He's a little late to the party, lol.
Unimag 7.62x39 & 6.5G Review
So I picked up some of these on sale, pretty interesting concept. They have a two piece tilting follower that allows the magazine body to keep the typical GI mag shape. They advertise a 25 round capacity in 7.62 and 24 rounds in 6.5G.
I'll be doing a few tests with these, mostly with 7.62 and 6.5G. My first test was cut a bit short because it was so cold out. WIP
Test 1:
Rifles & Conditions: Test with an XCR 7.62x39 & an AR w/ PSA 18" 6.5G upper. -10F
I loaded up 10 of the mags to capacity. Mags 1-7 & 9 were loaded with 25rds of 7.62, mags 8&10 with 6.5G. LULA makes an AR15 7.62 loader now, which made loading these much easier. The spring tension when hand loading does get pretty tight once you get past 20 rounds, but the LULA makes it easy. I made sure all of the rounds were inserted to the rear of the magazine. I loaded this first batch all by hand, further tests will be done with the LULA. These mags don't cut you like the ASC/C Products mags tend to.
I loaded 125 rounds of Wolf steel case, 75 rounds of S&B Steel case (the really hot military surplus stuff), and 25 rounds of Ukrainian brass. All fed & functioned. On the first mag I started on gas setting 1 which functioned fine and BHO worked, but it was only throwing the shells like 3ft. Switched to gas 2 for the remainder of the test. For the most part they were boringly reliable. I didn't notice any rounds diving in the magazines or other strange hang-ups you see with the ASC/Cproduct mags. Bonus is they don't cut your hands when your loading either.
I did have one small issue. I tend to slam the mags into battery out of habit, and on a couple of reloads the first round popped out of the mag. After I noticed this I started being a little gentler with my insertions and didn't see this again.
Unfortunately the 6.5 AR was under-gassed for the conditions, and it was too F'ing cold to mess with the gas block. The bolt wasn't cycling back far enough to pickup the next round from the magazine, or engage the BHO. I didn't bring any Elanders to see if it was a gun or mag problem, but manually cycling the bolt picked up the next round just fine. I'll adjust the gas a bit and see if I can get this thing running a little better with these mags. Hopefully before then I'll have my 6.5 barrel from RA so I won't need the AR for further testing...
I'll probably order another set of 10 since they are on sale. $21 is too hard to pass up for a decent 7.62 mag that doesn't cut you like an angry crack fiend. More range reports + photos to follow.
I'll be doing a few tests with these, mostly with 7.62 and 6.5G. My first test was cut a bit short because it was so cold out. WIP
Test 1:
Rifles & Conditions: Test with an XCR 7.62x39 & an AR w/ PSA 18" 6.5G upper. -10F
I loaded up 10 of the mags to capacity. Mags 1-7 & 9 were loaded with 25rds of 7.62, mags 8&10 with 6.5G. LULA makes an AR15 7.62 loader now, which made loading these much easier. The spring tension when hand loading does get pretty tight once you get past 20 rounds, but the LULA makes it easy. I made sure all of the rounds were inserted to the rear of the magazine. I loaded this first batch all by hand, further tests will be done with the LULA. These mags don't cut you like the ASC/C Products mags tend to.
I loaded 125 rounds of Wolf steel case, 75 rounds of S&B Steel case (the really hot military surplus stuff), and 25 rounds of Ukrainian brass. All fed & functioned. On the first mag I started on gas setting 1 which functioned fine and BHO worked, but it was only throwing the shells like 3ft. Switched to gas 2 for the remainder of the test. For the most part they were boringly reliable. I didn't notice any rounds diving in the magazines or other strange hang-ups you see with the ASC/Cproduct mags. Bonus is they don't cut your hands when your loading either.
I did have one small issue. I tend to slam the mags into battery out of habit, and on a couple of reloads the first round popped out of the mag. After I noticed this I started being a little gentler with my insertions and didn't see this again.
Unfortunately the 6.5 AR was under-gassed for the conditions, and it was too F'ing cold to mess with the gas block. The bolt wasn't cycling back far enough to pickup the next round from the magazine, or engage the BHO. I didn't bring any Elanders to see if it was a gun or mag problem, but manually cycling the bolt picked up the next round just fine. I'll adjust the gas a bit and see if I can get this thing running a little better with these mags. Hopefully before then I'll have my 6.5 barrel from RA so I won't need the AR for further testing...
I'll probably order another set of 10 since they are on sale. $21 is too hard to pass up for a decent 7.62 mag that doesn't cut you like an angry crack fiend. More range reports + photos to follow.
101 - 119 of 119 Posts
Which in itself is a bit strange. He sampled XCRs before and was even one of us for a short while.He's a little late to the party, lol.
