Gen 3 has a stop to avoid over insertion. The "Dust cover" also takes the pressure off the feed lips. Gen 3 also has a ridges for a better grip with wet or muddy hands. The Gen 3 has a smaller base plate so the mag fits easier into your mag pouch ect. and closer to your body It's only about 1.5 mm smaller but every little bit helps. Also the base plate is fully inclosed on the Gen 3 and is tapered into the base plate so it helps keep it from getting hooked on things. Gen 3 is also compatable with more rifles than the Gen 2 is. For details on that check the list on the packaging. They made the cut out in the back of the feed lips larger to accomidate different rifles. The Gen 3 ads a ramp for the mag catch for more positive catch for the mag release, and made the pattern in the side slightly deeper. There is also a little bar added to the back of the mag where the clamshell fits together presumably to strengthen it. The front of the Gen 3 tapers slightly more by the bullet end of the feed lips. The Gen 3 also ads some guides internally to direct the round more consistantly by giving slightly better support by the sholder of the round. You already mentioned the dot matrix. The mag well guides are slightly larger on the tapered end because of the slightly increased taper. Also the taper starts slightly lower on the mag, I assume to solve a clearence issue on some non millspec lowers or to clear mag well adapters for added funnel taper exc.. The followers are a different color presunably because they are not interchangable but I'm not sure about that as I have never tried it. As for the cost difference it most likely due to the fact that the Gen 3 comes with the dust cover. I know this is a bit late but hopfully it answers your questions. Edit: I forgot to tell you that Gen 2 has a problem trying to load a full mag on a closed bolt. Gen 3 does not have that issue. It was fixed by adding slightly more room.
Gen 3 has a tab on the spine to prevent over insertion on certain AR15’s.. as you said about the appearance with ribbing and dot matrix.. The Gen 3 is supposedly made out of more durable polymer, but in my experience it’s negligible if any.. Lastly, the dust cover is for dust, but most important for storing full mag to max capacity to keep pressure of the top round off of the feed lips just enough to prevent them from stretching.. That’s the main reason for dust cover.. I like Magpul but have went to Lancer LW5 Advance warfighter mags almost exclusively that are polymer with steel heat treated feed lips.. They are built like tanks.. You pay a few dollars more, but worth it in my humble opinion.. I know you are all about budget, but mags are the life and reliability of the very thing used to protect yourself, so I see it as an investment.. To each his own.. Thanks for all you do.. Keep up the great work!
PrAKtikal Nurse, There are several torture test videos on RU-vid about them.. Sootch00 has a good one.. They are very popular and right now they are significantly cheaper than they were when I stocked up not knowing what the result of the presidential election would be.. Just google Lancer L5 AWM 30 rounds and should give you several places to buy from.. They have solid colors which I have a couple of, but my favorite are the translucent smoke that you can see the rounds through.. and boy is that brass pretty to see them fully loaded.. Also has round count marked on mags at 20 and 30 round mark.. Maybe 10 too, not sure though.
I agree with you brother! I keep my Magpul as primary use because I bought 15+ of them while I keep my Lancer Mags in storage with my ammo just in case SHTF, they'll be ready whenever Magpul mags break or wore out.
I have two Gen 3 Pmags. My other Pmags are Gen 2. Civilian AR15 shooters won't really notice any difference in the performance of either mag. The Gen 3 Pmags were designed specifically to avoid over-insertion in certain select-fire military weapons and to reliably fit more select-fire military weapons. Other features were redesigned to make the Gen 3 Pmags more versatile for military personnel. For civilians, it's just a matter of personal preference.
I'm a little late to the party but the gen 3's won't work with some aftermarket magwell extensions like the Lancer adaptive magwell, due to the over insertion stop on the back of the magazine. I've also been told the gen 3's don't have feeding issues with the m855A1 ammunition that the marine corps ran into with on the standard USGI mags. The gen 3 follower positions the rounds higher so they don't ruin your feed ramps. This is why the Marines adopted the gen 3's. Not that anyone here is likely to be shooting m855a1 ammo on a regular basis (unless you're in the Marines, I guess). Personally I use the gen 3's but I've got about 4k into my AR, I spare no expense when it comes to a life saving piece of equipment like a battle rifle. I do have some Lancers and some USGI mags though, just in case. If you're going for budget magazine, grab some Okay Industries Surefeed aluminum USGI mags. This is the company that has been making magazines for the US military for 80 years or something crazy like that. They're the most reliable and they're cheap and they're about half the weight of the p-mags. Okay Industries switched to anti-tilt followers too, which I also highly prefer.
Thanks...had an issue with the mag catch not grabbing with the M3 pmags. The magwell extension was the issue or should I say the insertion stop on the M3 was the issue due to my AR having a magwell extension.
TO PRAKTIKAL NURSE:very informative please keep up the great work I hope you had a great Christmas and Happy New Year I have the gen3 with window to see how much ammo is left in mag it works great my local gun shop charges around 20 dollars a piece for them I know they are cheaper on line but I try to support my local businesses as long as its not a huge price difference once again I love the videos I give all your videos a thumbs up so far
@PrAKtikal Nurse-When you load both you will see the gen 3 the round sit higher than in the gen 2. The gen 3 is suppose to feed better and was changed to accommodate for feeding the next gen of military 5.56 rounds. I generally just go with the gen 2. I have gen 3 and both are reliable. The other difference is when I go buy them at Cablea's the gen 2 dose not come with the dust cover. You are right the dots on the bottom are to number your mags by filling in the dots. Hope this helps.
One noticeable difference between the two is the baseplate one is slimmer than the other I believe! .I like the gen 2 because it has a thicker baseplate andIs easier to grab from magazine pouches (bag)..
I just got my AR for the first, that was my bday and it came with a standard metal 30 round mag so I ordered the magpul gen 3 mag so hopefully it feeds fine with my AR. I got a Delta Ton Echo 316.
I just picked up 5 (used) of the M3 at a local shop for $8 buck each, no tax with cash, so $40 bucks. I have a bunch of the standard black M2 and those have been very good to me, I even purchased 20 more and have them still on the package. You can never have TOO many magazines.
They are similar. Gen M3 is a different body that helps with over insertion on the weapons that are mentioned on the list aside from m16/m4/blah blah. As to the dust/impact cover... They make them for the M2 as well and the main thing is it relieves pressure on the feed lips for long term storage AND prevents rounds from popping loose upon heavy impact(which does happen, in my experience) And it does both very well. An excellent little piece of plastic. Oh, and both mags are typical of Magpul magazines... Stupidly boring reliability, which is just how I like my mags.
I love the gem 3m, it has a difference not mentioned. The stop for to prevent it from overly inserting. I have also found that the GEN two will not work and my Ruger bolt action and the GEN three well.
Great video like others said that the M2 was known to have issues mostly with feeding and fitment, but M3 is improved design and includes the dust cover for the $2-3 difference. Magpul generally charges more for the latest and greatest "pul of the art" kit.
Don't forget different tolerances in lowers. Some are very loose. That's really where feeding problems start. The more the mag rocks in the well, the more feeding can be an issue. Tolerance stacking is an overlooked problem.
the grip texture, dot matrix, floor plates are different between the m2 and m3s. Also, the polymer is supposed to be more tolerant of extreme environments and stresses such as being ran over and having cracked feed lips or being shot and still operating; but Ive never tested it. I just get which ever ones are available, thouhh I actually like the gen m2 a little better because they have the correct floor plate shape for magpods...
I have no issue with gen 2 mag that came with my ar. Also, I bought gen 3 mags and it just works flawlessly and very capable with no issue when shooting
PrAKtikal Nurse yes sir in the summer gets real dry sometimes . I am in Michhigan born and raised here. I love it country girl prepped and ready always. Right now I have about a foot of snow❤🙏❄⛄❄⛄
PrAKtikal Nurse I wish I knew how to send ya one too. What's even more of a problem than the snow is how very cold it is this year,, it hasn't been above 14 degrees since Christmas. Some days -2 or 0. I'm staying warm but man a bit of normal weather would be like 20 25 degrees right now.
i have many gen2 30 rnd mags and a few 40 rnd gen3's. i purchased some magpul ranger plates for them and was unaware that they will not fit on gen2's. the bottom plates are different and are not compatible.
