Since we posted the piece about the Magpul Quad Stack magazine, I thought it would be interesting to inject into the discussion this newly released magazine by ARMATAC.
Whereas the Magpul Quad Stack mag basically widens the traditional 30-round mag into a 50-round one, the ARMATAC SAW-MAG piles in 150 rounds, bumping up to the 200 round standard of the actual Squad Automatic Rifle. ARMATAC says they get around the poor performance (jamming) of the Beta "C-Mag" by loading each round into an individual "sprocket"...
"...each cartridge gets its own separate space, the ammunition is picked off the sprockets when they spin, not a typical high friction convergence found on cheaper designs. This is why our drums do not require graphite lubrication to work. The drum shell is designed to guide the cartridges with ridges and this also allows for the drum shell case to accumulate chamber residue from extended high volume usage."
Now, obviously this could have additional impact on the Marine Corps IAR/M27 program since this solution would really answer critics who say the IAR is sort of sticking out there without the SAW's round capacity.
FYI, Armatac also says they're set to release a Quad Stack of their own in the last quarter of this year. Could the Army buy a bunch of those for Joes who get upgraded, full-auto M4s with heavy barrels?