Right, but IIRC, he had an early version with QC issues that we could have fixed, but like most gun guys (and I agree with them)....it should work out of the box. If it doesn't, it's generally considered a piece of shit. To me though, the potential of the platform in terms of modularity, robustness, etc. made it worth tinkering with. I'm frankly surprised he gave it a second shot at all.Which in itself is a bit strange. He sampled XCRs before and was even one of us for a short while.
There may be a bit of bandwagoning going on. I noticed the -L has been getting positive attention from other gun-tubers lately (IV8888, Mrgunsngear, InRangeTV, etc.).Right, but IIRC, he had an early version with QC issues that we could have fixed, but like most gun guys (and I agree with them)....it should work out of the box. If it doesn't, it's generally considered a piece of shit. To me though, the potential of the platform in terms of modularity, robustness, etc. made it worth tinkering with. I'm frankly surprised he gave it a second shot at all.
Since I don't want to use up any 5.56 I've had a bunch of time with these mags lately. Around 2k 7.62x39. I've had one fail completely with the weld/stamping on the rear of the magazine coming apart.
Overall, there's 2 failure modes for these magazines.
1) Double feeds. I notice this mostly with 6.5G but it can happen with 7.62 as well. Typically its the 2nd or 3rd round out of the magazine. If the bolt is lowered with the charging handle this causes the round following to drag on the bcg and move forward in the magazine. Once the bolt cycles due to firing, the following round pops out of the magazine and the bolt tries to pickup the 3rd round.
2) Semi-Random FTFs. If the magazine is carried in the rifle for long periods, with the magazine loaded -1, the rounds can move around slightly. These magazines are very sensitive to the position of the cartridge and if the case isn't all of the way rearward in the magazine the chance of FTF seems to increase.
Overall as long as the rounds are loaded all the way to the back the chance of failure is low. Majority of the failures are caused by the cartridge moving forward in the magazine. There seems to be an awkward spot in the first 1-3 rounds where the spring is weaker and cannot keep the rounds from moving as easily.
Overall, there's 2 failure modes for these magazines.
1) Double feeds. I notice this mostly with 6.5G but it can happen with 7.62 as well. Typically its the 2nd or 3rd round out of the magazine. If the bolt is lowered with the charging handle this causes the round following to drag on the bcg and move forward in the magazine. Once the bolt cycles due to firing, the following round pops out of the magazine and the bolt tries to pickup the 3rd round.
2) Semi-Random FTFs. If the magazine is carried in the rifle for long periods, with the magazine loaded -1, the rounds can move around slightly. These magazines are very sensitive to the position of the cartridge and if the case isn't all of the way rearward in the magazine the chance of FTF seems to increase.
Overall as long as the rounds are loaded all the way to the back the chance of failure is low. Majority of the failures are caused by the cartridge moving forward in the magazine. There seems to be an awkward spot in the first 1-3 rounds where the spring is weaker and cannot keep the rounds from moving as easily.
Hmmm...I haven't experienced any of that....but I've only been using them for X39....not 6.5G. I use dedicated 6.5G mags for that round.Since I don't want to use up any 5.56 I've had a bunch of time with these mags lately. Around 2k 7.62x39. I've had one fail completely with the weld/stamping on the rear of the magazine coming apart.
Overall, there's 2 failure modes for these magazines.
1) Double feeds. I notice this mostly with 6.5G but it can happen with 7.62 as well. Typically its the 2nd or 3rd round out of the magazine. If the bolt is lowered with the charging handle this causes the round following to drag on the bcg and move forward in the magazine. Once the bolt cycles due to firing, the following round pops out of the magazine and the bolt tries to pickup the 3rd round.
2) Semi-Random FTFs. If the magazine is carried in the rifle for long periods, with the magazine loaded -1, the rounds can move around slightly. These magazines are very sensitive to the position of the cartridge and if the case isn't all of the way rearward in the magazine the chance of FTF seems to increase.
Overall as long as the rounds are loaded all the way to the back the chance of failure is low. Majority of the failures are caused by the cartridge moving forward in the magazine. There seems to be an awkward spot in the first 1-3 rounds where the spring is weaker and cannot keep the rounds from moving as easily.
Same with me. I bought a bunch of E-Lander 6.5 Grendel magazines from Alexander Arms when they were on sale. I feel obligated to use them in my 6.5 Grendel AR15 just because. Perhaps I'll try a Unimag in it to see how it does.Hmmm...I haven't experienced any of that....but I've only been using them for X39....not 6.5G. I use dedicated 6.5G mags for that round.
Same. Have both ASC and E-Landers.....haven't test fired the latest batch of warrantied ASCs....or any of the E-Landers. Out of about 22 ASCs, I think I had 7 problem ones....Same with me. I bought a bunch of E-Lander 6.5 Grendel magazines from Alexander Arms when they were on sale. I feel obligated to use them in my 6.5 Grendel AR15 just because. Perhaps I'll try a Unimag in it to see how it does.