There's already some great comments in here, so I can only add: Seems like I saw a video, recently, that mentioned how the Gen 2's weren't functioning reliably with a lot of our "NATO allies," non-AR, 5.56 rifles-- which the Gen 3 fixes.
I will do that. I buy a lot of stuff at Midway USA, and they are always running sales. I have also purchased a lot of spare Glock magazines there and at Brownell's in Iowa.
I bought one gen 3 mag. Compared to the gen2. Took me awhile. Matrix is okay...I havent paint filled it yet. Probably wont. Plastic feels same. Other than cosmetic differences I too could not tell why it cost more and why the gen 3 logo. Looked at it again and there it was...the base plate is reversed. My only reasoning is that with the mag loaded and inserted, on the gen2, and if dropped on the mag that the base plate would pop off and the rounds would be expelled. I dont think that would happen to the gen3 when loaded and inserted if dropped directly on the mag. Just my thinking.
If I fully load a m2 as well a M3 magazine with dust cover on .. m2 dust cover pops off when not wanted . M3 clips on and stays on in pouch with rough handling . M3 does feel (seem) stiffer.
If I remember right the gen 3 has more steel reinforcement then the gen 2 . I seen the the windows break so I stay away from that . But do upgrade my aluminum government mags with magpul inner parts !
Another great video Brother. At the moment I only have the Gen 2 and a 30 rd aluminum mag for my M&P 15 Sport, so cant give my input at this time, sorry :-) Take care !!!
I like the m2 mags I do really think there is a big difference in the but I think the m3 has an improved follower in it but I would say for the cost differences the m2 is a better buy
i have a bunch of mags 18 for the one rifle i have a three pack of amend 2 30s those are good got 5 mft gen 2 good mags i have 5 gen 3 pmag 40s those are great a gen 3 pmag 20 also great an amend 2 20 love it and i have an old 88 dated colt mag works fine as well as an okay 20 rounder also awesome and i have a mystery black mag with white follower metal i think also works fine waht do they all have in common you ask? cheap and good im not made of money when others cleaned out ammo last year i grabbed mags and started stuffing them
M3 I heard anti dust tab , Different Follower Helps with New spring also Believe Stainless Steel spring keeps from developing a set when kept loaded for long length of times, and as mentioned above different material. heavier feed lips. Just what I heard.
bought magpul gen 3 because the have lots of good reviews....when i got them 4 out of 6 dont drop free.....i had to figure out which parts are tight, heated them a bit to fix them....they are easier to insert if they are loaded to 29 only.....i want to try D&H aluminum and the red lancer if i could find a 30 riveted to 10.....sometimes im thinking magpul is just so good in marketing....there is a lot of recomendations on their k2 pistol grip....when i bought one i cant really feel the more vertical angle they are claiming compare to my moe...to me they are just the same.....i event tried to close me eyes and griped each one.....even faced a mirror to see the position of my hand...hmmm i think magpul is just good in marketing :D
Pmag gen 2 does not drop freely, i have to pull the mag out when empty. It requires some filing to drop freely. They were given to me from an Army buddy of mine that said the mags was issued to him. Never owned a gen3.
@@dundeeecrocOn the back of the mag (skinny Part) where the mag goes into the well you will see a line of over-molding. Take a sharp knife and file that down and the mag will work much better. Any area you see rubbing can be filed down too.
@Andrew G. Best of luck and many prayers to your health and success!! If you are in Central Texas and looking for that "starter nurse" job, get in touch with me. 😃👍🇺🇲
@@praktikalnurse504 thank you man, I’m on critical care now. Interesting for sure but just want to be done already, Lol. I’m in the South but if I ever do a contract assignment in Texas I’ll definitely reach out. Thank you so much for the opportunity and kindness!
