Up to now, it was my understanding that Checkmate makes/made P365 mags under contract for SIG. Today I checked out a brand new P365 at the store and notice its mag was stamped "Made in Italy". Does Mec-Gar make P365 mags now? If so, does that mean we can expect aftermarket P365-compatible Mec-Gar mags in the near future?

They look like Mec-Gar to me with a deeper shine and darker black oxide finish. I have all USA made P365 mags and was surprised to see the Italy mark more recently. Could possibly be Act-Mag since they are in Italy too but I don't know how to be sure either way.

On the other hand, all of my P320 mags are Made in Italy and every one I bought or ordered until recently was the same. Now everything I see in stores is made in USA by Checkmate.

Really would be nice of Sig was consistent on things. I always prefer Mec Gar OEM Sig mags if I can get them.

Hard to be consistent when demand overwhelms supply, and when some entire countries shut down production.

In order to find the definite answer, I contacted Mec-Gar. What I received in response was, well, definitely not definite.

Q: I see SIG Sauer now selling factory P365 magazines "Made In Italy". Am I correct in assuming that they are manufactured by Mec-Gar like so many other "Made In Italy" OEM SIG magazines?

A: It may be made by Mec-Gar Italy. We don’t really have anything to do with their OEM manufacturing.

"May be"? What the hell kind of an answer is that? I know they're Mec-Gar USA HQ, but they should damn well know what their Italian manufacturing plant is making.

What a disappointing and nonsensical answer from the world's foremost manufacturer of handgun magazines.

Mec-gar Italy's website didn't show them. But, because SIG has a patent on them, I imagine they can't sell them directly, if indeed they are making them.
https://www.mec-gar.it/products/

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
In order to find the definite answer, I contacted Mec-Gar. What I received in response was, well, definitely not definite.

Q: I see SIG Sauer now selling factory P365 magazines "Made In Italy". Am I correct in assuming that they are manufactured by Mec-Gar like so many other "Made In Italy" OEM SIG magazines?

A: It may be made by Mec-Gar Italy. We don’t really have anything to do with their OEM manufacturing.

"May be"? What the hell kind of an answer is that? I know they're Mec-Gar USA HQ, but they should damn well know what their Italian manufacturing plant is making.

Can't speak for certain about Mec-Gar's US operations, but there have been times and matters where HK USA was left in the dark by management at HK Germany.

Mec-Gar's operations here is likely primarily responsible for the company's aftermarket sales. I'm guessing that if a gun maker is wanting to subcontract work to Mec-Gar, they'll be mostly conversing and scheduling with the actual people at the factory, and maybe a small handful of production/sales "experts" that are stationed over here. The average M-G CS guy likely wouldn't be privy to such inner workings, because a customer of a problematic OEM mag would be going back to the gun maker and not to Mec-Gar, USA or otherwise. At least that's my guess.

i can almost guarantee the the sig contract to
make factory oem mags prohibits acknowledgement of that fact.

Actually, Mec-Gar USA does know what Mec-Gar Italy is doing. I previously had question about their 229-1 mag (SIG factory 15-rounder vs aftermarket 17-rounder). Sent an inquiry, and got a straight answer, and they further explained why they're not allowed to make the aftermarket 15-rounder.

Then perhaps the lawsuit has something to do with their response to you. Especially if M-G make the mags for the MAX-9. And maybe even the ones for the Shield Plus though the throat of that mag is shaped quite differently from the P365's, though I admit I'm not versed on what exactly SIG found patentable with the P365 mag design.