Thoughts on Thermold 30 round AR-15 magazines?

[level0]

I picked up a 3-pack of these with free shipping. Never used them before, but the price seemed right. Anyone have any experience with these magazines in an AR-15?

3 - Pk. of New Thermold 30 - rd. AR - 15 Mags - 125715, Rifle Mags at Sportsman's Guide


Also, this is my 1,000th post. I'm sure future historians will be interested.

 

[Jerryboy]

Iv used them for 20 yrs. Still using the same 3. Excellent and they don't damage brass.

 

[DanVoils]

I have some of the 20 rounders that I use with zero problems. Presumably they 30's would perform the same.

 

[Disposable Heart]

I used to have a mess of the 20 and 30s.

Used them in a variety of ARs. Bought a whole case of them when they were $2.99 for the 20s, only got a handful of the 30s. For range purposes, they are okay. Drop them and they break, hot, cold, didn't matter. If I ran a reloading drill (that involves some rougher than gentle handling to ensure insertion), sometimes the rounds would pop up out of the magazine. Out of 20 that I used for range work, about a dozen broke at the feedlips or would not hold rounds. I didn't ABUSE them, but I ran many of them for training, which is a bit tough.

I got feedlip spreading if I kept them loaded for more than a month.

I ended up selling or giving many of them away with caveats. Put the rest of the case on a gunshow table of a friend's during the panic and they were gone in an hour at $5 a pop.

$18 for 3 magazines (6 bucks per mag, preshipping) isn't terrible, but for a few bucks more, you can get USGI style alloy mags that have a KNOWN history of running well. Palmetto occasionally has the USGI magazines on sale for $7 bucks a magazine, Magpul follower, etc... I see Troy Battlemags here and there that pop up for sale for about what those Thermolds go for.

 

[2in1evtime]

I bought several of these, found the 30's would only hold 20 without rounds popping out, i sold them at a gun show when mags were hard to get a few years ago. Needless to say i would never purchase again. right now palmetto state armory has 30 round aluminum d&h mags for 8.99 buy 10 and free shipping . They always work good for me

 

[OutdoorDad]

I was given one several years ago.
I wish I could remember who gave it to me. So I could give it back.

Feedlip spread is very real issue.
Lit worked fine until I left it loaded for a few mnths.

I much prefer pmags with the dust cover.

 

[bobjones223]

I picked up a 3-pack of these with free shipping. Never used them before, but the price seemed right. Anyone have any experience with these magazines in an AR-15?

3 - Pk. of New Thermold 30 - rd. AR - 15 Mags - 125715, Rifle Mags at Sportsman's Guide


Also, this is my 1,000th post. I'm sure future historians will be interested.

Congratulations on the 1,000th post!

 

[level0]

Thanks all for your thoughts. I've seen some aluminum and stainless for a little higher price point, may pick up one or two of each.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I have a couple sitting around somewhere. They functioned just fine the handful of times I've used them but they feel pretty cheap and flimsy. Personally I don't think they'll hold up to long term use but YMMV.

 

[calcot7]

Like others have stated, feed-lip spread will occur if you keep them loaded for extended periods. I have had a couple crack at the top rear feed-lip area. Once you get them in the gun they do run though.

 

[TheWabbit]

In the AK world, we call them Thermelts.

 

[sgreen3]

I've got a couple of the straight 20 rounders, their ok and work, but for no more than a Pmag or the D&H mags cost. I really don't see a point in buying them.

 

[Tombs]

Go buy GI aluminium magazines if you're looking for inexpensive magazines to stockpile. You can commonly find them from $6-7.

With a magpul anti-tilt follower they will run reliably and they store nicely. Prefer them to p-mags.

I don't really see the point of thermolds. If you need a cheap polymer magazine, it's hard to beat magpul. If you want top of the line, go for lancer AWMs.

I bought a ton of these and they seem to be pretty great D&H 5.56 30rd Aluminum Magazine
As cheap as they are you can grab a crate of the things, they run sales on them pretty often.

Just remember, your rifle lives and dies by the magazine you use, that's the most temperamental part of any semi-automatic firearm. So going for the cheapest thing you can find is not a very good idea.

 

[tradertator]

You'll be hard pressed to find a worse magazine. ProMag might be in competition with them for that title though.

 

[Denny347]

NO NO NO NO NO

 

[nipprdog]

NO NO NO NO NO

Yep. Please close this thread. Their nickname is thermelt.