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  #1  
Old 09-10-2017, 11:54 PM
SHOOT1SAM SHOOT1SAM is offline
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Default Mec-Gar or a Pro-Mag?

Which do you prefer & why?

If you saw my previous post, I scored a 915 recently and would like to stock up on some magazines; factory OEM's are kinda speedy & scarce, while Mec-Gar & Pro-Mags seem to abound.

Sam
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  #2  
Old 09-10-2017, 11:57 PM
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I vote MecGar!
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Old 09-11-2017, 12:03 AM
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I would rather have 6 factory mags over say 10 mec gars or even more promags. Neither of those brands have been 100% for me in all of my 1st 2nd and 3rd gen guns. I scored 2 promags for the 3906/3904 I have for 10 bucks a few years back at a pawn shop mag bin. After 50 rounds with a few ftf I sold them on flea bay.

My recommendation is budget for factory mags. If you have local pawn shops/gun stores and you haven't looked in the mag bins, I'd start there. I'd also post a WTB here as factory mags for these are quite common. If patient enough you could probably find a handful for under $15 a piece.

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Old 09-11-2017, 12:07 AM
Shoo2tr Shoo2tr is offline
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Mec-Gar are really good mags. In fact, it used to be and probably still is the case but Mec-Gar was/is the contractor that manufactures new Sig Sauer magazines. All my extra Sig mags are Mec-Gar, and I have several P series and 1911 Sigs. Avoid Pro Mag like the plague.
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Old 09-11-2017, 12:16 AM
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Mec Gar

Friends don't let friends buy ProMag
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Old 09-11-2017, 12:26 AM
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Mec Gar is the OEM manufacturer for many pistol manufacturers, including S&W in the past. Their 59xx mags are great. They also fit your 915.

The only way I would use Pro Mags were if they were for single stack pistols, and only as back-up range magazines, and they were free.

Last edited by Racer X; 09-11-2017 at 12:27 AM.
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Old 09-11-2017, 07:34 AM
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Mec Gar mags are fully functional in my Sigs, Promags have been less so.
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Old 09-11-2017, 07:43 AM
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I've said that many times in the past.


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Mec Gar

Friends don't let friends buy ProMag
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Old 09-11-2017, 08:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SVT28 View Post
My recommendation is budget for factory mags. If you have local pawn shops/gun stores and you haven't looked in the mag bins, I'd start there. I'd also post a WTB here as factory mags for these are quite common. If patient enough you could probably find a handful for under $15 a piece.
This is my recommendation as well. I'm not sure about the "under $15" thing... ... but you might get lucky. But you can buy brand spanking new ones when they are on sale at Midway USA for around $25 each as long as you aren't in a magazine-restricted state.

Beyond that, Mec-Gars beat Pro-Mags every day of the week.
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Old 09-11-2017, 08:06 AM
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Well, if you can't find any USA brand or Ram Lines, I guess I'd go with MecGar...
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Old 09-11-2017, 08:12 AM
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Mec-Gar over Pro-Mag any day. Without a doubt.
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Old 09-11-2017, 08:30 AM
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Mec-Gar. Not only are they the OEM supplier for several known handgun manufacturers they also know how to make a mag. ProMag is an enigma, how they manage to sell so much junk and still be in business all these years is beyond me. Their mags are garage, even the ones that work are suspect. If I get any ProMags with trades I'll either keep them just in case I end up getting rid of the gun or I'll use them for target practice. Although all the panics have proven that people will pay stupid money for something thats not even worth the water to flush down the toilet

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Old 09-11-2017, 08:45 AM
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Never had a Mec-Gar mag fail yet in my 915. Pro mags have a bad reputation and I stay away from them.
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Old 09-11-2017, 11:26 AM
SHOOT1SAM SHOOT1SAM is offline
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Thanks for all the replies; Mec-Gar (or factory mags) it is. Come to think of it, it was a 15 rd. Pro-Mag that turned my ultra reliable Kel-tec carbine into a fantastic single shot...

Sam
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Old 09-11-2017, 11:34 AM
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I had two Pro Mags that came with my 457. I didn't realize it until the first time I took it to the range. I had a total of 7 magazines in the deal, and loaded them all up. First two magazines were flawless. Third wouldn't fire the first round DA. Oh, oh. Worked fine SA, and I thought that the gun had broken.

After about half an hour of banging my head against the shooting bench, field stripping the gun, and looking for the broken part, I reloaded the first magazine. Like magic, the gun worked fine. I then cycled through the remainder of the magazines and found another one that failed.

Both of the magazines were... Pro Mag. I karmaed those away on a different forum with the warning that they should only be used for range duty, if that.

