I'll be "that guy" again.

I haven't owned an ACT mag that didn't split, and I owned several.

They gave me the song and dance about the 220 mag issues (blaming the gun, not their mags), despite neither of my 220's having the issue they claimed cause that problem. All that aside... the 220 mag issue doesn't explain why my ACT 1911 mags cracked as well.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
I'm one of those who had bad luck with the ACT mags. For any serious use I would not recommend them.

Was it you with the pics of the cracked feed lips? Or, someone else?

Q, that may have been me. I remember taking pics and posting on an old thread. I also remember CAS was a poster on that thread too.

The mags still function great but are reserved to range practice. I also thought the original cracking problem was rumored to be a heat-treating related issue? I have one nickel Mec-gar 1911 mag that has the exact type crack that the ACT mags do.

Are the new 8-round factory mags good to go?

I bought my 1995 W. German P220 last Christmas, 2017. Excellent condition. During the course of the first 100 rounds or so, I had 2 failures to return to battery with 8 round ACT magazines. The 230-grain FMJ rounds (Speer Lawman) would feed about 2/3 of the way into the chamber and then stop. I consulted the experts here at SF and was encouraged to use the stainless steel 8 rounders with the dimple. I've done so and have had no additional failures with the stainless steel magazines in multiple qualification courses.

The ACT mags are now "range only" and the stainless mags are for self-defense/duty carry.

BTW, Greg Cote is an OUTSTANDING source for mags and grips. Super guy.

quote:

Originally posted by jbourneidentity:
I bought my 1995 W. German P220 last Christmas, 2017. Excellent condition. During the course of the first 100 rounds or so, I had 2 failures to return to battery with 8 round ACT magazines. The 230-grain FMJ rounds (Speer Lawman) would feed about 2/3 of the way into the chamber and then stop. I consulted the experts here at SF and was encouraged to use the stainless steel 8 rounders with the dimple. I've done so and have had no additional failures with the stainless steel magazines in multiple qualification courses.

The ACT mags are now "range only" and the stainless mags are for self-defense/duty carry.

BTW, Greg Cote is an OUTSTANDING source for mags and grips. Super guy.

Yes, Greg is a great vendor. I checked his website, and the only magazines that he shows for the P220 are the ACT products, offered in either blued or nickel finish.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

Was it you with the pics of the cracked feed lips? Or, someone else?

It was probably me. I regret not taking pictures of all of them, but I too was one of the people who said great things about them. When I finally had issues, I thought my problems were a fluke, but one by one they all cracked. (I'm also the one that sent the mags in for replacement at their request and it took them three years to do so)

My favorite by far is the 1911 mag. Knowing the trouble I had with the 220 mags, I decided to only use it as a "Barney mag". It's never been dropped. It's never had more than one round in it at a time. It's never been in a gun while I shot was fired. Never been loading into a gun in a hurry. Yet it still cracked.

ACT blued mags will not lock back the slide of my KA P220, right out of the box. I did finally get them (4) replaced from ACT mags years ago with a ton of run around, delays, "be out this week" kinda crap. Replacement mags did exactly the same thing. My verdict from actual experience - JUNK.

No problem with original German made 7 rounders, or ancient Italian made Mec-Gars that have the steel follower, and look like old German made clones. Dates from about 1992, bought new.

Call me simple minded (KISS method), but this is my philosophy. Whether it's carry mags or range mags, I want mags that work 100% of the time. All my guns are carry guns, I am not a competitive shooter.

I don't buy cheap (inexpensive) mags for range use. I don't relegate old malfunctioning mags to range use. I stay with OEM or Mec-Gar for Sigs. Glock OEM for Glocks. One less variable to deal with.

If you use questionable mags on the range, you are training yourself to accept malfunctions as "just a bad mag". In reality, it could be a crap mag...OR bad ammo...OR a gun problem. Not worth the cost "savings" to me.

