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The Beta C-Mag is a hundred-round high capacity magazine designed for assault rifles and SMGs firing the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO and 9 x 19 mm Parabellum cartridges. C-Mag is short for century magazine, referring to its hundred round capacity. The National Stock Number for the M16 version is 1005-01-363-6670.
Though previously a somewhat obscure firearm accessory, the C-Mag has become more popular after being used in video games like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, movies like Team America: World Police, and in the field during Operation Desert Storm.
The C-Mag is arguably unreliable, with frequent failures to feed. Problems are exacerbated in dusty and sandy environments. The C-Mag also places stress on the magazine release. A fully-loaded C-Mag weighs the same as three fully-loaded 30-round magazines. U.S. Army TACOM has issued a Ground Precautionary message, GPM02-0007, warning about its use in operations, since several deaths in the War on Terrorism have been blamed on faulty C-Mags.
In 1994, the United States federal Assault Weapons Ban passed, prohibiting manufacture of magazines with capacity of more than 10 rounds. Civilian purchase and ownership of previously manufactured magazines was legal, though as a result of a finite supply, the C-Mags became rare and expensive. The ban has since expired and Beta Company has resumed production of the C-Mag.
External Links
- Beta Company (http://www.betaco.com/index.asp)
- Desert Devil Dispatch (http://www.bragg.army.mil/afvc-a/FRG/Desert%20Devil%20Dispatch/dddvol29.pdf) - Contains an article of testing of C-Mags in Afghanistan
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