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Thanks for all the replies; Mec-Gar (or factory mags) it is. Come to think of it, it was a 15 rd. Pro-Mag that turned my ultra reliable Kel-tec carbine into a fantastic single shot...

Sam
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Old 09-11-2017, 12:08 PM
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I use Mec-Gar mags in a lot of different guns.
Some of my guns had their OEM mags made by Mec-Gar.
I've never had a Mec-Gar mag fail me. Ever.

I've never tried Promag. I don't know anyone who has had good luck with them, without having to modify them.

OEM, Mec-Gar, Chip McCormick, Thermold, and Magpul PMags have all been completely reliable in the weapons I've used them in.
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Old 09-11-2017, 12:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TTSH View Post
This is my recommendation as well. I'm not sure about the "under $15" thing... ... but you might get lucky. But you can buy brand spanking new ones when they are on sale at Midway USA for around $25 each as long as you aren't in a magazine-restricted state.

Beyond that, Mec-Gars beat Pro-Mags every day of the week.
In my neck of the woods I've been getting OEM mags for roughly 19-22 a piece. I will buy as many 5900,3900, and 4500 mags I can find in that price range.
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Old 09-11-2017, 12:30 PM
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Mec-Gars are much better. Many OEM mags are made by them
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Old 09-11-2017, 12:46 PM
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Mec-Gar.

I don't know how ProMag gets all the chain store peg board space, but they do, and their mags are almost always the worst for a given gun. I'm sure there is something they do well but I've yet to find it.
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Old 09-11-2017, 04:15 PM
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By "modifying" do you mean hitting them with a hammer until they are in the proper shape for use as a door stop?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaymo View Post
I use Mec-Gar mags in a lot of different guns.
Some of my guns had their OEM mags made by Mec-Gar.
I've never had a Mec-Gar mag fail me. Ever.

I've never tried Promag. I don't know anyone who has had good luck with them, without having to modify them.

OEM, Mec-Gar, Chip McCormick, Thermold, and Magpul PMags have all been completely reliable in the weapons I've used them in.
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Old 09-12-2017, 01:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SHOOT1SAM View Post
Thanks for all the replies; Mec-Gar (or factory mags) it is. Come to think of it, it was a 15 rd. Pro-Mag that turned my ultra reliable Kel-tec carbine into a fantastic single shot...

Sam
And your reliable Kel-Tec carbine shipped with magazines made by Mec Gar. My P-11 did. They even have the Mec Gar logo and Made in Italy.
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Old 09-12-2017, 01:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hkcavalier View Post
Mec-Gar.

