Thermolds in Bushmaster Rifles?

E

eric0311

Inactive
Will Thermold M-16/AR-15 30rd magazines function in a Bushmaster AR? They seem like a tough magazine at a great price. Any info would be helpfull!
 
Yeah they should work great...sometimes in my bushies new Thermolds are a bit tight. If that's the case then insert the mag and run the bolt back and forth a few times to let it do a little bit of filing and the mag should insert easier.
 
I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that it's Orlites that require some filing down to function in a Bushmaster.
 
My thermolds work great. If I'm not mistaken, Orlites don't work at all in the Bushmasters. Not that I'd use them anyway, as I hear they're not as good as thermolds.

Chris
 
Orlites work fine in my Bushmaster, they just start out really tight & need to "wear down" a little.
 
Have had success with both brands of mag in my Bushmaster. The only issue being one Orlite required a few passes with the Dremel over and around the raised bars on the sides of the mag in order for it to insert all the way into the receiver. That mag has been 100% since.
Take Care
 
I have a few Thermold's and like them. They work in all my rifle's. I only have the 30/45's so I can't speak for the 20's or 30's. I'd think they would work just as good though. I wish I would have bought more Thermold's instead of those stupid Orlites.
 
Always worked well for me.

I do remember though some people having trouble with anything earlier than H20's
 
Never used Therolds, but I have some Orlites, which work just great. There is a certain series of them that work and another that don't. I can't remember which, but you may want to try Fulton Arms for a good write up on magazines in general and a lot of other useful AR-15 info.

I think the web site is: www.fultonarmory.com
 
I have quite a few Thermolds and they work fine in my Bushmasters. There are several diffferent molds or runs of these (you can identify them by numbers and/or letters molded into the magazine). It seems like they were something like "21H, 22H" etc. but I'm not sure. At any rate, some work fine in Bushmaster right off, while the others require a TINY amount of filing or shaving off the top of the fee lips (and I mean tiny - it is tough to even see what you've done). I think you can accomplish the same thing by pulling the bolt back, inserting the magazine, and letting the bolt close to scrape a little off the feed lips. This isn't a big deal at all and I would readily buy any Thermolds (at least the U.S.-made, I haven't tried the Canadians). All my Thermolds now fit nicely and work fine. I have mostly USGI and Thermold magazine and I'd be hard pressed to say which I prefer. I know when I'm showing my ARs to people I tend to insert an empty Thermold because I think they look nice in the rifle.

I read about the different Thermold versions a couple of years ago on AR-15.com. I don't know exactly where, but you might search the archives if you want more info. But I'd just go ahead and get them.

Doug
 
Do you mean Canadian military Thermolds or US made Thermolds?

I have heard (no personal experience) that Canadian Thermold mags were made using cheaper plastic resins and that they are "softer" and has lower melting temperature. I have heard that the lips on the Canadian mags will spread when loaded to full capacity for long time and will spill the ammo. Finally, the lips were known to deform (melt?) when used in full auto rifles due to high temperature. I believe Canadian military no longer issues Thermolds for combat units.

American made Thermolds are well made and I have never seen or heard of any problems with them. I have about 20 US Thermolds 30 round mags and they work 100% in my Bushmaster Carbine. All mine are from cavity H21 and H22. When new they should have the bolt run over the tops of each magazine few times to shave off any burr on the lips or just lightly sand down the lips.

One thing I have noticed recently is that while Thermolds will fit into the BM magwell just as easily as US GI mags that is not the case with my Rock River AR Carbine. Those marked H22 needs to be pushed with some force to seat in the RRA rifle while those with H21 needs to be push harder. I don't know if this is the case just with my RRA Carbine or not. Once locked in they all work 100%.

All in all, I think US Thermolds are great mags but I still like GI mags better.
 
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