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Cars have chrome wheels. Rappers have chrome teeth. But for guns, the best “bling” we can muster is a cerakote finish on the rifle’s exterior. What about for those who want to jazz up their favorite Evil Black Rifle™ by adding something a little more flashy? Something smooth and precision-machined, perhaps? That’s where M&H Machining’s precision machined polished aluminum magazines come into the picture . . .

M&H is a small machining shop on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. Machining jobs used to be plentiful in the area, thanks to the oil and gas industry and their massive drilling operations in the south Texas area. But with the downturn in the economy things were getting a bit slow around the shop. Brandon (son of one of the founders of the shop) had some free time on his hands, so he got to work designing something that the shop could produce to keep the doors open. And for his first project, he turned to his favorite hobby – guns.

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The first prototypes were a little rough around the edges. They fit the bill in terms of the physical dimensions, but there were issues with feeding. Brandon had taken the term “tilt free follower” a little too seriously and the nose of the rounds were being pushed down into the magazine instead of up into the chamber. Thankfully, with the feedback of the shooters at Best of the West Shooting Sports (as well as some minor help from yours truly) the magazines were finally feeding properly.

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Since the final version of the magazine arrived for testing, I’ve been making like I was a teenager again and started sticking it everywhere it would fit. Every gun that’s come across my desk for testing has used this magazine, and all without a single failure. From the TAVOR to the SCAR, and every AR-15 in between, the magazine has performed flawlessly.

Well, nearly flawlessly. Most magazines are made with an over-travel stop in the area of the magazine catch cutout. It prevents the magazine from being inserted too deeply into the rifle, which would cause the bolt to slam into the feed lips instead of gliding between them and picking up the next round. I have, from time to time, smacked the magazine into the gun with a little too much gusto and needed to re-position it before it would work. But when properly seated, it always worked. Every time.

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While the magazine is nifty in and of itself, there’s another side benefit for those in less than gun friendly states. The bottom of the magazine is machined as one solid block of aluminum — there is no floorplate, and the magazine instead opens like a clam shell. So for those states that require new magazines to be incapable of being modified to take more then X number of rounds, I get the feeling that Brandon can whip up a compliant version in no time.

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Before we talk about price, I should remind you that this isn’t a magazine designed for use in combat. It’s essentially a fashion accessory for your rifle, meant to add a splash of color and sparkle to your rifle, which has proven especially popular with the women I’ve taken out on the range. My boss’ wife (the day job boss, not RF), for example, is a huge fan of shiny metal parts, which is why she loves the SD9 VE that she got from Tyler.

Like most shiny, pretty things, this one comes with a hefty price tag. For the polished 20-round version, you’re paying $125. You can also get one in a matte finish for the same price. An additional $10 will get you one in a polished black finish. Not cheap, but then again I’ve spent more than that on a muzzle brake.

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If you’re looking for the perfect accessory to make your rifle stand out in the crowd at the shooting range, this is the ticket. All flash with zero reliability issues.

Specifications: M&H Machined Aluminum Magazine
Part number: 20RD223
Price: $125
Website here

Ratings (out of five):

Feel & Function * * * *
Works in everything I threw it at. The only issue is the ability to seat it too deeply, hence why I dropped one star.

Overall Rating * * * *
It really is the perfect fashion accessory for your AR-15. Slightly on the expensive side, and it could use an over travel stop, but other than that I love it.

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35 COMMENTS

    • Wow, I wonder how much of that is actually true. Im guessing his finger wasnt on the trigger and the witness probably wouldnt know the safety from the thing that goes up.

      • If you click on comments you can see a picture of the kid. He does in fact have his hand on the grip and his finger next to the trigger and safety. But, his booger hook is not on the trigger. Not the readiness level I would have been at on a bus.

        • And the Mall Ninja of the Year Award goes to….

          Mike Sternberg · Top Commenter · Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3)
          I would have killed that kid right there for acting that way with a gun. He is a total moron. He never would have seen a guy with a cane as a threat until it was too late. If I see ANYONE in public with an assault rifle I will execute them on the spot because I will assume they are about to engage in a mass shooting. Please be advised of this in Tucson. I will come up to you from behind and kill you instantly. PS I have killed an armed person before so don’t die to my fear and please and use a rifle case because I am NOT joking…

        • Mike Sternberg I’d be amused in your attempt, right before you were laid to rest by a ccw holder

  7. The writer obviously hasn’t seen the blinged out gold and platinum AK’s the gangsters and thugs on the east side of the planet have.

  8. High speed, like a boss
    Low drag, like a boss
    Bling mag, like a boss
    Mall ninja, like a boss!

    • Not sure about mall ninja. Remember, Gecko45 was discrete. You could never even see his up armored golf cart with shreiker missles.

  9. But for guns, the best “bling” we can muster is a cerakote finish on the rifle’s exterior.

    Yea, never mind engraving, gold/silver/platinum inlays, Turkish walnut, inlaid or skeleton grip caps, color cased skeleton butt plates, jeweled bolts…

        • True, that. Still, I’d take the jeweled bolt on my Winchester 70 Ultimate classic over this. Good review, though, and I find the concept interesting even though I would never buy one.

      • Well then, perhaps I don’t understand the contextual usage of ghetto rat lingo by white people.

        “Bling” would be the gold-colored AK’s. That’s ghetto bling.

        CNC machined magazines? The people who invented the term “bling” couldn’t even tell you what CNC stood for, much less know what Cerakote is used for.

        Hence my confusion.

  11. For the price of one 20 round magazine, you could by at least ten 30 round P-Mag’s. I know which way I’d spend $125.

    It’s nice sure, but not $125 nice.

  12. “I’ve been making like I was a teenager again and started sticking it everywhere it would fit”

    ಠ_ಠ

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