I don't know how ProMag gets all the chain store peg board space, but they do, and their mags are almost always the worst for a given gun. I'm sure there is something they do well but I've yet to find it.
VERY high profit margin?
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Old 09-12-2017, 01:34 PM
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Hello all! (yes, keyboard fixed, no more caps locked lol) i have bought several mecgars from a vendor in Germany, and they have been used on a 5904, two 5906, and a 5903tsw interchangably. Fit, finish and operatinon of them, simply flawless. they are stamped mecgar, made in Italy, and have a deep blue finish. only downside to them, their witness holes are 2 or 3 on their 15 round capacity. its beyond me why not poke more holes to them prior to bending in shape.
As for the promags, here it gets interesting. Recently, i bought a 4506-1 from a police officer. this was his official sidearm fro 5 years until now. Along, he gave me 5 magazines. 1 factory black follower. two factory accuguide that apparently came with the gun. and finaly, 2 promag 10shot. having heard all the bad things about promag, i inspected them thouroughly, and low and behold, each has a crack on their right side "ear?" should i say? i asked him what had happened there, and said, that even though he too saw these cracks, was unable to tell at what time they had formed. (sidenote, he had them imported from the USA when he got the gun 5 years ago). he said, they run great, and as a matter of fact, they were always with him on duty. (i believed him, because their pouch was equally worn as that of the two oem, as well as the pistol holster.) he said he had issues only with the factory accuguides, sometimes not holding the slide back when empty. But all was well with the promags and of course with the black follower oem.
Anyhow, fast forward to now, and indeed, both promags work fine with the 4506-1 as well as with a 4506 st3epped frame. despite the cracks, wich aftr 500 rounds have not gotten any worse. on the other hand, the accuguides, do not operate proprly at all times, indeed not holding the slide back everynow and then. Bottom line, IMHO, buy whatever you find at the price you like, and then go test it, regardles who made it. true, lineage is important, but personally, i would hold on to those two cracked promags that i have, and put aside the oem accuguides. ( just saying). Also, the accuguides have their springs replaced recently, and their followers are the supposedly yellow kind. (though they look more like olive drab to me, but them again, discoloration and deterioration of plastic is expected after all these years.) and now i will try the pictures thing. hopefully they will upload
Attached Images
File Type: jpg MAG 1.jpg (33.7 KB, 26 views)
File Type: jpg MAG 2.jpg (36.0 KB, 26 views)
File Type: jpg MAG 3.jpg (26.7 KB, 27 views)
File Type: jpg MAG 4.jpg (36.7 KB, 29 views)
File Type: jpg MAG 5.jpg (45.9 KB, 26 views)
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  #24  
Old 09-12-2017, 02:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SOTVEN View Post
Hello all! (yes, keyboard fixed, no more caps locked lol) i have bought several mecgars from a vendor in Germany, and they have been used on a 5904, two 5906, and a 5903tsw interchangably. Fit, finish and operatinon of them, simply flawless. they are stamped mecgar, made in Italy, and have a deep blue finish. only downside to them, their witness holes are 2 or 3 on their 15 round capacity. its beyond me why not poke more holes to them prior to bending in shape.
As for the promags, here it gets interesting. Recently, i bought a 4506-1 from a police officer. this was his official sidearm fro 5 years until now. Along, he gave me 5 magazines. 1 factory black follower. two factory accuguide that apparently came with the gun. and finaly, 2 promag 10shot. having heard all the bad things about promag, i inspected them thouroughly, and low and behold, each has a crack on their right side "ear?" should i say? i asked him what had happened there, and said, that even though he too saw these cracks, was unable to tell at what time they had formed. (sidenote, he had them imported from the USA when he got the gun 5 years ago). he said, they run great, and as a matter of fact, they were always with him on duty. (i believed him, because their pouch was equally worn as that of the two oem, as well as the pistol holster.) he said he had issues only with the factory accuguides, sometimes not holding the slide back when empty. But all was well with the promags and of course with the black follower oem.
Anyhow, fast forward to now, and indeed, both promags work fine with the 4506-1 as well as with a 4506 st3epped frame. despite the cracks, wich aftr 500 rounds have not gotten any worse. on the other hand, the accuguides, do not operate proprly at all times, indeed not holding the slide back everynow and then. Bottom line, IMHO, buy whatever you find at the price you like, and then go test it, regardles who made it. true, lineage is important, but personally, i would hold on to those two cracked promags that i have, and put aside the oem accuguides. ( just saying). Also, the accuguides have their springs replaced recently, and their followers are the supposedly yellow kind. (though they look more like olive drab to me, but them again, discoloration and deterioration of plastic is expected after all these years.) and now i will try the pictures thing. hopefully they will upload
It's a little more complicated then the one officer not having a problem. There are plenty of ProMags without problems however, in the total amount of ProMags there are far more with problems then without. I have had lots, most come with trades, and not one worked properly. One was so out of spec it didn't even fit into the magwell. All the rest had feeding issues.

While anything can have a problem with a quality product it's far less likely. I would say save your money, buy known quality and leave the testing and guesswork to others who fell they should try to save a few dollars

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Old 09-12-2017, 05:43 PM
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For my Lc9 I had a Ruger made magazine that came with the pistol. I acquired a Mec Gar and Pro Mag. The Mec Gar functioned flawlessly. The first time I used th ProMag was at the range. Had so much trouble that I trashed it on the way out. I would not even consider selling it because it could get you killed.
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Old 09-12-2017, 06:31 PM
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Meg-Gar mags have always worked well for me.
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Old 09-12-2017, 07:33 PM
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I think you've already got a pretty clear answer going here, but just to throw another log on the fire...definitely Mec-Gar. I would only use ProMag in something that will absolutely never ever see any defensive use and that wouldn't bother me if it were to have a malfunction but I still feel like I need something other than just the factory magazine. Which is a pretty short list.

I have two Mec-Gar mags for my third gen and they have been flawless.