An exception of sorts, is 1911 mags. I have several different mainstream brands of inexpensive seven round 1911 mags going back through the early Seventies. They still work. If a mag stops working, I clean it. Only mags I ever chucked were those whose baseplates broke off after umpteen years of being dropped on concrete.

For carry with Sigs, I personally would never use anything other than an OEM or Mec-Gar. BTW, Mec-Gar IS Sig OEM in many instances. If you have a Sig OEM mag that says "Made in Italy", it's a Mec-Gar mag.

BTW, TGS price is 39.95, not 32.95. Cote is 32.95. IMHO, going cheap on mags is like buying cheap tires for your Ferrari.

And CDNN has new factory 220 8-rounders for $37, while MagWareHouse has them for $32.99. IMHO, there's no reason to not go shopping for new OEM magazines - if you shoot 220s with any kind of regularity you'll get your money's worth out of them.

Actually CDNN has 8 round P220 mags on special for $29.99 with a free pouch. SIG 220 Sale.

The OEM mags that came with my newish 220R (build date of Feb ‘19) are slightly changed in that the top crimp / crease is more subtle and thus does not smoothly move the mag catch out of the way when inserting into the pistol. The replacement mags sent by Sig CS were no better. Meanwhile, the 3 mags that had come with my Dec 17-produced 220 Legion, as well as the 2 older-stock OEM mags I bought locally, inserted properly.

It’s not a huge issue but it is disappointing to have to get out the hammer to fix your brand new OEM mags.

There was an older thread herein in which a Top Gun Supply rep commented that they had recently returned a case of new mags to Sig for the same issue.

^^^ I wonder if they're still trying to solve feeding issues with hollowpoints like the Remington Golden Sabres.

quote:

Originally posted by Dakota Slim:
Actually CDNN has 8 round P220 mags on special for $29.99 with a free pouch. SIG 220 Sale.

I think those are used and out of stock. Or at least that's what I think I remember from the website.

Check Ebay.

Last month I picked up 6 of the 7 round mags fo my BDA P220 with the Euro heel release. I needed the ones with the flush metal floor plate. I paid about $120 when all was said and done. There were a bunch of others (7&8 round) on there.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by remsig:

quote:

Originally posted by GaryBF:

quote:

Aesthetics? Or is there a functional reason for your statement?

Nothing more than that the 7-round magaznes were factory issue.

My thoughts exactly.

What year does your 220 date to Vtail? I have 7 rounders for my W Germans & 8 rounders for all the rest just because they are period correct for the respective guns.

It's not accessible right now, I'll look at it tomorrow. No rail, and if memory serves, internal extractor, if that helps to date it.

To clarify: This is my first and only P220. I am not looking at it as a collectible, it's for shooting and, when I find the right holster, for carry. So, "period correct" would take second place for me, after function and reliability. Re-fraiming my question in that light, should I be looking for 7 round magazines? Or 8 round? And, for this purpose, are the ACT magazines as suitable as SIG or MecGar? I assume that I should stay away from ProMag, correct?

Yes sir, avoid ProMag. From time to time you can still find Pachmayr branded P220 magazines which were made in Italy. Those were quality mags and my guess is they were MecGar made.

quote:

Originally posted by Dakota Slim:
Actually CDNN has 8 round P220 mags on special for $29.99 with a free pouch. New Sig 220 Mags

quote:

I think those are used and out of stock. Or at least that's what I think I remember from the website.

Nope. The ones I posted a link to are indeed new. But you are correct in that the used 220 mags they had are out of stock, and those were $16.99 Here's a link: used 220 mags

Been running ACT mags in my P220s and 1911s for many years and countless thousands of rounds. Never a hiccup. Shameless plug - I'm selling a few Mec-Gar P220 seven rounders.

quote:

Nope. The ones I posted a link to are indeed new. But you are correct in that the used 220 mags they had are out of stock, and those were $16.99 Here's a link: used 220 mags

Ah, my mistake - and apologies.