All posts tagged Handgun Magazines

Are Promags magazines any good?

Here’s the really short answer to that, that are good and they are better than they were a decade ago.  For those that went through the horror of having to deal with the 1990s and the BS from the assault weapons ban, many of us had to scrounge around looking for pistol magazines that cost 1/4 of what factory gun magazines cost.   I would normally say that you should really stick with the factory magazines that you have for your firearm, but MecGar and Promag do make decent magazines and they are considered in he B+ category.   I would say that the cost of these mags vs factory magazines insn’t significant, but you can get them for a reasonable price.

My Beretta 92FS is probable the most tested out gun I own that has used non-factory magazines.  I even have some no name magazines that hold 18rds each, but I to this date have no idea who made them and they have been extremely reliable.   I had a pistol course a few years ago in New Jersey where I had to leave all of my 15rd + magazines at home and only bring 10rd magazines with me, Promag Magazines ran the course and although I was shooting ball ammo, I had zero malfunctions out of over 300rds fired.   I never got around to testing them out with defensive ammo, but I highly suggest you test magazines with the ammo before you get into your comfort zone.

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Ruger LCP 238 experiences

Today I got to fire a Ruger LCP along with the LCR revolver.  There seems to be a lot of breha when it comes to getting a .380 pistol these days.  I don’t think I really ever felt the urge to go that small when it comes to calibers, but since CCW is actually more popular now than it was 10yrs ago, and people are finding that small compact semi-autos are far more reliable than previously, people will take the light weight over a larger caliber.   The Ruger LCP can take laser grips from Crimson trace, and I highly suggest that you consider that.  I was never a big fan of putting lasers on handguns until I started thinking about very small and compact firearms that had terrible small sights.   The laser grips will help improve your hits and give confidence.

I have several Ruger factory gun magazines for my LCP, but I decided to pick up a few Promag magazines.   Promag had a good reputation in the 1990s for magazines that weren’t as pricey as factory magazines, but were still considered reliable.   I have several magazines for my Beretta 92FS, and although I did have a jam on one hollow point round, it has never jammed on ball ammo.   I would consider these to be excellent range magazines, but I would do a lot of testing to make sure you are sure the gun feeds reliable with an defensive ammo.   Some magazines may need to be tweaked a little and if you have problems be sure to call a factory rep.   Most gun magazine manufacturers will replace a magazine if it does not work properly.

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Wilson combat 1911 gun parts

Everyone that I know that owns a 1911 made some kind of upgrade or customization.   I personally think that, that is the norm and it’s good to suggest to gun buyers that you should expect to customize the gun, especially when it comes to gun grips.   There are a lot of things you can do to improve upon the GI 1911 gun that the military used.   The first thing that I always recommend is getting the sights replaced with your own preferences.   I personally love the way that Glock sights give a good sight picture and I have had very good experiences with training with my Glocks, but I still love my 1911s.   Beavertail can be dropped in and you won’t have to worry about gun smithing, 99% of the time.   The Wilson Combat Skeleton hammer and thumb safeties are also things to think about upgrading to.

An issue I have had with my big hands is that whenever I put on my preferred gun grips which are Hogue fingerless grips I sometimes it can become difficult to sweep the gun safeties or hit the slide release.  I found this out the hard way with a 1911 and had to put in an extended slide release.    You learn from experience but be aware that replacing any part of the gun may mean making another adjustment somewhere else.   Wilson Combat magazines are very reliable and lightweight and drop from all of my guns when the magazine release is hit.   Not all magazines drop freely and this is something to pay attention to whenever you are testing out your CCW or defensive gear.

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Training with primary and secondary mags

Gun MagazinesPromag and Mec-Gar make decent magazines, I wouldn’t suggest them as primary magazines, but factory new magazines can be pricey.  I would suggest regardless of which number of magazines you are normally carrying, keep 3 or 4 range mags for each handgun you own.

Whenever you get to the point where you are putting hundreds of round down range to train for work of for your concealed carry firearm, you may want to consider getting some secondary gun magazines for training and blasting and save your primary magazines for carrying.   I would strongly suggest that you put enough rounds through your primary mags but there’s no need to burn those out too fast.

 

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As tough as the gun ?

Glock MagazinesSomething like a 1911 has a questionable reliability track record depending on the conditions they are used in and the type of magazines they are using.   Pistol magazines have evolved and improved as much as firearms and the reality is metal guns aren’t in the same category as polymer guns just based on lubrication and climate conditions.    There are many firearms out there that will function reliable if lubricated properly and cleaned properly, but polymer guns are the future.

Glocks are the toughest handgun in existance according to the most experts.   There are always arguments about the conditions various firearm manufacturers are in and how they will handle it, but the reality is the Glock pistol needs less lubrication, doesn’t rust, and the magazines are designed as reliable as the gun and there are plenty of Glock Magazines on the market to void out the mayhem that aftermarket mags can do to a firearms reputation.

 

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