Last edited by 915; 09-12-2017 at 07:36 PM.
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:11 PM
N4KVE N4KVE is offline
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Chances are whatever gun you have, the factory mags that came with it were made by Mec-Gar. GARY
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackTalonJHP View Post
Mec Gar

Friends don't let friends buy ProMag
Yeah, what he said times two!
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Old 09-12-2017, 10:21 PM
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My name is NevadaBob. I have a Pro-Mag problem...all kidding aside...I have a Pro-Mag that works fine in my 39-2. Several years ago this question popped up re the 39-2. At the time several chimed in and said the 39-2 and Pro-Mags are a good fit. Scary isn't it? But it could've been limited to those that saw the thread.
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Old 09-13-2017, 02:16 AM
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My name is NevadaBob. I have a Pro-Mag problem...all kidding aside...I have a Pro-Mag that works fine in my 39-2. Several years ago this question popped up re the 39-2. At the time several chimed in and said the 39-2 and Pro-Mags are a good fit. Scary isn't it? But it could've been limited to those that saw the thread.
I have heard this a few times. I think it is easier to make a functional straight walled single stack. The Pro Mag prices for the 39 and x39 mags are pretty decent. I might try one or two in my 439 for range mags. I usually shoot my 5906 or 6906.
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Old 09-13-2017, 07:00 PM
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Old 09-13-2017, 07:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NevadaBob View Post
My name is NevadaBob. I have a Pro-Mag problem...all kidding aside...I have a Pro-Mag that works fine in my 39-2. Several years ago this question popped up re the 39-2. At the time several chimed in and said the 39-2 and Pro-Mags are a good fit. Scary isn't it? But it could've been limited to those that saw the thread.
Nevada Bob and the good old timers
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Old 09-13-2017, 11:55 PM
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Originally Posted by N4KVE View Post
Chances are whatever gun you have, the factory mags that came with it were made by Mec-Gar. GARY
You know, I forgot to mention, but there is a lot of truth to this.

When I first bought my 915, I bought an "OEM" magazine for it...it was pretty expensive, but I wanted factory. It came in S&W packaging.

After I got it and did some research I read that Mec-Gar was just as good, so I ordered a second magazine actually branded as such. Come to find out they are one and the same...which is why I said two earlier, and both have been flawless.

The bottom one is 'OEM Smith & Wesson manufactured" and the top one is not. As you can see, the only difference is that the Mec-Gar emblem is missing from the S&W branded product.

So I believe there is a lot of truth in this statement.

Mec-Gar or a Pro-Mag?-img_3622-jpg
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  #35  
Old 09-14-2017, 05:03 AM
hemiram hemiram is offline
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I've only had good luck with Pro-Mag magazines in my Beretta 92FS and my Kel-Tec SUB2000 that takes the same mags. I had to tweak the lips a little on both of them, and the baseplate extentions on both were screwed on crooked. After rescrewing the baseplates and doing a little pliers work on them, they worked fine. But I've never had a single issue with the Meg-Gar mags I've had in almost every other gun I've had.
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Old 09-14-2017, 05:25 AM
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DCNN CDNN SPORTS - CDNN Sports - Huge Savings on Guns and Magazines has S&W 59 Series magazines for $39.99
Mec-gar $27.99 17 round, and a 20 round Mec-gar for $27.99
Geoff
Who notes there are a few folks who only trust their Taurus pistols with Meg-gar magazines...
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  #37  
Old 09-14-2017, 09:16 AM
1775usmarine 1775usmarine is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skeptic 9c View Post
DCNN CDNN SPORTS - CDNN Sports - Huge Savings on Guns and Magazines has S&W 59 Series magazines for $39.99
Mec-gar $27.99 17 round, and a 20 round Mec-gar for $27.99
Geoff
Who notes there are a few folks who only trust their Taurus pistols with Meg-gar magazines...
$40 is pretty high especially IMO when you can still get them for 26 on that other auction site, or at gun shows in my area when available for $19-25 out the door.
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Old 09-14-2017, 10:12 AM
scoobysnacker scoobysnacker is offline
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Given the choice, definitely Mec Gar over Pro Mag. I've never had a problem with Mec Gar in any of the pistols I have those for.

Now, there are some pistols where I have had limited options, and have taken what I could get.

I have a commercial Makarov with a doublestack capacity, I bought the gun for $199. It came with 1 Pro Mag, which has functioned flawlessly at the range. Factory mags are rare and expensive, a 12 rd Russian would cost as much as the gun itself if I could find one. Pro Mags often run $40+ for these, but after intensive google (and going around 20 pages deep into the search) I found a guy who sold me 2 at cost ($18). These are iffy at best.

My S&W 39-2 seems to run the lone Pro Mag fine, but luckily a poster here traded me some factory 3rd Gen mags that fit but stick out a hair.
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Old 09-14-2017, 11:40 PM
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The only time ProMag is the answer, is if the question is " What's the worst mag the make for my gun"
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  #40  
Old 09-14-2017, 11:51 PM
hoc9sw hoc9sw is offline
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When they were closing up a local Gander Mtn, the last mags on the shelf were pro-mag. They finally sold at $2 each.

Gives me some idea about the reputation.
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