I know there are a ton of new shooters out there. So I thought I would reiterate what most of us seasoned folks either know or have learned the hard way.

When buying additional magazines for your firearms the absolute safest, easiest route to go is factory OEM magazines. Don’t let a super cheap price sway you.

Now there are some aftermarket makers that make equal or superior products. In GENERAL terms the following are good to go in most cases.

Mec-Gar - they are the OEM manufacturer for the vast majority of handgun magazines. They also sell under their own brand name and in some cases I personally believe they make a better then OEM product such as for CZ, Beretta and some SIGs. 99% of the time Mec-Gar is good to go.

MAGPUL - They make several rifle magazines as well as aftermarket Glock magazines. They are generally good to go across the board.

Checkmate - has made OEM mags and generally makes a decent mag but is probably the lowest quality of the “good ones” IMO/experience.

XTech - makes a solid AK mag and a decent HK VP9/p30 mag.



Stay away from .....

ProMag
Triple K

I mean every now and a blue moon they might make a decent product but in general terms you don’t want these if you can avoid it.

That isn’t an exhaustive list of course but should be a start. 1911 magazines are a whole nother’ ballgame. There are a ton of decent to great options that run the price gamut but make sure a given mag runs in your particular 1911 before buying lots of them. Even a top tier mag might not like a certain gun or brand vs another top tier brand etc.

Hope this helps
Chris

Eagle is POS quality.

I have some ACT MAG’s for my 220 that have been fine. The Beretta guys say they are good to go, I have no personal experience though

ACT I have had good service out of.

MDS for Beretta is GTG as well in my experience.

Isn’t MDS actually owned by Beretta?

I can testify that ASC 7.62x39 AR magazines of greater than ten rounds' capacity are unvariegated dog poop.

CProducts Defense - now Duramag - magazines work consistently, and are backed by very good customer service.

I'd "+1" that ProMags are garbage, but doesn't almost everyone except the greenest of the greenies know that by now?

I BELIEVE so. I just know that there are or have been MDS mags on the open market and they are the equivalent quality to Beretta marked mags and usually cheaper. This was a little while back though.

quote:

I'd "+1" that ProMags are garbage, but doesn't almost everyone except the greenest of the greenies know that by now?

We are welcoming like 6 or 7 million greenest of the greenies and it never hurts to share knowledge and be welcoming even if to most of us it seems old hat.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
ACT I have had good service out of.

MDS for Beretta is GTG as well in my experience.

Yep I can corroborate both of these from personal experience...ACT P220 mags in my P245, and MDS in my 92FS. Can't tell either of those apart from OEM.

quote:

Eagle is POS quality.

Yep, that's the brand that taught me not to buy cheap mags, lol.

Good info in the OP, too...wish somebody had told me this years ago when I got my first gun. Thankfully, cheap mags are cheap, and I learned pretty quick to stick to OEM or the select few decent aftermarket brands.

Mags from PSA for my Scorpion have been good. The price is darn nice for 35 rounders. Less than $20 iirc.

Metalform is another good manufacturer.

Yes, given the price and availability of ammo to verify reliable operation these days, it doesn't pay to go cheap on the mags.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
We are welcoming like 6 or 7 million greenest of the greenies and it never hurts to share knowledge and be welcoming even if to most of us it seems old hat.

Ah, quite right.

SIG used to produce "zipper" mags. Those were all of high quality. They don't wear out that I can see. Another thing, don't dump a good mag on the ground or step on it. Just bad practice. Treat a $100 mag like gold.

Triple K mags do have a niche for the hobbyist and occasional shooter who has oddball or obsolete handguns. They are pretty much the only source for those.

Does ETS fall in here some where?

ETS. At least my personal experience. MP5-suck. Sig suck. Hk double suck. Evo suck.
no idea on glock but my local dealer says that he hasn't had many come back. AR no idea as well but why when there are so many great proven choices.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
Metalform is another good manufacturer.

Yes, I also have good experience with Metalform mags.

Hopefully they are still NOT in business, USA mags. Payed extra, all my Sigs are German. And if you need any spare mags don't wait get them NOW.

Bought Triple K magazines for an older Beretta and they do not fit. Considering painting the magazines, adding treble hooks and making them pike lures.