Magazines, where's a good place to get them?

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

I want to eventually purchase some extra mags for my new gun. Can anyone point me in the direction of a reasonably priced place to start looking?

I've found them online priced from $20-$40. Why the huge difference?

[molonlabetn]

It usually depends on how many middle-men there are between the manufacturer and you... some might go through multiple distributors before ending up at the store front, and some bulk outfits can get them cheaper more directly.

CDNN usually has competitive prices on most magazines.

[Smith]

I'll go with CDNN...... depends on what gun. If there are multiple manufactures, you have to know what are the good ones and what are the bad ones. My hi-power for example, there are a lot of mags made in a lot of different places. About half aren't worth the cheap price and some are worth the premium price.

[Guest Bruce]

Dixie, are you talking about your sw9ve? S&W are offering a rebate with two free mags on their website, Did you try there?

Bruce

[Urse]

Dixie I have a Kahr K9 and the best source of Kahr mags I have found is the Kahrarms wesite:http://www.kahr.com/PA-2B.html They are definately proud of their product. You may want to PM Kahrman he might know of more sources.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Urse

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

It's for the Kahr this time. They are definitely proud of theirs!

Is it best to stick with the gun manufacturer mags? I found some for 1/2 what Kahr wants by Pro-Mag (I think that was the name). FOund some on gunbroker too, but no brand name is provided. Makes me wonder if the quality is 1/2 as good too.

[Guest jaypee]

Dixie,

MecGar magazines are generally recognized as the best aftermarket mags made, and in fact MecGar makes many of the factory mags that come with your new guns. So if you'll pardon a bias that comes with experience, either get factory mags or MecGars. And like the other fellow said, CDNN is a great supplier. They're at www.cdnnsports.com. You'll click on Mags, then on the brand of pistol you have, and the next screen will show photos of what they have and the prices. They have a flat $9.95 shipping charge, so buying more than one item softens the blow. Best wishes in finding what you need. (P.S.whatever you do, stay away from ProMags and mags in which the manufacturer isn't known.)

Also, in case you haven't been told anything about how to manage your mags, I'll offer some advice. First, you want to have some range mags and duty or carry mags. You paint some fingernail polish on the baseplates of the range mags and these are the ones you kick around and drop in practice sessions. You wouldn't use them as carry mags except in real emergencies. The carry mags are sacred and are never used as range mags except to test them at desired intervals, usually twice a year or thereabouts. If you ever drop a carry mag, especially if it's loaded, consider it damaged and take it out of service until you can get up to the range to test it again with your carry ammo. These are the standards of an outfit I used to work for and they work well. I'm sure these other fellows have some equally good advice. IMHO.

JayPee

Edited March 2, 2008 by jaypee

[KahrMan]

+1 on what jaypee said.

Magazines can be a weak spot on any gun. So I always bit the bullet and bought mine from Kahr.

I never bought any aftermarket mags so I can't commit on their reliability. If you do get some to try, let us know how they work out.

[strickj]

Promag's are not the best but are not the worst either.IMO there somewhere inbetween'em.I would not use them for carry though.

[EMTRN]

I agree with JayPee. Mec-gar mags are the only after-market pistol mags I would use. I believe they are OEM on berettas and sigs .

[Guest jaypee]

Yes, and CZ is another one. I use aftermarket MecGar's in three CZ's and three Hi Power clones and they're flawless so far. The ProMags, I agree, aren't the worst but still aren't a good choice for carry mags, so +1 there. I might buy some strictly for range mags, but with their reputation the price would have to be quite a bit less than MecGar's. I used to sell them in a gun store and they got us cussed at a lot. Good luck, Dixie.

JayPee

[Smith]

Pro-Mag .... NO! Mec-Gar's, as stated above, make pretty much everyones factory mags. Can't go wrong with MG.

[Guest someguy12341]

One other suggestion... The consensus I've heard over the years is that 80-90% of mag failures are, in fact, spring failures. I've got a replacement spring for each mag I own, for each carry gun I own.

Wolff Springs (www.gunsprings.com) makes what I feel to be the best mag spring out there. You can even order them stronger than the factory springs if you choose... I did this for my P226 mags, given the length of the mag.

Like any other high-wear (read: consumable) part, springs will fail eventually. Keep spares. (Not just for mags, either.)

[Guest david_g17]

Yeah, buy them off the Kahr website. I'm in the same boat with my k-9. You could easily spend more on mags than the gun costs.

[Guest utarch00]

I have read that Kahrs Really like factory mags.

[edellson]

Cdnn or you may try cheaper than dirt, but watch the S/H

[bobmack]

hi,

i'd have to concur with 'jaypee' ---go with oem or mec-gar only for carry purpose. that's not the time to scimp on a few bucks.

pro mags are hit or miss[excuse the pun]. and would only suffice as range mags in my opinion. i'll agree, keep your carry mags for just that.

good luck and happy shopping,

bob

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

Thanks guys. To be on the safe side, I'll get them from Kahr.

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

Just an FYI update for you guys/girls to look into when purchasing extra mags.

I ended up ordering from Able Ammo (online). The mag was $10 less than on the Kahr site. And it's actually a Kahr magazine (same part no.). With shipping, it still cost several dollars less than Kahr has them listed.

Thanks again for all your advice and suggestions.

[Guest atomemphis]

mec-gar's are nice, i am a fan of Wolff Springs in all things i own now too, so upgrading things like that is cheap and keeps the life of the mag going.

For 1911's, I've tried Wilson Combat (good), Kimber (ok) and McCormick (ok). None of them are as nice as the Tripp Research CobraMag's (Excellent)

[Mike.357]

now to me either a mag is good or it is bad.

How can some be good and others OK? Either they work or they don't.

If they work they are good if not then they are bad.