Hypothetical Gun, Real Magazine

[Jim Watson]

Arising out of a thread on another board...

If I wanted to design a radically new autopistol...

And if I wanted to use an existing magazine so as to not have to take up valuable time bending sheet metal...

What magazine should I use?
The sturdiest and most reliable magazine that is readily available, obviously.
OK, whose?

 

[rockhopper46038]

Well, likely the cheapest choice, based on what is already out there, would be either a Glock mag or a SIG mag. And whereas the Glock mags are extremely plentiful, the "copycat" versions are not known to be 100% reliable, and Glock probably can't be counted on to supply a competitor with genuine Glock mags, so I think I'd pick the SIG design, and contract with Mec-Gar to give you your OEM units.

 

[billdeserthills]

Mec-Gar actually makes the most factory magazines from what I have read,
but everything might hinge on the caliber you are looking for

 

[9mmepiphany]

I would first look for the largest after market manufacturer of OEM magazines...because it is unlikely the gun manufacturers would provide a competitor with magazines...which would lead you to Mec-Gar

Then I would look at the magazine which they manufacture the most magazines for, which would lead you to the SIG 226. An added benefit of going this route is that they had parallel production lines for their own 226 magazines (held 2 extra rounds) and SIG recently changed OEM manufacturers.

This is based on you wanting a staggered column magazine. If you wanted a single stack, I'd look at Metaform for a 1911 pattern magazine

 

[GLOOB]

There are a few guns out there that use Glock mags. Even if Glock doesn't supply them to you, your customers will have no problem buying for themselves. But if you wanna make money on the mags, looks like MecGar is the gold standard supplier.

The downside of Glock mags is you would need to make the frame bigger to accommodate the thicker plastic mags. And you'd need a plastic mag catch.

You didn't mention caliber or capacity. If you want a steel doublestack 9mm mag, I think you could do worse than going with Beretta M9 mags, just cuz Glock and Beretta M9 mags have really good availability and price.

 

[JTQ]

I would agree with the Beretta 92 or SIG 226 mags. Both made by a major aftermarket maker and fairly common.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I've used a LOT of mags for a lot of different guns, over the years, and have been very impressed with the capacity, reliability, and price of Glock mags.

I'd be tempted to go THAT route.

 

[mr.trooper]

I'll echo Beretta or Sig.

 

[jpwilly]

14rnd 45acp mags, think Para and others that use them. Like others have said Mec-Gar.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Beretta 92 and CZ 75 are also good options

 

[Jim K]

Today, I would also suggest a magazine that is available in, or can be converted to, a 7 or 10 round capacity. No, we don't like it, but in some states we have no choice but to have limited capacity; if a limited magazine is not available, we can't buy the gun, period.

Jim

 

[tuj]

Mec-Gar is a good choice. If you wanted to avoid competing with existing guns, you could always base your gun off the S&W 59XX series pistols for which mec-gar makes 17 round 9mm magazines.

If single stack, then 1911-pattern. Tripp Cobramags are the best IMHO.

Can you tell us anything about your design?

 

[Jim Watson]

Sorry, tuj, that was Hypothetical Gun. I have no notion of designing a gun. The subject arose on another board where a poster wished everybody used Browning magazines.
I had seen a report that the Bernardelli 9mm used a magazine like BHP except longer and that was its WEAK point.

Personally, I agree with the Mec-gar SIG approach. I bought a couple of new magazines to replace those damaged or ruined in The Incident when repurposing my P226 from IDPA to home defense. They appear well made and feed the gun reliably.

I was wondering if anybody had nice things to say about other brands.

I take Jim K's point. Low Capacity may be the wave of the future. I would look at P220 or latest pattern S&W magazines for single stack. A GOOD 1911 magazine is fine, but there is too much junk out there. Set up a new gun to run on Tripps, and somebody would complain about failures with his gunshow knockoffs.

 

[el Godfather]

The Glock fans would love my suggestion- the Glock magazine. I had once kept g19's mag loaded with 15 rounds and left it for slightly over 10 years, and it worked fine. I would hate admit but with sig and H&K mags with over two months of capacity loaded mags i have notice significantly reduced tension in the spring.

 

[JTQ]

Low Capacity may be the wave of the future. I would look at P220...

The late Mr. Stephen A. Camp reported some have had trouble with long wide mouth rounds in the SIG P220 mags.
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/LongTerm Observations and ShortTerm Hopes-SIGSauer P220.htm

 

[Fishbed77]

Beretta 92 or Sig P226 mags.

I wouldn't even consider Glock mags due to the weird grip angle they would require.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I would have suggested the BHP as magazines are readily available, in production since 1935 and available in 10-17 rounds.