Is it just me or do some magazines seem to be ridiculously high priced in comparison to the cost of the entire firearm. I know there are from time to time some good deals available but come on. If you can buy a pistol with two magazines for roughly 350 dollars then why in the world should replacement mags run in the 50 to 60 dollar range? Maybe I'm just being cranky but it seems a little off to me.

Are you referring to just regular ol' factory or factory style magazines, or magazines with extensions or fancy base plates or some other "custom" type thing?

I'll admit I only buy magazines for two pistols, a Glock 30SF and a Colt Government Model 1911, and I can't recall paying more than $30 for either one. I do add Pearce extensions to the Glock mags, which are about $10 each. But still, the price is below $40, or maybe around $43 in total.

And are you referring to a particular brand? Just curious.

I just bought 2 used ones for my M&P .45. It came with two.
S&W lists the gun for $490.00.

GUNMAG wants $35.00 for one.

I've purchased several "slightly used" magazines for it and I've had no issues with any of them. A year ago I was buying used ones for $10 each. I should have bought a lot more than I did.

I just paid $34.47 including tax and shipping for two used ones from Aim Surplus.

They have all been 10 round magazines.

__________________
Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Okay, maybe it's not as bad as I thought. I checked prices online at a site that was recommended to me as having good prices on mags and $50 seemed to be their favorite price for M&P mags. Checking around a bit more it would seem that under $40 is closer to a real world price. Like I said, maybe I was just being cranky.

New...Used...OEM...Aftermarket...

Prices vary due to availability when you shop other than the firearm's website. I've gotten mags for an old Colt Gov't .380 and a Makarov that were surprisingly cheap considering the firearms aren't made any longer.

I don't mind paying for a mag in the $20-25 range but would think twice about the need if more expensive.

When it comes to pistol mags, just to be safe, I only buy OEM or Mec-gar.

You have no clue about magazine costs until you own a Steyr GB. I snagged a commercial model late last year with two magazines for about $650 with auction fees. At the current going rate for the mags I pretty much got the gun for free.

__________________
Release the Kraken

Magazines have pretty much been the
"gotcha" items for some guns. The gun
doesn't run without them unless you like
single shots.

And once someone buys gun XQZ, he certainly
wants a third or fourth or fifth magazines. And
those three extra mags cost a substantial part
of what the entire gun cost in the first place:
Gotcha!

Magazines are the real "weakness" of owning
certain autos.

__________________
Ubi Est Mea

Don't ever cheap out on Mini 14/Ranch rifle mags. Always buy Ruger factory mags.

__________________
God spelled backwards is dog.

Ruger semi autos are reasonably priced because they come with one (1) mag. When you buy a 2nd they are not cheap but they are the best for their guns.So the whole package is pretty much the same as a competitors similar gun.



Buy some Sig or HK mags those are not cheap!

__________________
Still Running Against the Wind

Kind of like ink cartridges for printers.

__________________
Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Yep, it's a real gotcha. But I can't build one myself. Stock up slowly. Also, as stated earlier, 1911, Makarov, and some others can be found for $10 at shows.

__________________
No baby we aint

I have three magazines for my Browning T-Bolt rifle. Those little plastic Double Helix magazines are expensive; 40 to 45 dollars. As I said, I have three magazines. Ain't gonna get another unless I find one on the ground.
I have several factory magazines for my .22LR Walther TPH. I bought them when they were around $20-25. The total value of the magazines are more than the gun.

You took the words right out of my mouth! I’ve had two GB’s for years, a commercial and a military. I bought a third NIB commercial with two mags earlier this year for under $700. I couldn’t pass it up.

The GB is one of my favorite 9mm’s to shoot. They’re accurate, reliable, soft shooting and the magazines hold 19 rounds. If you think the mags are expensive, check out the factory muzzle brakes! The last one I saw brought almost $900. Crazy...

__________________
"I also cook."

Only gun I'm lacking mags on is my 6906.

I only have two guns that are bottom feeders so its really not a big deal for me.

__________________
Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Mags for my Sig 365 are $40-50 each since only factory mags are available. 6 mags cost nearly as much as the gun.

