50 Round AR-15 Drum Magazine

Medium capacity assault anyone?

I like the look of the magazine, and it seems to work well… but I gotta ask why?  To get 20 measly more rounds than 1 single standard AR-15 magazine, and 10 rounds less than carrying two and the width of around 5 magazines?  Seems to me that carrying two mags would take up less room, and be compatible with every pouch on the planet… not to mention you also have the assurance that if one fails you still have 30 rounds (hopefully) in magazine #2.  I guess what I’m trying to get at is if you want sustained automatic fire you might as well go with a 100 rounder for maximum fun.  Those though are even more bulky and awkward…

50-Round-AR15-Assault-Magazine

Made by XS Products who also make a load of other drum magazines.  Their name is confusingly similar to XS Sights, but as far as I can tell the two companies are not related.

Thoughts?  Are you on board with drum magazines, or do <3 the box configuration and capacity of the Surefire high capacity 60 and 100 round box style magazines more?  Interesting how Sturmgewehre said he hasn’t had any luck with the Surefire 60s.


Comments

13 responses to “50 Round AR-15 Drum Magazine”

  1. SittingDown Avatar
    SittingDown

    The Surefire 100rd is known as the BatWing(R)etarded. ;)

    1. SittingDown Avatar
      SittingDown

      All joking aside, the 60 and 100rd Surefire mags are great magazines. The springs are very stiff and take some breaking in it seems. I also like the Armatac SAW-Mag drums. No hiccups with any of them from my experience.

  2. It would be nice to have on the gun for the initial load then switch to 30s. Would also be good if your just target shooting from prone or the bench and don’t want to mess with changing mags. I don’t shoot competition but it seems like a better option for competition than most anything else. I doubt I’ll get one anytime soon though I’m happy with my 20 and 30rd PMAGS.

    1. My though exactly.

    2. yes, i was thinking of picking up a few and keeping one in the gun by the bed. starting with one of these in the gun and having 30s in the pouches seems like a great idea (i just need to find a robe with mag pouches ;-). I would consider getting one of the surefire boxes, but he is not the first i have heard who has problems with one, and i do not want my HD gun to have iffy mags. that’s fine for the range, not for protecting my family. Im doing my research, but if they seem to have the reliability hes says they do i will be very interested.

    3. I figure that operating with one to two surefire 60’s, plus normal 30’s could become a new standard. Just as in early WW2 when Thompson SMG gunners were issued one or two 50 rnd drums, then a bunch of 20 rnd stick mags.

  3. I’m waiting for them to release one for the RFB, because 30rd FAL mags are frickin huge

  4. enfieldem2 Avatar

    It looks solid, but some friends of line with hyperactive rifles have no complaints about their surefire 60 rounders. But since this works in NATO AUGs I might pick one up someday, there is something I really like about drums.

    I intended to pick up a 40 round AR at the show today for a first mag. But not at current prices! I also have just acquired a very nice chest rig which can hold 8 loaded thirty rounders. Hard to imagine a load out like that being insufficent.

    1. Never been in a firefight have you. 240 rounds is so insufficient it’s laughable

  5. I have to agree with Mike. It just doesn’t make sense. Especially after the guy demonstrated the loading process. If you are loading by hand, just get one of these stripulas.

  6. Andrew S. Avatar

    I want one simply because it will make politicians shit their pants. I don’t even have an AR pattern rifle.

    1. lol, dc would get a whole lot dirtier.

  7. I demo’d these at my store a month or two ago. They seemed very well-made, were easy to load, and ran fine in the limited testing we did. Price point is a little high for only 50 rounds, but the rep emphatically stated that they have a lifetime guarantee.