C.M.I>Check Mate Industries.

7jinxed7 · August 8, 2009, 05:34 PM

I purchased a C.M.I. 20 round mag for my M1a from Brownells.I noticed the back of the mag fits a little to tight.My 10 round SA mag and my 20 round Pro-Mag does not.The specs on the mag are slightly wider than the SA mags.Has anyone else had this problem?

ssilicon · August 8, 2009, 07:30 PM

I bought an off brand 20 rd M14/M1A magazine. I'm not sure if it is checkmate or not (there are no moarking on the mag I could find and the paperwork I had is long gone). Also I'm not sure if I bought from Brownels but I do use them sometimes so maybe.

Anyway, yeah, crap mag. You can look at the bottom of it and see that it is not done quite right compared to a quality mag. I just bought from SA after that and the quality was excellent (though price was high).

B. Lahey · August 8, 2009, 07:40 PM

CMI makes SA's mags. The only difference is the logo and +$30.

Contact CMI and I bet they will make it right.

7jinxed7 · August 9, 2009, 12:11 AM

The follower and springs are identical on SA and C.M.I. .I tried to squeeze it in a press just a tad to get the width right but i couldn't get it to budge.The C.M.I. mags have a great review.I think it may just be one of the few bad ones out of alot.It's just not worth returning by the time I pay shipping.

B. Lahey · August 9, 2009, 01:21 AM

Tell them to send you a shipping tag. Good companies will do so, and I've only heard good stuff about CMI.

alloy · August 9, 2009, 07:23 AM

Quote:

I noticed the back of the mag fits a little to tight

I have a mag from SA that's way too tight so it's not a perfect world whereever you go. I would gamble on cheaper CMI before I pay for two crossed cannons that might have the same exact issue.

7jinxed7 · August 9, 2009, 10:04 AM

I agree alloy.i'm not paying thirty dollars more for the same mag.I don't think all the CMI mags are like that.So if they feed reliable I will take my chances.It fits it just has to rolled in at a tighter angle than my other mags.

alloy · August 9, 2009, 01:31 PM

My SA sux(not all I suppose, just mine

). Only one I own it's so tight I've released the bolt fiddling with it to get it in or out. Now I load it thru the reciever at the range.
My promags work great. I have a couple, never an issue.
Bought a couple of these to try out...off this seller about 2 months ago....they also work great.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=132865379

7jinxed7 · August 9, 2009, 05:31 PM

Alloy, My 10 round SA works fine but has really crappy finish.MY 20 round Pro-Mag had one malfuction out of the first 20 rounds shot through it.It's too new to really tell if it is going to work reliably.My CMI fits tight but good finish and feeds reliably manually.I havn't shot out of the CMI yet.If it's reliable i guess it doesn't matter about the fit.Those mags you posted a photo of with the W have a good review.Cheaper Than Dirt sells them i Believe.Their has been dispute who makes them CTD says they are Winchester but others say they are Westinghouse or something like that.But hey if they are reliable who cares who makes them.

7jinxed7 · August 12, 2009, 08:24 PM

Ok so i got some new mags today from CTD.Marked W on the back of mag.These are supposed to be Winchester Mil-spec mags.If I put it side by side with the SA CMI and Pro-mag it is very very similar but not exactly like the SA or CMI.The follower is slightly of in color but appears to be Teflon coated.The pro-mag is just painted black.The W mag has a square spring just like the SA and CMI.SO far so good.As for the outside the finish the W mag is a little lighter in color than the CMI with alot of glitter effect in the finish.As for the welds very noticeable differance in all except the SA and CMI are identical.The CMI and SA has large oval welds the W has medium size round welds and the Pro-mag has tiny barely noticeable round widely sapaced welds.The angle of the Pro-mag body is slightly off compared to the others.The W mags are very tight fitting and the CMI mags are tight but not the Pro and SA mags.The pro has two large welds and one small weld on the locking tab.Th CMI SA and W has two large and four small welds.So if these W mags are not the real deal mil-spec they are very very close.Time will tell which ones are reliable and which are not.Their seems to fitting issues with just about all manufacturers of the M1A mags.It seems to be a gamble no matter which mag you buy.Welcome to world of quanity not quality.

Desertguns · August 21, 2009, 05:22 PM

"7", I too recently purchased a SA M1A. Also bought 8 CMI mags: 4 twenty rd, 2 twenty-five rd, and 2 five round. I have put about 100 rounds through each in the last month (except the 5-rounders), with no problems, although one of the 20's is a little tight-fitting where you mentioned. Not bad enough to make me buy another mag though.

I do know that CMI has a contract to supply the military with its M14 mags, and in the past, Winchester too. I also have one 20rd mag marked W (on the back for Winchester), and the phosphate finish is a little darker with "metallic sparkles" too, like they put on too much of it. But it functions flawlessly as well. In any case, it sounds like a fluke - maybe they can replace it. I spoke with CMI customer service, and verified that they actually do make the SA mags. Good luck and Happy shooting...

