[rachilders]

Fairly new to ARs and have a question about AR magazines. I hear a lot about magazine followers, particularly the different colors like grey, green, orange, etc. What exactly is the difference, is there one that's considered better than the others and why?

 

[okdonk]

I myself until now don't know the differences. But i think it's just for user preferences of using whst kind of ammo in the mags. Like penetrstor ammo, tracer ammo and etc.
But for sure Magpul followers are the best out there. They can be used in some steel/ aluminium mags.

 

[c3shooter]

Donk- when the mag is loaded, you can't see the follower.

In a nutshell, not all magazine are created equal. Some military mags are actually considered to be, well.... disposable. Some have a follower that does not tilt fore/aft. Color is a clue to the make and to some degree, quality of the mag.

 

[okdonk]

Donk- when the mag is loaded, you can't see the follower.

You are right!, i didn't think about that. Haha my bad

 

[JonM]

Color only matters in some magazines. Mainly magpul and milsurps. In those its to determine ata glance what version that magazine is. Currently in the military everything with a black follower is to be turned in for replacement with updated magazines.

 

[Quentin]

Well the Army says "Tan is the plan, green starts to lean, black take it back." (Use the tan and green.) Magpul followers for GI mags are excellent of course.

 

[rachilders]

FYI, I have another rifle that uses AR mags and follower color has never been a consideration. I have several aluminum/steel magazines that have green, a couple with orange followers and I have never had a magazine related problem. OTOH, I got an M&P-15 just before the shooting in Newtown happened last month and it came with Pmags. Before the the prices started to jump I got about a half dozen more ($12 each) since they came OEM with the rifle and the followers are black like the mags. They all seem to work okay in the other gun, but I now have the S&W and after reading a number of posts about green vs. orange vs. grey followers I was curious if it had to do with manufacturer code, mag capacity, design differences, or something else. So far I've shot a little over 100 rounds through various mags, mostly the Pmags, and they all seem to work fine.

 

[kbd512]

I'm still waiting for the pink with purple polka dot followers to come out, but MagPul says it might be awhile before those are released.

Your PMAG magazines, irrespective of follower color, should function as intended and give fewer problems than the cheap (or expensive) aluminum ones. Apart from that, trust MagPul that the weapon compatibility listing on the packaging is not a suggestion.

 

[robocop10mm]

Black is the standard (old) follower for the 30 rd GI mags.
Green is the first gen enhanced (anti-tilt) follower
There are others like orange and gray, but the green is pretty darn good. ALL my 30's have enhanced springs and green followers