Mec-Gar Magazines: Pretty and Reliable
Mec-Gar also has the honor of being THE largest OEM supplier of firearm magazines in the industry with companies like Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Armscor/Rock Island Armory and Walther just to mention a few.
I received 2 of the Mec-Gar 18 round 9MM magazines for a test and evaluation for my SIG MK25 9MM. The Mec-Gar item number is MGP22618AFC.
The AFC stands for anti-friction coating and I will tell you that it does make a difference in loading and unloading rounds into the magazine and also reduces malfunctions in the firearm. I can say this as I did use the AFC coated magazines as well as a standard 9MM magazine and you can feel the ease in which the rounds load in the coated magazine, big difference.
I had a range trip planned for the next day for the test. I loaded 1 of the magazines with 18 rounds of Armscor 124 grain FMJ 9MM the day before and left the other 1 empty. I wanted to see if it made any difference in feeding.
Here are the features of the new Mec-Gar 18 round Hi Cap 9MM magazine.
Features:
• Caliber 9MM
• Capacity 18 Round Flush Fit
• Carbon Steel Tube, heat-treated for strength
• High tensile music wire spring
• Lubricated nylon polymer follower with metal insert where the slide stop activates properly aligns all types of ammunition for the most reliable feeding
• High impact polymer removable butt-plate is tapered to fit funneled mag well
• Anti-Friction Coating allows for easy loading and superior anti-corrosion protection
At the range:
Firearm used: SIG MK25 9MM.
Ammunition used: Armscor 9MM 124 grain FMJ, Armscor 115 grain FMJ and Armscor 124 grain JHP.
Magazines used: Mec-Gar MGP22618AFC 9MM 18 round magazines. Three more rounds over a stock magazine and still a flush fit. I ran the 1 magazine with the Armscor 124 grain FMJ that was loaded the previous day through the SIG at a rapid fire and there were no problems at all with the magazine locking into place or feeding the rounds. Last round fired and slide locked into place. Everything went as it should and I am sure that the anti-friction coating played a big role in the reliable feeding. I then loaded 18 rounds into the magazine that I had left empty and ran the SIG at a rapid fire using the 115 grain FMJ, 124 JHP and 115 grain FMJ and again there were no problems at all with the magazine locking back the slide or feeding the rounds. Again everything went as it should. Next I loaded the magazine with 18 more rounds of 124 grain FMJ and ran it through the SIG at a slow rate of fire and again everything went off without any problems. Feeding and slide lock back on last round was flawless. I also ran this magazine with the 124 grain JHP and 115 grain FMJ with the same results. I ran the same scenario 3 more times using the Armscor 124 grain FMJ, 115 grain FMJ and 124 grain JHP ammunition and never had a failure of any kind using the new Mec-Gar 18 round 9MM magazines. Upon the last round firing the slide locked back as expected.
To summarize, these Mec-Gar 18 round 9MM magazines are excellent and proved very reliable in my SIG MK25. They locked up great, fed the ammunition without any problems and always locked back on the last round. I only had available the Armscor 124 FMJ, 124 grain JHP and 115 grain FMJ ammunition but I am sure that the magazines would have functioned as intended with other brands, grains and bullet types.
I have always had great luck with all of my firearms that came with the Mec-Gar magazines and also the Mec-Gar magazines I have purchased have all exceeded my expectations of quality, functionality and affordable magazines.
If you need magazines you owe it to yourself to check out their website. www.mec-gar.com
John P. DeBeasso Jr.
