Recently, we talked about the brand-new Banshee family of short-barrel rifles and pistols from CMMG. This family includes guns chambered in .45 ACP, 9mm, 300 Blackout, and .22 Long Rifle. I’ve been testing the .45 ACP model. I really like the concept and idea of a short pistol or carbine in the .45 ACP caliber as a home or vehicle defense weapon, however, finding magazines with sufficient capacity for those roles is a bit of a challenge.
Last time, we talked about one option from Kriss that converts a standard Glock 21 magazine, which the Banshee uses, into a nearly double-the-capacity tall version. That approach uses an extender and an outer sleeve to essentially combine two different magazines into one tall one. An extra-long spring is included to make it work. Even though it’s a two-piece affair, I’ve found it solid and so far, durable.
Since that time, I’ve gotten my hands on another option. The KCI Glock-compatible magazine is a single unit and holds a whopping 26 rounds of .45 ACP. It’s standard Glock specs so it’s supposed to fit Glock 21, 30, and 41 pistols. It also works like a champ in the CMMG Banshee shown here.
The only thing I’ve noticed about this particular combination of gun and magazine so far is that it’s a bit sticky in the magazine well. A Glock-brand model 21 13-round magazine drops freely, as does the Kriss extension kit because the upper part of that actually IS a standard Glock 21 magazine. Plenty of magazine hangs below the magazine well so the mag is easy to grab with your support hand in case yours need a little extra assistance.
Loading the KCI to its full 26-round capacity was surprisingly easy. I expected the last couple of rounds to take some extra muscle, but it didn’t feel any different than a standard magazine. I did notice a bit more rough feel when loading this compared to the Glock-brand magazines.
One more thing to note. While the KCI magazine holds an extra round (26) compared to the Kriss extension kit (25) it’s still an inch shorter in overall length.