Not speaking from experience, but gen 3 pmags push the top round a tiny bit higher at the top of the loaded mag, supposedly to eliminate or reduce issues involving the round sliding or scraping part of the gun when the round is being shoved into the chamber. Maybe someone else "in the know" can comment on this...?
If price is the same, or at least close, i choose the gen 3 windowed pmags. The gen 3 pmags are designed for european type ar variants, and for other non ar type rifles that take ar mags. It also makes them more attractive (and valuable) if you need to use them to barter with. I just got a christmas deal on the gen3 windowed pmags for $10 each and so i ordered another 20.
the main difference / per magpul is to make the m3 more compatable with weapons that deviate from the colt ar15/m4 specifications like the scar and others that have a few problems with the m2 magazine. I see a couple of people talking reliability issues with the m2..I just cant believe that. I have lots of m2s and every magazine i own is numbered so if a malfunction happens i know what mag and i can set it aside for later. I also use a paint marker and have a line on the side of my mags so i can instantly see what type of ammo is loaded..fmj line at the bottem..DRT line at the top..then hollow point below that. makes it easy to grab a preloaded mag for whatever the application. i might spend the extra for the mags with the roller followers. if someone has had a problem with m2 mags ..i want to know what kind of rifle and under what conditions. oh…about the window in the magazine its probably only useful at the range...put a tracer round in your mags as the second round..when you see the tracer go off you know the mag is empty and you have one round in the chamber.
I'm having issues right now where 2 M2 mags did not work on this particular AR but the 1 M3 I had would work consistently. I picked up a couple more M3 mags and plan to do a bit more conclusive testing with them as I have some spare M2 mags that I plan to bring out as well.
@@Dan-di9jd if you have calipers I'd measure everything. It sounds like the different is going to be very small. I would guess if you were to measure every m3 or every m2 mag there are going to be a range of differences. I'm guessing if you measure the magwell between the rifles they're going to be a difference in measurements. I can't say for sure. I had a bunch of troy battle mags that fit my troy rifle perfectly but had some difficulties going into a generic AR built from parts. You might be able to lightly buff the magazines with some fine steel wool to make them fit better and still keep them within manufactures tolerances. I think we can eliminate the possibility of over insertion. I've never had that happen to me and I've inserted magazines countless times.I've never known anyone to have over insertion problems either. I'm curious if the AR that's having the problem is a brand; S&W, Ruger or a generic branded rifle.
@@rickhunt3183 it's too hard to tell exactly what the culprit is. I'm just going to test M3 mags and if they work I'm just going to use those instead and not worry too much since I'm not really particular to any magazine. But yeah it's very unusual that it wouldn't work. On an empty mag it locks back manually for everything and looking at how high the catch goes, I don't see any difference at least visually. I decided to change out the bolt catch with a different one and it behaves exactly the same. one thing I can "feel" is that it feels like the bolt catch goes up because I can feel something "slipping" on the last round if that makes sense. Almost as if it was short stroking but regardless the M3s would always work. Very weird problem.
@@rickhunt3183 I actually pulled it out and used a piece of paper to see how high the mag catch goes on the follower. The M3 is significantly higher than the M2. Visually I'm seeing the mag catch location to be nearly exactly in the same spot side by side but no way to know if they are different or not. Putting a M3 magazine into the receiver and putting a M2 magazine, I do see a slight difference in the angle of the bolt catch rising.
@@rickhunt3183 okay I came back from the range. 6 m3 pmags and 4 m2 pmags. I load each magazine with 1 round to see if they lock back. All 6 m3 pmags would fire and lock back. All 4 m2 pmags would not lock the bolt back and feels like the bolt “slips” over something. I did this a total of 6 times and they consistently did that. I then loaded each mag with 3 rounds and again all 6 m3 pmags locked the bolt back. All 4 m2 pmags would feel like it “slips” after the last round fired. I can lock it back with the empty mag inserted. Anyway I tossed the m2 mags into the dumpster after asking someone if they wanted them. I bought 4 m3 pmags at the range so now I have all 10 m3 pmags and I’m happy. Not really particular with m2s as I only bought they without realizing anything about them. I started to pay attention to which ones were failing and now conclude the overall issue is with m2 pmags not locking the bolt back after the last round.