5906 mags work fine, cheaper on the used market. I have 5 12 rounders but over a dozen 5906 mags. I have several used ones I paid maybe $15 each around the house/ vehicles for reloads. Joe

__________________
Behavior Creates Destiny

Show last month in WPB guy had 6906 and 5906 mags at $15 each used, stainless or blued. Grabbed three 5906, have 10 or so for the 6946.

Back in the pre-Trump era dealers were selling pistols that normally came with extra magazines with just a single magazine and charges big bucks for the extra magazines. This was the era that .22 RF ammo was being sold for
its weight in gold.

I'm an HK fan. All those mags are expensive.

"Magazines? What magazines?
I don't need no stinkin' magazines,"
says the guy with only S&W
revolvers.

__________________
Ubi Est Mea

How about Glock mags for $100 ....... was about the norm in 95 and 96!!!

I've got a Beretta 92 Compact single stack..... mags usually go for $70 and up........ bought a bunch back in the 90s for $15.

Mec-Gar and OM mags for me

I found a good source is "Greg Cote LLC" for magazines

Mod 52, Mod 41, any European non military handgun usually are over $40+ and some well above. Common mag's for Ruger's, 1911's where 1000's of guns have been built are more reasonably priced.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I can find S&W, Ruger, and CZ mags (either OEM or MecGar) at reasonable prices. Same for 1911 and AR mags. I only buy when on sale. Sig magazines cost an arm and half a leg, and they never seem to go on sale. Taurus magazines are not expensive, but they can be unobtanium at times.

Try finding a replacement magazine for a Winchester 77 .22LR rife. They are very nearly extinct. I guess that's to be expected for a rifle that was only made for three or four years fifty-odd years ago. I bought an aftermarket mag for $49 + shipping. It is total garbage. After a couple years of searching I found one factory magazine at auction. Cost me nearly $100 with shipping.

__________________
Or something like that . . .

I bought a couple of factory Beretta 92 15-round mags for $25 each, I think, before the AWB. After the AWB, those same mags were going for $50-60 each and factory 20-round mags were going for about $120 each.

I think I paid $35/mag for extra PX4 Compact mags (my gun came with 3, I bought 3 more). I currently have 10 mags for my 92, 4 factory 15-round mags and 6 MecGar 18-round mags. I want to say the MecGar mags were around $25/mag. All in all, not too bad, IMO. Would like to get more mags for the PX4 and 92. Mags are one of those things you can't have too much of. Well, within reason.

Learned a valuable lesson about 30 years ago.......

My first new gun was a Remington 511-x Scoremaster that my Dad gave me in 1965.......for 20 years I only had the one magazine. In about 1985 thought I should grab a second one........ over the next 5 or 6 years I was "only" able to score 3 at gun shows. In those days the local gun shows always had 3 or 4 guys that specializes in magazines old and new...... some had thousands.


From that lesson I learned to stock up, keep my eyes open and slowly accumulate even common mags like those for ARs and Beretta 92s

Bill Ruger was an jerk on the magazine thing....... 99% or the time a 5round mag is fine....... but I really like the factory 10 rd mags and even have a few 20s.......in case "the S ever does HTF"

Two of my more recent purchases are a Sig 365 and a CZ 455 (a .22 rifle). Sig 365's are selling for around $450 these days and a 15 round magazine goes for $50. I got a deal on the CZ 455 at $330, however new magazines are pushing over $30 a piece. The crazy thing about the CZ is that the 25 round magazines are cheaper than the 5 and 10 rounders.

I only buy factory mags, except for 1911 mags. There are lots of good mags offered for them.

Used to be, you couldn't find Ruger Mini-14 magazines because Ruger wouldn't release them. We had them for patrol rifles and they came with only one. Even as a LE agency, we couldn't get mags from Ruger. I heard Bill Ruger was concerned that bad guys would get a lot of mags and use them in mass shootings, but I don't know if that's true.

So we tried other brands for the Minis. They did not work. Finally, some years ago, Ruger Mini 14 mags became available and they work. Much better.

