Black Dog Machine Magazine Review

Including the Ceiner 30 round magazine comparison.

I purchased a Black Dog Machine 30 round magazine recently and gave it a try in my registered receiver M16 kit.  My M16 22LR has been heavily modified to work reliably.  I use a spring that I acquired from Lakeside Machine and cut it down so that it would run the CCI Minimag 40 grain round reliably.  I further installed a ball/detent system into the side of the bolt and rail system of the Ceiner kit to ensure proper lockup and eliminate light primer strikes.  To insure even smoother operation, I installed a Wolff extra power hammer spring in my lower receiver BACKWARDS as well.  These 3 modifications have made my M16 22LR upper as reliable as it can be.  The only requirement is to keep the moving parts reasonably free from filth that is a result of firing 22LR rounds.  I find that 500 rounds is a great time to take the system apart and clean it.  If you wait longer, you will get multiple jams.  

I love the 22LR round and I especially love the full auto versions.  The metal magazines that come with the Ceiner kit are great magazines and last a long time, but are expensive at almost $60 each.  An alternative has finally appeared on the market.  It's a plastic/composite version of the steel magazine.  I learned about the magazine and became intrigued.  The plastic magazine is available for $30 and I decided to try one.

My first impression when I received the magazine was that since it was plastic, it will most certainly break or crack.  I loaded 30 rounds and stepped onto the test range.  The weapon fired all 30 rounds without flaws.  I loaded it again and I emptied the magazine.  I did it a third time.  There were no malfunctions and the feed lips were untouched.  Here are some pictures of the magazine.

One of the best features of the Black Dog Machine 30 round magazine is the ability to totally disassemble it into it's two halves.  Shooting suppressed 22LR causes dirty powder gas to flow back into the gun and the magazine.  This filth is very difficult to remove from the steel Ceiner factory 30 round magazine.  The Black Dog Machine magazine comes apart at the seams and can be wiped down from the inside with a cloth.  Plastic, unlike steel, never rusts.  However, plastic magazines can break much easier than steel magazines.  There is a tradeoff.  The Black Dog Machine magazine weighs 4.7 ounces and the Ceiner 30 round steel magazine weighs a bit over 6 ounces.  30 rounds of CCI Minimags weigh 3.45 ounces.  Here are some more pictures of the Black Dog Machine magazine:

The Black Dog Machine magazine has all plastic internals except for the spring. 

The Ceiner 30 round magazine is all steel and is indeed a great magazine.  I have used them for tens of thousands of rounds of full auto fire.  Here are some pictures of the internals of the Ceiner magazine:

Here is a side by side comparison of the Ceiner and the Black Dog Machine magazines:

Using the converted Ramline 30 round magazine loader.

UPDATED MAY 5, 2007:  I fixed the Ramline Loader to work with the Black Dog Machine Mags with no modification to the loader or the magazines.  As shown in the pictures below, the placement of the mag holding plate on the loader prohibited the Black Dog Machine magazine from seating properly in the converted loader.  I really like the loader and wanted to fix it so it would work with the plastic mags.  Here is what I did to make it work:

I took the mag holding plate off of the aluminum base that comes from M60 Joe.  I then placed the plastic magazine onto the plate and oriented the magazine so that the feed lips would be in the right place to accept the rounds out of the loader.  I then screwed the BOTTOM RIGHT screw in securely and viola!  It works! 

Here is a picture of the loader plate removed with the three screws.

Below is a picture of the plastic mag seated properly to accept rounds from the loader

Below is a picture of the loader with one screw.  It holds the plate very well

Click the icon to see the mag loader work with the Blackdog Machine magazine

M60 Joe sells converted Ramline magazine loaders to easily load the steel 30 round magazines.  These loaders are really good and speed the loading of the magazines greatly.  The Black Dog Machine plastic magazines CANNOT be loaded (without modification SEE ABOVE FOR THE FIX) by a converted Ramline magazine loader.  The Black Dog magazine has a rib on the back of the feed lips that prohibit the magazine from seating properly in the loader. 

The red circle above shows the problem area. 

This is the way the steel Ceiner magazines fit into the loader.  

Updated April 29, 2007.  The Blackdog Machine Magazines will NOT fit into the DMPS 22LR system.  It will, fit into a DPMS upper that has a ciener kit installed.

Click the video icon to see the Ceiner 30 round magazine being disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled. 

Click the video icon to see the Black Dog Machine 30 round magazine being disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled. 

Click the icon for a video of semi-auto, full auto, and slow motion of the Black Dog Machine magazine

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