Gen 3s also are made from a tougher nylon that is better at super low temps, and the geometry fits lowers other P mags had some problems with, and that is about it. If the Gen 2s work in your gun....... Use the gen 2s. If you maybe plan on buying another fancier AR with a flared magwell billet lower, buy the gen 3s so you won't have future issues. I run Okay, D&H, Brownells, & Mag Pul P Mags for 556/300/223, and ASCs for my 6.5 Grendel AR. That is it. I am not too fond of ASC, but until Magpul makes a 6.5 Grendel mag.... I also run a CMMG .22 LR conversion kit, and for prepping .22 LR is awesomeness to the Nth power. I run Savage Model 24s chambered in .22 and .410 and one in .223 and 20 gauge, single shot rifle shotgun combo guns, also super awesome for preppers! My big guns are 30-06 hand loaded hot, 300 Win Mag, 300 RUM, .308 and 338 Lapua, but I also run muzzle loaders, and recurve bows. When all that other ammo is gone I can shoot melted car battery lead from a muzzle loader. When the primers are gone, bows n arrows.
I always buy the g2 pmag.irag veteran 8888 has a good video about ar mags check it out.I still use d&h aluminum mags with the Nagpur anti tilt followers.At 7.99 on sale you can't beat them.
If you are just using it for the AR the Gen 2 is fine. If you have an FN Scar, the Gen 3 is the way to go, look at the back of both, were the bolt picks up the round, the Gen 3 has the cut out for the FN. The Gen 2 will hit it. If you run the Gen 2 you will have to modify it for the Scar.
Brandon Haddock Awesome!! Thanks for breaking it down. After I did the video I noticed it, plus there are a few other differences. These mags are joining my other ones that are loaded and ready to rock.
I use Tapco magazines almost exclusively. They are built like a tank and feed smooth as silk. My experience with the Gen 2 Pmags is that they run perfectly well in all my ARs. I believe that the Gen 3 pmags are for NATO rifles other than the M16 that prefer metallic magazines.
The difference? None if they both work. It would come down to just price difference. The most important difference I've seen is that the M2 has sort of a oval shape where the bolt catch would come up on vs the M3 that has a more rectangular point that the bolt catch would rise up on. I also had lowers that just didn't work with M2s and it seems like there is a slight dimensional differences between the two where the M3 would work better in certain rifles. I never heard of the inverse where the M3 didn't work but the M2 did. It always seem like when you have issues with the M2, then the M3 would likely cure it.
I was dumb enough to buy 10 magpul G2 promag and that thing does not seat worth shit. In a gunfight the last thing I want to deal with is dropping my mag like a douchbag out the magwell. They just do not sat like the steel......everyone says these things are great ....am I missing something ?
if you look at the back of each mag the gen 2 has a round looking cut ... back the gen 3 have a square looking back i had the mod all of my gen 2 to look like the gen 3 they wouldn't feed at all ....trimmed them to the square look and they work fine now ...you can see what im talking about at the 4:33 mark
Bobby Benson i had a similar feed problem with my hex mags bc the bolt kept getting stuck. But i just trimmed a little corner off of the raised part of the follower and no problems now
If you leave a pmag fully loaded,it'll break its feed lips off. That's what the dust cover is for. Also a loaded mag inserted in a rifle, if dropped on that mag will make the floor plate break. Gen 3 they improved by thickening. Gen 3mags dust covers won't fit over its floorplate. So I like gen 2, but I keep a few lancer awm mags loaded for emergency. They have steel feed lips that won't break, and they come in transparent colors. If you already have mags, switch to getting lancer...$$17 a mag
WHY you MUST KEEP your Gen 2 Mags.......When you travel to places like Colorado, there are States that now have max capacity laws which often EXEMPT mags purchased before a specific date... If you have a Gen 3 in Colorado, it is not legal,,,a Gen 2 however IS LEGAL because they can't prove you did not purchase it before the expemption date...With the Gen 3 however, since they were not put into production until AFTER the exemption date, there is no way you could have owned them when the laws were changed... Just food for thought.
