The H-Series firearms magazine from world renowned German Hera Arms company is not a new product. It has been around for some time now, presented at IWA in 2013, but its design has since been updated and improved – and new models added to the line. Today, the H-Series magazine line includes four models, differing by capacity and design, but not performance or manufacturing quality.
The lineup includes the H1, H2, H3 and H3L, respectively with a capacity of 10, 20, 30 rounds and the H3L a capacity of 10 rounds but the size and appearance of a 30-round magazine.
The magazines are built using a glass fiber reinforced polymer, and each magazine can be purchased in Black, Sand or Green color. Hera Arms manufactures all the magazine components in-house, and in fact, we were able to visit the Hera Arms factory in Triefenstein, Germany and see actual injection molding process and assembly line of the H-Series magazines in person. Quality and attention to detail – as standard across all Hera Arms products.
Lately, the H3L seems to be having a lot of attention; this magazine was designed so that it is impossible to modify it in any way to hold more rounds than the 10 it is intended to be loaded with, and at the same time, offer the same size, appearance, and handling characteristics of a full-size 30 round mag. We have been told that the H3L was specially manufactured without limiter for various very restrictive US states, such as California, and the tri-state (NY, CT and NJ) market, to allow training with a civilian legal magazine that closely matches the full capacity mag. It is also an interesting alternative in Europe, since rifles with a magazine capacity over 10 rounds are either closely regulated or simply forbidden in many EU countries.
The stabilized follower in each H-Series mag is designed so that there can be no tilt and malfunction, and the floorplate of all the H-Series mags except the H3L can be easily removed with the point of a bullet for mag disassembly and cleaning.
A mechanical stop limits the travel of the magazine in the firearm well, preventing the magazine to be inserted too much inside the action when the bolt carrier group is locked in the rear on an open breech.
The H3 magazine also includes a transparent window that covers almost the whole rear side of the mag body, allowing unobstructed view of the remaining rounds in the magazine.
We tested the full lineup, with a selection of .223/5.56 and 300AAC Blackout rifles and pistols, all based on the AR-15/M4 platform, with no issues whatsoever.
Using GECO DTX budget ammo and performing very fast shooting drills we never managed to make either mag fail, feeding reliably any other ammo, including long Match rounds with 77 grain bullets or even fat 300 BLK rounds, out of a DR15 Custom MK23 AR-Pistol chambered in this caliber, that therefore can use legally a 20-round magazine.
Word of wisdom: never mix magazines and ammo when both .223 and a 300BLK guns are present in the same shooting range! If a 300BLK round is chambered in a .223 rifle, a catastrophic “ka-boom” WILL result! We have been scrupulously following safety practices during our test.
Handling is smooth, and the H-Series magazines drop free from the magwells of the three guns used in the test, allowing very fast reloads – even the small H1. The clear window of the H3 can be controlled simply tilting the pointed rifle on its axis, something only completely transparent mags allow; transparent windows on the sides of the magazine body are much harder to check. Loading the magazines to capacity by hand is not too hard, however the feeding lips are still a bit sharp, so we still recommend using a mag loader like the LuLa.
Weight of the four magazines vary from 2.52 oz/71.6 g of the H1, to 5.89 oz/167 g of the H3L.
The H-Series magazines from Hera Arms are aggressively priced starting at 14.90 euro of the H1, 16.90 for the H2, to 18.90 for the H3 and H3L mags. These are MRSP, actual price in your region can vary due to different VAT across EU countries.
Hera H-Series magazines: test conclusion
No malfunctions or feeding problems whatsoever, coupled with first-class "Made in Germany" workmanship, meet favorable prices – that alone would be worth a purchase recommendation. If you add well thought-out detail solutions such as the large viewing window, or the fact that you can still benefit from improved handling despite the legal restrictions on high-capacity magazines in some sports and countries, only one judgement is possibile: very good. Thumbs up for the Hera H-series magazines!
Further information about the Hera Arms products can be found on the Hera Arms website.
