What're the presently popular 30rd mags?

[Marcus99]

It's been too long since I've fired my M11, time to dust it off and focus on shooting that for a while. Before I do I think it's about time to also replace the original Zytels that I JB welded steel feedlips onto about 10yrs ago. Admittedly they've always run well but they feel so fragile and I've always felt that it's only a matter of time until they crack or fail.

Last I was active in the M11 scene it was the then new Shockwave Zmags that were popular, are those still the go-to gold standard? Whatever I buy will need to work with my Zage Max 11 Mk1 upper as I have set up per below, thank you.

 

[skoda]

Z-Mags are still your best bet for price and function. Also they are a bit easier to load than most alternatives. They sell them in packages of six and twelve for a little less per piece and they occasionally put them on sale though they are never 'cheap'.

 

[A&S Conversions]

Yes, I would say that the Z-mags are the go to large magwell magazines to buy. They will need to be broken in. If you have not looked into Mac style products in the last 10 years then you have missed out on the development of the tungsten alloy bolts. Depending upon the model, they can slow down a factory style upper even slower than the Lage Mark I upper you have. Lage has also developed an upper based on the AR mechanism using standard AR-15 bolts, barrels, and magazines. There are also others working on various concepts. One member is working on an upper with a similar design to the Lage, which uses modular magwells. Another is developing a 12 guage upper based on the Saga shotgun. Personally, we are developing an adapter that allows the use of standard AR-15/M16 complete upper receivers on a M10 lower. Look around, there's a lot going on. Welcome back.

Scott

 

[Gaujo]

Zmags is the only metal mag there is, it's the one u want.

 

[LawBob]

Z-Mags are still your best bet for price and function. Also they are a bit easier to load than most alternatives. They sell them in packages of six and twelve for a little less per piece and they occasionally put them on sale though they are never 'cheap'.

There’s a video on breaking them in. I’ll look

Basically you insert them and run the bolt back and forth about 20 times. The lips are slightly longer so the bolt will wear them to fit.

And you can disassemble them, put some dry lube in there, then assemble and ram a dowel on the follower 30-40x

But, I only did that to two of them and the other 6 never had problems (excepting of the bolt jams a little then run the bolt across the feed lips as said above).

 

[Hey...]

Zmags is the only metal mag there is, it's the one u want.

You forgot PAM2. I’ve got a stash of them.

 

[sparky923]

You forgot PAM2. I’ve got a stash of them.

If you've ever used PAM2s, then you know he didn't "forget".

 

[Marcus99]

Thank you all, shockwave zmags it is. I’m also trying to find an Mk1 Lage 900rpm speed bolt, been on the hunt for over a year and it’s proving tough to find one.

 

[Gaujo]

I stand corrected! Pam2 exists

 

[JackBlundell]

ZMags for the win. I sold my Zytel and PAM-2 magazines.

 

[boomer535]

Z mags need to be broken in. Here is a good video on this.

https://youtu.be/4XQNOPv31Bg

 

[boomer535]

What I went through getting my Z mags to fit.

https://youtu.be/Z7ezqVF-A68

 

[Jmacken37]

Zmags is the only metal mag there is, it's the one u want.

You can still find PAM 2 mags out there, but they are not as nice as the Zmags.
Of course, if you have one of the few Max-11 DFs out there, you can use converted Suomi stick mags.

 

[IndustrialRescue]

I had to beat on most of my Z Mags with a hammer to make them work. Your mileage may vary. They're better than Zytels, I'll give them that.

 

[skoda]

I had to beat on most of my Z Mags with a hammer to make them work. Your mileage may vary. They're better than Zytels, I'll give them that.

A PAM2 magazine would be good for that. They may be hard to load but they sure are beefy.

 

[Eric]

Unlike IMI Uzi mags (which I consider essentially "perfect"), there is, unfortunately, no perfect magazine for the M-11/9.

Z Mags are great for brass but can choke on steel cases due to the extra friction (spray lube with Teflon does well but is not 100% reliable): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyCmtrwfLNE

Zytels with steel lips are great for brass but choke on too many steel cases also due to the extra friction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAtnALur3RE

I've never had a PAM 2 choke on anything. Mine are completely reliable but they are a pain to load and may require some tweaking with a file to work with your gun.

I posted a review of the common M-11/9 mags several years ago. Everything I said then is still true:
http://www.uzitalk.com/forums/showt...nd-ZMAG&highlight=my+review+of+M-11/Nine+mags

The pictures have disappeared from that post but have been captured and preserved here: http://mac-11.info/M11_Magazines.pdf

 

[M10]

Zmags and PAM-2 mags work great in my M11. No fitment issues with my Zmags. Plug n play.

The Pams get in the way of the wire stock (if you try to close it), but who still uses a wire stock?

 

[LawBob]

Tuning zmags

https://youtu.be/4XQNOPv31Bg

 

[Gaujo]

Yea I agree they zmags don't run steel well, I use drums for that and they run perfect.

 

[LawBob]

Mac Daddy review

https://youtu.be/Z7ezqVF-A68