Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Gen 2 or 3 P mags for AR?

About a 30-40% price diff., or there was till the latest panic.

I didn't think too much about it & have a garbage bag full of 2's. But I got some 3's in a trade & can clearly see key improvements. My hat is off to them for continuous upgrading.

You guys have a distinct preference between the two?

Or... if you say none of the above, that's fine, but why, & the alternative?

I too noticed some things that seemed better and bought a few but to be honest, I like my gen 2's just fine and still use them mostly.

Never had a Gen 2 fail, and I have lots and lots of experience with them, 20,000+ rounds?

At 60% of the cost of a Gen 3, which I also have enough experience with at 5,000+ rounds, I don't see a reason to make an across the board upgrade from Gen 2.

I have both & for my uses, nothing wrong with the G2's so far.........I don't leave them fully loaded for years w/o using them though & I load them a couple of rounds short, especially the 30 rounders.

I've also had good results & performance with ASC stainless & Brownell's aluminum mags with Magpul followers & they run just as well as either the G2 or G3 Magpuls do.

If I needed more & got a great deal on Magpul G2's I wouldn't hesitate to buy them over having nothing, but all things being equal, the 3's are better.

MM

I have an OD green gen II with maybe 3 uses (3 full mags fired through it) that has been stored loaded with the dust cover snapped on and I recently noticed a crack in the top rear where the bolt goes through the notch. The empty mag wouldn't drop free when I hit the mag release is how I found it, I check my mags often for things like that. The mag isn't very old either. I realize it's only one mag and could be a fluke. It appears the gen 3's are better.

I quit buying Pmags and only buy Lancer hybrids now (L5AWM), so far so good. The lancer mags have a little extra room internally so when loaded with 30 rounds there's still a little room like you could almost get 31 rounds in them which helps inserting a full mag when the bolts closed.

There was some discussion years ago about the colored Pmags might not be as strong as plain black. I had a tan one crack like that a long time ago.

I heard and read that too, I got a couple green ones cheap at a gun show a couple years ago but wouldn't buy colored ones again. Supposedly the gen 3 plastic is different/better also.

You guys follow Tactical Rifleman? "Green beret reviews best rifle mags".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O03t9quA-cw

Lancer for the win

A fruitful thread.

I feel OK with my Gen 2's but might spring for 3's if I need any.

Didn't know of the Tactical Rifleman, his vids are very informative, & his knowledge definitely real.

I hadn't paid attention to Lancer, I will now.

Thanks guys!

PS, not throwing away my Okay, Parsons, or Adventure products either. Deciding now if these would be the ones to barter with if need be, of the plastic ones.

I like the little snap on cover with the Gen 3, otherwise I would buy Gen 2. So I keep a couple Gen 3 loaded and lying around - I dont eorry about them spitting loose rounds. But if I was stocking up, I'd buy Gen 2.

Gen 2's have the covers as well.

That depends..............not all G2's come with covers. Depends on how the seller is selling them.

MM

Point remains, they are available for Gen2's.
That is not a feature unique to Gen3's.

Yes, that is true.

MM

The directions on G3 mags say that they were mainly designed for some non-AR's that wouldn't accept or reliably function with G2 mags. So, if you have an AR that functions fine with G2 mags, there's no reason to spend the extra money for the Gen 3s.

I've got a couple of covers that tell you to remove before use.
Wonder what generation they are.

The newest M3 mags have an extra rib that keeps the second round from causing hard to seat on a closed bolt problems.

I think it's the gen 2 MOE mags that don't come with the cover. That's part of why they are cheaper.

Gen 2 or Gen 3 - they’re meant to be a disposable magazine.

I have and used both - more Gen 2 - over Gen 3, based on timing and cost.

If you’re running through a class, a training course or a weekend range day, run the Gen 2s. If your rifle isn’t reliable with them, it’s going to show.

Gen 3 may solve that problem for you, or not...

I have a liking for the early ODG Magpuls, the early ones did seem to “swell” a bit if you left them loaded - especially in the 20 round version.

Would I convert everything over to Gen 3 - no, not until I had broken the Gen 2s, or the rifle of choice was not reliable with Gen 2s.

Magpul does not sell covers with the Gen 2 and the Gen 3 covers do not work on Gen 2.