The PMag Torture Test! Can We Break One?

Is the Magpul PMag the best AR 15 magazine on the market? Plenty of people are likely willing to say it is, or it's at least in the top three. Derivatives of the PMag are used around the world. The Navy SEALs who killed Osama Bin Laden were rocking PMags in their Hk416s when they took him down. Our veteran writer used PMags throughout his Marine Corps career as his magazine of choice, as did most of his fellow squadmates. But all the stories in the world aren't proof though. You know what provides plenty of proof? A torture test. Let's try to break a PMag.

The PMag Polymer AR 15 Magazine

If you don't know anything about the Magpul PMag or what makes it different, we'll touch on that. The Magpul PMag wasn't the first polymer AR 15 magazine, but it was the first successful one. Magpul is owned and operated by veterans who know a thing or two about magazines. They designed the PMag to be durable, easy to clean, modular, and affordable. The Magpul PMag is now being considered as the standard-issue magazine for American service members. Soldiers and Marines have been spending their money for years to supply themselves with PMags for good reason. We found whether the PMag lives up to its legend by subjecting a loaded PMag to some abuse.

Test 1: Drop it Like It's Hot

In combat, changing magazines often involves dropping the magazine from the weapon and letting it slam into the ground. So to test just how well the PMag functions we dropped one from a rifle. Many times. Not on soft grass, but on solid cinder blocks. We loaded the PMag since that may affect durability and stress the spring and follower. We did it ten times to see how it faired.

No damage was visible after numerous cinder block drops.

Test 2: I'm Up They See me I'm Down

Engaging in combat means rushing toward your enemy, closing with them, and destroying them. At the most basic level, the buddy rush is used. A buddy rush involves running, dropping to the ground, and repeating - over, and over, and over. Since AR 15 magazines are most commonly mounted on a plate carrier the magazines are the first thing to hit the ground. They take the impact of the shooter, so if they're well-made they need to resist impact. Instead of buddy pushing with PMags, we ran one over with a car. Then we parked our car on top of it, ate some lunch, cracked a cold one, and left it to suffer. So, did it crack or bend?

Nope. Once again, not a single crack, bend, or any visible damage was seen.

Test 3: Dirty for Thirty

When deployed in places our writer affectionately calls the sandbox, it's expected magazines are going to get dirty. You should always clean your AR 15 magazines, but they should also function when things get rough. So we buried one and left it in the ground for a while, just for good measure.

Does it Work?

Did we break the PMag, or did it still work?

It runs! Thirty for thirty, without a single stoppage, the PMag put all its rounds down range. At no time was the magazine unloaded, and the tests we conducted were done so back-to-back without cleaning or maintenance in between. Smack, driven over, buried, The Magpul PMag performed like new. These polymer bullet bricks make for a hardass AR 15 magazine, designed to function in the most austere environments. Our abused PMag was no victim, and it shrugged every test off without issue. We have no issues continuing to trust this PMag and we're proud to sell them on our site. We hashed out a great deal with Magpul so you can pick up a 4-pack for a great price, coming soon!