I don't need a lot of extra mags, but generally like to have one extra. When I got my 7.65 FN 1910, it only had one FN stamped mag. I bought a couple of copies for it, I think 3M? Anyway, money wasted. Got rim lock even with hardball. So I looked around and found an original on Ebay, listed as a "7.62." It wasn't cheap but not terribly expensive based on what some modern mags are selling for now. Kinda took a chance on it as I understand the mag designed changed a bit over the long history of the gun and the seller apparently didn't have a clue. Fortunately, it worked fine.

I bought my Browning Medalist new, and it came with just one mag. Having just one always made me nervous - bend a lip and a beautiful pistol becomes an elegant club. When I finally found another real Browning mag for it decades later, I paid $160 to get it from Switzerland. Ouch - but it only hurt once.

Uncle Ed has this pegged. The cost of magazines is one reason I got out of SIGs and Mini14s. I only have two handguns that use magazines and they aren't used that much. This is another big advantage to a revolver.

Remember that magazine availability could change drastically in one election cycle and magazines wear out. I would be planning accordingly. Maybe think magazines/ammo/spare parts/reloading components?

The polymer magazines for my HK USP 9mm are pretty darned expensive. I still have extras just in case.

Mine are pretty common, 1911, Glock 19 and Sig 228's. Several years ago, I needed a .22 mag for a Walther PP. I couldn't find one, but a friend from the SWCA got me one in France and refused any money.

Later that year, my wife was in France and took he and his wife to dinner. She paid for my .22 mag.

I agree with BOURBONCOWBOY, got a USP 45 compact, bought 2 extra mags, $100+ ouch!!!!
Semper paratus

__________________
NRA Life Member
CPO

The price is the price. You need them you pay it, move on.

I recently bought a .38 Super upper for my Witness without magazine. Bought 2 EAA factory mags through CDNN ($24.95). One worked, mostly. Checked the numbers to make sure they weren't 9mms or something. Numbers checked. So now it looks like $38.95 from Mec-Gar. But just one until I know for sure.

__________________
I need ammo, not a ride.

No one said this is a cheap hobby. Every mag goes in the safe with the guns.

When I got my Marlin Camp carbine and saw Marlin mags were super expensive and nearly impossible to find...I figured I could use Smith and Wesson 59 series mags as a plan B..........then I found out that S&W 59 mags are next to impossible to find now.
Fast forward to today ,I have more invested in mags than I do guns.

__________________
S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm

So here's my two used magazines for my M&P .45 that arrived today loaded with Oath Tango "ultimate self defense" ammo.

$61.06 for the center console in my car.

__________________
Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Like reddog81, I have a CZ 455 too, and cringe at the cost of both the 22LR and 22WMR magazines. Especially for what they are; essentially a plastic box, a metal strip, and a spring. OTOH, a long time ago I started buying magazines for guns I didn't even have yet (M1 Carbine, M14, HiPower, etc.) when they were cheap, or weren't yet banned by law. These have proven to be sort of a good investment; either I bought the gun at some time, or sold the magazines at a profit. Now I'm thinking that a 2206 might be a fun pistol, and will probably start looking for mags...

Talking about expensive mags got me to thinking what a replacement mag for my Coonan Classic sells for nowadays since the company bit the dust and nobody makes mags for them. I looked at an auction site and found a few mags for sale. They had 1 for sale with bids on it for over $150 and another that was priced right at $200 with no bids. Sure makes me happy I already have 5 mags for the gun.

About 10 years ago there was a bunch of H&K P7 PSPs imported and I talked myself into buying one. At the time magazines cost around $40 and I bought 5 on a hunch.
Now , they start at $100 each IF you can find them.

__________________
I'm with her

Paid $48 each for two Sig P239 40 cal magazines and $41 each for two extra 9mm mags for my S&W M&P 2.0 9mm. My Beretta 92FS has 4 military mags for it they cost about 25 each when I bought them. My Sig P6 when it was still being imported mags with the zig zag back seam were $20 depending on how many you bought.Frank