When it comes to choosing a magazine for your favorite handgun, the general attitude is that factory original magazines, aka OEM Mags, are your best bet. At least when it comes to duty and defense, you want a factory magazine, right? That’s the magazine the company recommends you use and likely your most reliable option. That’s mostly true, but a little company called Mec-Gar makes some of the most reliable magazines out there.
In fact, they might even be the people producing your OEM magazines. Yep, sometimes companies outsource parts, and when it comes to handgun magazines, Mec-Gar is an expert voice. Grab your favorite handgun and remove the magazine. If it says “made it Italy,” it’s likely made by Mec-Gar.
Mec-Gar makes magazines for over 250 different models of handguns and has produced more than 100 million magazines as the OEM for dozens of companies. Why do companies use Mec-Gar? Well, magazines are ticky.
It’s harder than most people realize to get the geometry just right and make sure the magazines meet certain dimensional requirements while still providing a tough magazine. Gun companies produce guns and are experts in that field, but magazines can be tricky. Mec-Gar makes mags and are the experts in ensuring they run correctly. Why make your own tooling and production when someone else can do it for you and likely do it better?
Who Is Mec-Gar
The Italians have a rich history of arms design. Beretta can trace their lineage to what, the 1500s? They’ve been in the game for a long, long time. Mec-Gar is an Italian company that has been producing magazines since 1965. Production is encapsulated in three modern facilities with more than 82,000 square feet of production space located in the Italian province of Brescia.
They aren’t little guys but are the unsung heroes of your handgun. They do more than make magazines. They help companies design magazines and produce them without issue. You won’t ever hear their praises sung, but they are the ones ensuring a ton of different handguns are reliable and successful.
We know they make OEM magazines for tons of companies, but they also produce magazines you can purchase directly. OEM magazines aren’t exactly cheap. A Sig Sauer branded 17-round magazine costs $44.99, but a comparable Mec-gar option comes in at $27.99. They offer a much more affordable option that doesn’t lack high quality.
These magazines are just as reliable as an OEM option. When I start looking for spare magazines, the 1st stop I make is my favorite Italian magazine company.
Why Mec-Gar?
Affordable quality would be the two words I’d use to best describe their products. You might think they fall into that realm of ‘good enough’ when in reality, I’d put their quality against any OEM magazine and expect them to perform just as well as an OEM magazine.
In fact, in my experience, they’ve been a solution to problems I’ve had with firearms. I love the .32 ACP cartridge, and I had an old Walther PPK in .32 ACP that would never work with the factory magazine. It was an old, worn-out gun, and I got constant failures to feed. For not too much money, I ordered a Mec-Gar replacement, and it turned the gun into a champion.
The vast majority of my CZ 75 magazines are from Mec-Gar. They are much cheaper, have a higher capacity, and work just as well as factory magazines. My CZ 75 mags have been used and abused with lots of lead downrange and lots of reloads. These mags have dropped onto hard floors, beach-like sand, and concrete and are barely scuffed. They still feed without complaint.
My 1st handgun, an RIA 1911, came with a Mec-Gar eight-rounder, and that poor thing was used, abused, and never even cleaned, and to this day, it’s my favorite 1911 magazine.
Beyond Normal
On top of that, they don’t just make magazines. They do attempt to innovate and offer higher capacities and different configurations. They make 19-round CZ 75 magazines and 18-round P226 magazines. They even made the 1st 15-round Hi-Power magazine that fits flush.
Some of their magazines feature an anti-friction coating that’s worth mentioning. It seems silly, but the slick nature does make reloads smoother and faster, especially after dumping them into the dirt for reloads. If you are shooting any action shooting sport, the magazines are going to take dirt dives, and the anti-friction coating will help provide a smooth reload.
They also make magazines for platforms that are out of production. Do you have a Luger you want to shoot? Well, Mec-Gar has you covered. What about something not exactly ancient, like a Para-Ordanance? Well, they got you covered there too. They are helping keep old guns alive, from Rugers to Lugers.
They also produce magazines with limited capacities that might be tough to find. Sadly, less-free states have restrictions that companies have to follow. This can be frustrating for gun owners searching for spare magazines. However, Mec-Gar does produce 10-round magazines for a multitude of platforms.
Beyond Magazines
Mec-gar has branched out of magazines into magazine accessories that bear mentioning. Their IFS Plus Kits allow you to add a plus one to your magazines without increasing their length. Just use the Mec-Gar spring, follower, and base pad, and you can squeeze in an additional round. This keeps the magazine flush fitting too, which is impressive.
If that’s not enough, their magazine base pads allow you to squeeze in an extra two, three, or even four rounds. The base pads also make it easier to remove the magazine and draw it for a faster reload. Plus, the extra weight added by an aluminum base pad ensures the mag drops free for fast reloads.
Finally, predictably they also produce a magazine loader. The Mec Loader is a universal handgun magazine loader for handguns from 9mm to 45 ACP that is not restricted by a double or single stack design. The various inserts make it easy to swap calibers and keep your magazines loaded.
Staying True
If you need extra mags and the OEM option seems insanely expensive, then it’s time to turn to Mec-Gar. They don’t have magazines for every platform, but they make a ton of mags at great price points. These mags are reliable, often innovative, and help keep old guns shooting. What’s not to love?
(All Photos Courtesy of Mec-Gar)
