 bottom metal. I use the Hunter mags in my 7SAUM and they are great, but you will need the bottom metal. It will fit a M5 inlet stock.

 

[Kimber7man]

In addition to their Hunter DBM, the Hawkins hunter mags work fine in my APA RTG DBM.

I've used AICS and Accurate Mags and while they rattle in the DBM when there are no rounds in them, once you have the mag loaded with rounds in it, the mag doesn't rattle in my rifle.

 

[cohunt]

Should have stated--Looking for element 4.0 chassis

I like the idea of a flush mag, but I never thought about tweaking lips ( or rhe lack of) on the hawkins machined alum mags

Are the binder plates easily removable if you want to mod the feed ramp of an R700? At what "coal" do you have to start modding the ramp? I've done it on an AR feed ramp before

I see mdt has 10 round "hybrid" mags ( though out of stock) --- looks to be 2.850" on those though-- plus I'm not a fan of a mag that hangs way down from the chassis

I'll probably just stick with 5 rnd metal-- might try one of the Hawkins at some point but they are about double the cost mags

 

[XLR Industries]

Never found that. Been using the same AI mags I bought in 2004 when I changed my match rifle over to DBM and they have run great with tens of thousands of rounds through them in multiple calibers.

I think its one of those deals that if you take care of them they will last you forever! I have seen guys throw mags around or throw them in their bag and then wonder why they don't feed. I have one mag that will work in almost any Creedmoor no matter the chassis or bottom metal! I have another one that is a little finicky when I let others borrow it and run it in other chassis/stocks.

Should have stated--Looking for element 4.0 chassis

I like the idea of a flush mag, but I never thought about tweaking lips ( or rhe lack of) on the hawkins machined alum mags

Are the binder plates easily removable if you want to mod the feed ramp of an R700? At what "coal" do you have to start modding the ramp? I've done it on an AR feed ramp before

I see mdt has 10 round "hybrid" mags ( though out of stock) --- looks to be 2.850" on those though-- plus I'm not a fan of a mag that hangs way down from the chassis

I'll probably just stick with 5 rnd metal-- might try one of the Hawkins at some point but they are about double the cost mags

The binder plates are kind of a pain to remove because they are welded. You can drill out the welds and then remove the plate if you would like. The accurate mags (that we carry) have a 2.890 internal and I had to modify my feed ramp to utilize the whole mag (with binder plate). If you don't want the magazine protruding too much stick with the 5 rounder. If you want a super low profile go with the Hawkins as long as you are running a caliber that has pretty "standard" dimensions. What I mean by standard dimensions is your creeds, 308, 243 etc. If you have another caliber in mind let me know!

 

[cohunt]

XLR ind--- talk to me about the hunter dbm upgrade. My build will be for hunting and I like the idea of the shorter mag release and adjustable mag height( I'll be running a rem 700 in 308w )

What about the smokes stocks--- how long are they from the receiver to the end of the stock pad? --- what length of pull do you end up with? I see you have 2 length options -- shorter one for your folder adapter. How much length does the folder add?

Thanks again for your info-- I may bundle a bunch of smaller things to take advantage of your bf discount

 

[XLR Industries]

XLR ind--- talk to me about the hunter dbm upgrade. My build will be for hunting and I like the idea of the shorter mag release and adjustable mag height( I'll be running a rem 700 in 308w )

What about the smokes stocks--- how long are they from the receiver to the end of the stock pad? --- what length of pull do you end up with? I see you have 2 length options -- shorter one for your folder adapter. How much length does the folder add?

Thanks again for your info-- I may bundle a bunch of smaller things to take advantage of your bf discount

Sorry for the delay here, we were out of the office for the holidays! The hunter DBM now comes standard with all Element and Atom orders! It is a great new feature that keeps the mag latch from getting snagged on brush or backpack straps! The adjustability allows you to have more reliable feeding due since you can fine tune the magazine lockup height.

For the carbon buttstock we have a 13.75" and a 12.5" carbon buttstock. The folder adds 1.5" of LOP so you would end up around 14" with the carbon 12.5". We are running a cyber Monday sale today so 20% off everything store wide! If you have any other questions feel free to reach out! Also if you are ever in Grand Junction feel free to stop by the shop!

 

[cohunt]

Sorry for the delay here, we were out of the office for the holidays! The hunter DBM now comes standard with all Element and Atom orders! It is a great new feature that keeps the mag latch from getting snagged on brush or backpack straps! The adjustability allows you to have more reliable feeding due since you can fine tune the magazine lockup height.

For the carbon buttstock we have a 13.75" and a 12.5" carbon buttstock. The folder adds 1.5" of LOP so you would end up around 14" with the carbon 12.5". We are running a cyber Monday sale today so 20% off everything store wide! If you have any other questions feel free to reach out! Also if you are ever in Grand Junction feel free to stop by the shop!

Ugh- 20% off site wide today-- I just bought stuff the other day