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.

Not being able to source them does not mean they don't exist.

Hope you find what you want.

I bought a gen 3 60 round drum yesterday (because they had em). Has anyone messed with them?

Please, tell us where we can get mag covers for Gen 2.

Maybe Magpul?
https://magpul.com/firearm-accessories/pmags/pmagimpact-dustcover-genm2moe-3pack.html

I've also got minimum 20k rounds through Gen 2 and some Gen 1's though actually it might be closer to 40k. Many many dozens of cases and about a dozen classes. I've left them fully loaded as long as two or three years. I never use the covers. They always work fine.

My piles of gen 2 and gen 1 magpuls are boring because I'm looking for excuses to replace them with Gen 3s but...so far I have never had one fail to work. I have no doubt some have gone bad for other people but so did the old GI mags. I have gen 3's but I use them interchangeably with all the rest.

The only caveat as mentioned above is that some of the old straight 20 round magpuls were wonky. I like the way they look but I have also had the swelling issue. Sometimes they won't work in certain lowers. Never with the 30 rounders though.

All the guys I know who hunt bad dudes for a living (for our country overseas) run magpul mags. Maybe they've upgraded to the gen 3, but they tend not to replace things that work.

All of which is to say...buy the Gen 2s or Gen 3s but other than internet types I highly doubt you'll find anyone who runs them a hard who will really have an opinion about a difference, other than maybe the way they fit in your pouches.