I have a bunch of GI mags that I use a lot, mostly use them for testing so they sit in a milk crate or bucket. But, I do have a bunch that i shoot at for everyday; you can't beat'em. Anyway, if I don't put a MP bumper or ranger plate on them, I set them up old school with 100mph tape and 550 cord. The original magpuls (that where they got their name from) mimicked this. You have a loop of 550 cord and a good sized strip of 100mph tape wrapped around the bottom.
The loop does two things, 1. It gives you something to pull the mag out with 2. It gives you something to snaplink your mags to. Back in the day, we didn't have dump pouches. We had butt packs (usually had chow and a cho liner in it) and snap links on our kit. Snap links were used for everything. Dump pouches became a thing in the 2000s.
The tape does two things: 1. It gives you some spare 100mph tape to use...you use it on everything. 2. You pull it super tight when your put it on to hold the shape of the mag. Reason: When you drop a full mag on a hard surface, the body deforms (temporary) enough to pop the bottom plate out and bullets shoot all over the place. The tape helps keep it intact. The original magpuls were fairly good but you couldn't snap link them to your kit when empty and you'd have to modify them to do so. Modern GI mags are pretty good now...better materials and springs and better aluminum. But I have still dropped a full mag on a rock at the farm and sure enough bullets shot out all over the place.
How To:
Remove guts and cut 550 to about 6.75-7" and melt ends. Tie half hitch on each end. This will make them about 6" with knots.
Pop baseplate - only halfway.
Insert 550 cord - put the knots under the spring and fold down to hold tension while you slide baseplate back into position
The loop does two things, 1. It gives you something to pull the mag out with 2. It gives you something to snaplink your mags to. Back in the day, we didn't have dump pouches. We had butt packs (usually had chow and a cho liner in it) and snap links on our kit. Snap links were used for everything. Dump pouches became a thing in the 2000s.
The tape does two things: 1. It gives you some spare 100mph tape to use...you use it on everything. 2. You pull it super tight when your put it on to hold the shape of the mag. Reason: When you drop a full mag on a hard surface, the body deforms (temporary) enough to pop the bottom plate out and bullets shoot all over the place. The tape helps keep it intact. The original magpuls were fairly good but you couldn't snap link them to your kit when empty and you'd have to modify them to do so. Modern GI mags are pretty good now...better materials and springs and better aluminum. But I have still dropped a full mag on a rock at the farm and sure enough bullets shot out all over the place.
How To:
Remove guts and cut 550 to about 6.75-7" and melt ends. Tie half hitch on each end. This will make them about 6" with knots.
Pop baseplate - only halfway.
Insert 550 cord - put the knots under the spring and fold down to hold tension while you slide baseplate back into position
Last edited:
