When it comes to 5.56mm HK roller-lock rifles and their clones, three choices are prominent in magazine selection. Choice one is a version taking inexpensive and widely available AR15 magazines.
Choice two is the original German steel magazine, currently at $80 ea. They work great and would be my top choice for serious use.
Choice three, a bit unexpected, is the Promag polymer 30-rounder at $14.95. I had a chance to try it and was pleasantly surprised.
It locks into the mag well with no wobbling, feeds reliably and generally behaves like a quality magazine. I have not done destructive testing on it, but it should at least survive being dropped at the range, in part thanks to much lighter weight. At 150 grams vs. 270 grams for the HK original, it gives five loaded Promags for the weight of four HKs.
Why would I even WANT a 3000USD 5.56 rifle? ProMag has such a bad reputation for making junk mags that I’d never trust them not to fail at a critical moment. That would leave me without any choice but 80$ a pop HK steel mags. So lets revue. 4000USD OR MORE for a weapon & ten mags that offer nothing in improvement over the baseline AKM clone + ten magazines that are 3300USD cheaper, or a high end AR-15 + ten mags, at 2000USD cheaper? That one is a no brainer for me. The HK 33 has always been more of a rich guy status symbol than a working gun. For me its kind of like trying to off road in a BMW sedan.
Thanks for the review, Oleg! I’ve been pondering getting some of these for my c-93. Interestingly, the two surplus mags it came with work fine- the one steel mag I gritted my teeth and purchase is too narrow- falls out of the mag well without a shim!