I love my AR-10. I just do. It’s sometimes a heavy beast, but I love knowing I can reach out and drop the hammer from distance if I want. When I first bought it, I wondered what kind of mags I should buy. Like any reasonable person, I bought a bunch of 20-round Magpul PMAGs. They work great. But when I decided I needed more mags — because who doesn’t — I checked out some other brands too, just to see what’s out there. The Sentry Tactical 20-round Hexmag SR25 caught my eye, and boy am I glad it did.
Features and Specs
The Sentry Tactical Hexmags are labeled for 7.62x51mm NATO, but they also work for .308 Winchester, because of course they do. In case you didn’t know, and some of you may not, they have the exact same dimensions. Also, in case you didn’t know, .308 is hotter than the 7.62 NATO, meaning a rifle chambered for .308 Winchester can easily fire the 7.62×51, but rifles chambered for the NATO round should not fire .308. It’s a technical issue that you can look up if you’re interested. My Grey Ghost Precision AR-10 is chambered for .308, so it works just fine with both.
The Hexmag has a Carbon Senthex Advanced Carbon Fiber polymer that is a bit lighter than the Magpul PMAG. Not by a lot, but I can tell the difference. Sentry Tactical says it “reduces weight by 20%,” but they don’t say what that weight is compared to. I can say that, despite being lighter, the Hexmag is not 20% lighter than the PMAG. Honestly, they’re probably comparing the Hexmags to steel mags. I can totally see that.
The feed lips are a bit different from the PMAG, and Sentry says they are redesigned “to maximize strength and versatility.” I can say they seem a bit easier to load than the PMAGs, but just a bit., kind of like the weight savings. The Hexmags also feature a stripper clip guide, and an over-insertion stop like the PMAGs. Finally, a heat-treated stainless-steel spring means the Hexmags will stay reliable for a long time.
The Hexmags are easily disassembled with no tools. Just push the baseplate button and slide the plate off. As always, keep a firm grip so the spring doesn’t fly across the room.
Differences
So, you may be asking why you should try the Hexmag over the PMAG. A fair question. Just to be clear, I’m not getting rid of my PMAGs or even removing them from my system. I’m merely adding the Hexmags because the quality and features demand that I do so. I’m perfectly comfortable picking up either one and running it hard.
But there are some areas where I think the Hexmags are clearly superior. One is the magazine body’s texture. The ribbed Pmags are good, and I’ve never had a problem with them. But I think the Hexmag’s honeycomb pattern is more positive and easily gripped with gloves or in poor conditions. There’s simply more to grab, and the cuts are just a tiny bit deeper.
Second, I really like the Sentry color coding system. I didn’t really think about it when I ordered these mags. They came with the orange followers and baseplate button. Fine, whatever. But when I started checking out the system, I realized how cool it is. You can order the Hexmags with orange, black, blue, flat dark earth, green, pink, red, or yellow followers and baseplates.
You can sort the different colors however you want: by caliber, load, bullet type, or whatever else you might dream up. The mags themselves come in black or flat dark earth. I got black, but kinda wish I’d gotten FDE. But whatever, just gives me another reason to get some more. And the mags are compatible with Sentry’s honeycomb grip tape for even better traction. I’ll likely pick up some of that stuff too.
Performance
I don’t run the heck out my AR-10 because, frankly, I can’t afford to. But I do have 100 rounds of 7.62 NATO through my two Hexmags and I have a good feel for how they’re going to work. The mags inserted and ejected smoothly. I think part of that positive insertion comes from the very good grip profile. They locked up tight with no rattle. I like that. Loose mags aren’t a deal breaker, I have an AK, but it’s nice when they fit well. The Hexmags fit well.
I purposely knocked them around a little, dropping them on the ground during mag changes, letting them get dirty, and stuff like that. I also kicked some dirt over some rounds before loading them. No problems at all. Thanks to the easy disassembly, they clean up with no hassle.
The Hexmags fed with 100% reliability and my rifle ran them flawlessly. Reporting on this part is really kind of boring because there isn’t much to actually report. They work, and they work well. I have no reason to believe that will change. The mags feel solid and well-made. I know that’s subjective but go handle some cheap mags and then tell me it doesn’t matter.
Final Thoughts
I really like these Sentry Tactical Hexmags. I like the construction, the honeycomb grip profile, the color coding, and, most of all, the performance. I plan to buy plenty more of these and will probably get some of their 5.56 mags as well. That doesn’t mean my PMAGs are going away. The Hexmags will just be added to the system.
I haven’t decided how I’ll use the color codes yet. Probably for different loads since I run both .308 and 7.62, depending on what ammo deals I can find. But other possibilities may arise. And the grip tape will allow me to give the mags a camo look without spray painting them, which I’m prone to do (just look at my rifle; it’s a total rattle can).
Anyway, if this sounds good to you, check out the Sentry Tactical Hexmags. I’m glad I did. Bet you will be too.