Just finished another big range session. Sub-zero with 7.62x39 and across 500rds 0 mag related failures. 3 bad primers (tula). The unimags that work, just work.
Edit: Since my last post I've put about 2k through them, few failures for the mags that don't have issues. I have a stack of 3 bad mags out of 35ish tested.
Edit: Since my last post I've put about 2k through them, few failures for the mags that don't have issues. I have a stack of 3 bad mags out of 35ish tested.
Additionally,
They seem to work better for 7.62 than 6.5g or 5.56. My buddy had double feeds/FTFs with 5.56 steel case but the same mags work 100% with 7.62 steel case. I'm going to confirm that they don't like 5.56 with one of my rifles to eliminate his gun as a possible cause with his mags. I never really used them for 5.56 since I have a huge collection of pmags/surefeeds
They seem to work better for 7.62 than 6.5g or 5.56. My buddy had double feeds/FTFs with 5.56 steel case but the same mags work 100% with 7.62 steel case. I'm going to confirm that they don't like 5.56 with one of my rifles to eliminate his gun as a possible cause with his mags. I never really used them for 5.56 since I have a huge collection of pmags/surefeeds
Yeah...I think you or someone else mentioned that 7.62 works better than 6.5G. This is the first I'm hearing of 5.56 not being that great with them. Thanks for mentioning it....I'm in the same boat as you. I just use my Pmags or other purpose built 5.56 mags and haven't even tried the Unimags for anything but 7.62 since that's why I bought them in the first place.Additionally,
They seem to work better for 7.62 than 6.5g or 5.56. My buddy had double feeds/FTFs with 5.56 steel case but the same mags work 100% with 7.62 steel case. I'm going to confirm that they don't like 5.56 with one of my rifles to eliminate his gun as a possible cause with his mags. I never really used them for 5.56 since I have a huge collection of pmags/surefeeds
LOL....video loses all credibility at around the 39 second mark. 🤣 I'd love to see him shoot pistol with that trigger control.XCR 7.62X39 Pistol
Gas is turned way up. That's more recoil than my winter gas setting, and they have a break on itLOL....video loses all credibility at around the 39 second mark. 🤣 I'd love to see him shoot pistol with that trigger control.
Have to get some tubbs springs for AR projects, noticed they make a flat wire magazine spring. Going to pickup 5 and see if it changes the behavior of my "junk" marked and most commonly used unimags. Testing with 6.5g as well.
That's not a bad idea. I have some Ramline AR15/AR180/Mini30 mags that were unreliable. I put new quality springs in them and they now run 100%, even full auto in my AC556K. I then put the former Ramline springs in some Master Molder 20rd AR15 magazines that were unreliable. They now run 100% too.
Ok so initial findings:
1) the flat spring can't fit into the hole securing the spring to the follower, but the flat spring is curved in such a way that it grabs this tab anyway
2) it won't fix a magazine body that flexes or is tweaked (about 10% of my unimags do this). The first 2-4 rounds will still try to dive.
Live fire tests to follow...
1) the flat spring can't fit into the hole securing the spring to the follower, but the flat spring is curved in such a way that it grabs this tab anyway
2) it won't fix a magazine body that flexes or is tweaked (about 10% of my unimags do this). The first 2-4 rounds will still try to dive.
Live fire tests to follow...
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Nope, not going to work. It's too much spring tension for the follower to function properly.
Edit:
I did find a use for all my old frog lube grease. I applied a tiny bit to the bearing/binding surfaces and it made the feeding look more consistent. Before I'd see 2-3 look weird. Like the rounds pointed straight down the bore instead of pointing at weird angles on the feed lips. Going to test my bad mags and see if the lube will improve the behavior. They are still going to be relegated to "range" mags but if it makes them usable I'll be happy.
Edit:
I did find a use for all my old frog lube grease. I applied a tiny bit to the bearing/binding surfaces and it made the feeding look more consistent. Before I'd see 2-3 look weird. Like the rounds pointed straight down the bore instead of pointing at weird angles on the feed lips. Going to test my bad mags and see if the lube will improve the behavior. They are still going to be relegated to "range" mags but if it makes them usable I'll be happy.
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1.5 MB Views: 35
Did a night shoot after applying a tiny bit of lube to the follower bearing surface and the spring. Minimal amounts to keep dirt and stuff out. One of my problem mags started working normally. My other regular use mags worked fine without any diving or 2nd round double feeds. Only tested 4 mags... but everyone should give this a shot on troublesome mags to see if there's an improvement. I'd like to use a Teflon/dry lube instead but I don't have any right now.
Interesting results. Thanks for posting!
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