I shot my AR build today for the first time. Psa upper. 80% lower. Rare breed trigger h3 buffer. The gen2 mag jammed every second shot. The gen3 mag worked better but jammed some, but less than the 2.
I know somebody that has an FN SCAR 16 and he brags to everybody how much more reliable his rifle is than any AR on the planet. I've been out shooting with him before and GEN 1 and 2 PMAGs will not work in it. One round will fire and the next won't feed. Doesn't sound too reliable to me.lol ;-) He claims that the aluminum "half painted" GI magazine that came with his SCAR is the best magazine in the world. I've never had an issue running any generation PMAG through my Colt LE6920. Maybe it's because I shoot left handed???(sarcasm) ;-)
Hey practical nurse. Get a big daddy unlimited account. Since you love getting the lowest price (I do to) you’ll find gen 2 pmags for 8.99 each. And gen 3 pmags for 10.99 each. You have to pay a subscription BUT if you’re buying firearm gear often, they absolutely can’t be beat on price. If you’re not buying things often then it might not be worth it to you.
So they are out of stock on a lot of things right now, but so is every business that sells firearm products of any kind. It’s $0.99 for your first month and $9.99 after that but you can cancel anytime. It’s worth it if you buy things. I mean their prices are so much lower that other store anywhere. It’s not even close for example the red dot that is my favorite. Sig Sauer Romeo 5 $162.00 at my local gun shop, $139.99 when on sale at PSA, $120.00 at big daddy unlimited. Their prices are legit. Slings that are normally $70 are $40 at BDU. Only problem right now is they are so low on stock and they don’t have any free shipping specials right now which sucks. I love me some free shipping
You missed in important improvement in the M3. If you notice the area directly over the mag catch indent, the M3 has a bit of raised plastic where the M2 does not. This is a VERY important improvement as the mag catch on some ARs WILL NOT hold the mag in place regardless of the adjustment. Yes I have one AR where this is a problem where all others I own are fine. The problem is more with the lower than the mag. On the problematic lower, the mag catch recess is not sufficient.
@Jellyhead thanks for pointing that out. One would guess with the AR platform, they would all be about the same due to the pattern. Some of my friends point against AK's is because "they aren't made the same". Guess now we all know the same may apply to ARs
The ONLY difference is the dust cover. And if you fall for that gimmick then you get to oay the extra couple of dollars for no real reason. For you geniuses who do prefer the dust covers, try to think or even research how small a oarticle of dust is...... It will most assuredly get thru the spaces between the cover and the lip. Besides the obvious, dust is not a concern. Unless you live in a dust debil 24/7 -365, then you have bigger concerns.
CAUTION, Magpul dose not stand behind their products and will not issue a replacement, refund, or even a partial credit for manufactures defects on items that they sell. If it is defective you are stuck with it. Go with anything other than Magpul!!! Magpul falls apart!
I was dumb enough to buy 10 magpul G2 promag and that thing does not seat worth shit. In a gunfight the last thing I want to deal with is dropping my mag like a douchbag out the magwell. They just do not sat like the steel......everyone says these things are great ....am I missing something ?
@Hurricane Wind Power. From what I am told, there may be a couple of things to take into consideration. Some manufacturers mag wells don't fit well with the Magpul mags. Honestly, I should have paid more attention to the ones they mentioned, instead, I filed it under "whew....not one of mine". Some may have to do with the mag catch. I am sure you already tried slapping up on the mags after insertion into the mag well. All of us old M-16A1 military folks made it a habit. Hope some of this helps. I am curious to find out which manufacturers don't work with the mags.
@@praktikalnurse504 This is an older Bushmaster like when they made good stuff....do you know where you can find the list of the one your saying they do not fit well with....I mean it fits you just have to push hard and feel the click. Not something I wish to do extra if I find needing my rifle for something other than plinking