August 8, 2009, 05:34 PM	#1
7jinxed7 Senior Member Join Date: June 3, 2009 Location: no where Posts: 352	C.M.I>Check Mate Industries. I purchased a C.M.I. 20 round mag for my M1a from Brownells.I noticed the back of the mag fits a little to tight.My 10 round SA mag and my 20 round Pro-Mag does not.The specs on the mag are slightly wider than the SA mags.Has anyone else had this problem?

August 8, 2009, 07:40 PM	#3
B. Lahey Senior Member Join Date: March 17, 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 2,857	CMI makes SA's mags. The only difference is the logo and +$30. Contact CMI and I bet they will make it right. __________________ "A human being is primarily a bag for putting food into; the other functions and faculties may be more godlike, but in point of time they come afterwards." -George Orwell

August 9, 2009, 01:21 AM	#5
B. Lahey Senior Member Join Date: March 17, 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 2,857	Tell them to send you a shipping tag. Good companies will do so, and I've only heard good stuff about CMI. __________________ "A human being is primarily a bag for putting food into; the other functions and faculties may be more godlike, but in point of time they come afterwards." -George Orwell

August 12, 2009, 08:24 PM	#10
7jinxed7 Senior Member Join Date: June 3, 2009 Location: no where Posts: 352	Ok so i got some new mags today from CTD.Marked W on the back of mag.These are supposed to be Winchester Mil-spec mags.If I put it side by side with the SA CMI and Pro-mag it is very very similar but not exactly like the SA or CMI.The follower is slightly of in color but appears to be Teflon coated.The pro-mag is just painted black.The W mag has a square spring just like the SA and CMI.SO far so good.As for the outside the finish the W mag is a little lighter in color than the CMI with alot of glitter effect in the finish.As for the welds very noticeable differance in all except the SA and CMI are identical.The CMI and SA has large oval welds the W has medium size round welds and the Pro-mag has tiny barely noticeable round widely sapaced welds.The angle of the Pro-mag body is slightly off compared to the others.The W mags are very tight fitting and the CMI mags are tight but not the Pro and SA mags.The pro has two large welds and one small weld on the locking tab.Th CMI SA and W has two large and four small welds.So if these W mags are not the real deal mil-spec they are very very close.Time will tell which ones are reliable and which are not.Their seems to fitting issues with just about all manufacturers of the M1A mags.It seems to be a gamble no matter which mag you buy.Welcome to world of quanity not quality. Last edited by 7jinxed7; August 13, 2009 at 06:27 AM.

August 8, 2009, 07:30 PM	#2
ssilicon Senior Member Join Date: May 5, 2005 Posts: 459	I bought an off brand 20 rd M14/M1A magazine. I'm not sure if it is checkmate or not (there are no moarking on the mag I could find and the paperwork I had is long gone). Also I'm not sure if I bought from Brownels but I do use them sometimes so maybe. Anyway, yeah, crap mag. You can look at the bottom of it and see that it is not done quite right compared to a quality mag. I just bought from SA after that and the quality was excellent (though price was high).

August 9, 2009, 12:11 AM	#4
7jinxed7 Senior Member Join Date: June 3, 2009 Location: no where Posts: 352	The follower and springs are identical on SA and C.M.I. .I tried to squeeze it in a press just a tad to get the width right but i couldn't get it to budge.The C.M.I. mags have a great review.I think it may just be one of the few bad ones out of alot.It's just not worth returning by the time I pay shipping.

August 9, 2009, 10:04 AM	#7
7jinxed7 Senior Member Join Date: June 3, 2009 Location: no where Posts: 352	I agree alloy.i'm not paying thirty dollars more for the same mag.I don't think all the CMI mags are like that.So if they feed reliable I will take my chances.It fits it just has to rolled in at a tighter angle than my other mags.

August 9, 2009, 05:31 PM	#9
7jinxed7 Senior Member Join Date: June 3, 2009 Location: no where Posts: 352	Alloy, My 10 round SA works fine but has really crappy finish.MY 20 round Pro-Mag had one malfuction out of the first 20 rounds shot through it.It's too new to really tell if it is going to work reliably.My CMI fits tight but good finish and feeds reliably manually.I havn't shot out of the CMI yet.If it's reliable i guess it doesn't matter about the fit.Those mags you posted a photo of with the W have a good review.Cheaper Than Dirt sells them i Believe.Their has been dispute who makes them CTD says they are Winchester but others say they are Westinghouse or something like that.But hey if they are reliable who cares who makes them.

August 21, 2009, 05:22 PM	#11
Desertguns Member Join Date: August 21, 2009 Location: ARIZONA Posts: 39	"7", I too recently purchased a SA M1A. Also bought 8 CMI mags: 4 twenty rd, 2 twenty-five rd, and 2 five round. I have put about 100 rounds through each in the last month (except the 5-rounders), with no problems, although one of the 20's is a little tight-fitting where you mentioned. Not bad enough to make me buy another mag though. I do know that CMI has a contract to supply the military with its M14 mags, and in the past, Winchester too. I also have one 20rd mag marked W (on the back for Winchester), and the phosphate finish is a little darker with "metallic sparkles" too, like they put on too much of it. But it functions flawlessly as well. In any case, it sounds like a fluke - maybe they can replace it. I spoke with CMI customer service, and verified that they actually do make the SA mags. Good luck and Happy shooting...