All posts in Magazines

Department Purchasing based on availability of gear and accessories

Smith & Wesson MagazinesThere are always preferences with firearms for Police Department purchases, we have guys that are still stuck on Kimber 1911s and we also sell a lot of magazines to Police Departments down in Texas that are also using Kimber 1911s but as much as I love my Colt 1991A and my Springfield 1911, I don’t think that is a very good gun for everyone.   Complaints about firearms size, recoil, lack of ambidextrous options are slowly disappearing and the draw backs to Glocks and some of the safety issues with disassemble and needing to pull the trigger are  not going away.   Sure, Navy Seals and Operators are going to have a higher level of training but you can’t expect that in every Police Department because firearm training is rarely a priority.   Smith & Wesson has always been around and although I’m more familiar with their revolvers than semi-autos, the M&P guns from AR15’s to the Military & Police, M&P 9mm, M&P 40 and M&P 45 are very much “out there” and in heavy use.

Finding a good firing range that rents out guns is really the way to go if you are shopping for a new handgun and off the top of my hand, the M&P 40 was the first gun I ever fired where I could use different back straps to get a better feel for what I felt comfortable with.  Although I have been shopping for another 45acp, I’m checking out all of the ballistics improvements and ballistic tests from .380 pistols to 45acp, and when  you look at how much certain calibers recoil and the ability to quickly put follow up shots on target, I’m seeing a real trend back to 9mm pistols over the .40 caliber.  Having the ability to quickly drive from target to target and with Standard Capacity Smith & Wesson Magazines like  the M&P 9mm having 17rds is plenty.  Some handguns become imbalanced when you go from caliber to caliber and in my humble opinion when double stack 45acp get to a capacity above 9rds the weight and capacity just feels off, 9mm guns are probable a better option for a  broader spectrum of general public.

Top

New Sig 320 Striker Fire, Ambidextrous Handguns and Rifles are the future

Sig Factory MagazinesI remember hearing all of the stories from my Father’s friends and Uncle’s friends that served in World War II and in Korea, and whenever they talked about the M1 Garand, they always had the statement that “it kicked like a mule” and several of them referenced that they couldn’t hit anything with it.   Well, when I grew up it didn’t take me long to realize it’s because some of these guys didn’t have the physical ability to handle the rifle because it was too long and too heavy for them.   Part of the reason the M14 had such a short life in Vietnam was due to the fact that it was a major improvement over the Garand, but it was too heavy and still hard to control.    You’ll hear the same story from people about various modern firearms, from the Beretta 92FS to the Sig 220 or the 1911 Government Model.   You won’t hear that from anyone that served with the M16 or any Law Enforcement that has an M4 Carbine with an adjustable stock.   The major complaints are going to be from left handed shooters and that’s why modern engineering and technology is introducing ambidextrous handguns and rifles.

The Glock Generation 4 handguns had a rocky introduction to the Firearm Community but it seems they got the bugs worked out.   Smith & Wessons M&P handgun has really taken off but now Sig Sauer is intruding the new Sig 320 that is yet another handgun trying to cut into the Glock Law Enforcement Market.   I realize that Glocks are incredible rugged firearms but the take down of the firearm and reality that not all operators are at high levels of competency means there are inevitibles that are going to occur.  One of the problems we often have when guns like this come out are the availability of accessories, holster and even now, there are major shortages in Sig Factory Magazines for various firearms that have come out, the Sig 210, Sig 224 and Sig 227 seem hard to keep in stock and as this new Sig Sauer 320 hits the market, if it’s a successfully designed firearm out of the box as they claim it is, it’ll be a while for the Law Enforcement Duty Gear and Holsters to catch up.

Top

What 1911 Magazines should you buy? Try our number one selling Wilson Combat ETM Magazines

Wilson Combat Magazines1911 MagazinesWe get a lot of questions from our customers and often they are telling us what we should stock in our store.   When we get asked enough times we usually take a serious look into who is making it and determine whether it just a fad, or if it is something new, improved, or a really versatile accessory.    We’ve always known that Wilson Combat Magazines were a product to stock but there are still so many types of magazines with different base pads, Magazine Specifications, Wilson Combat 6rd 1911 Magazines, Wilson Combat 7rd 1911 Magazines, 8rd magazines or even the 10rd Magazines are often sought after from our Competition Shooter and IDPA customer base.

The most popular 1911 Magazine right now is the Wilson Combat ETM Magazines which have pretty much replaced the Wilson Combat 47D 8rd Magazines that were popular for years.    Some have their preferences in what kind of Base Pad pad they should have whether it’s the Wilson Combat Magazines with the standard .350 base pad so they have a little something to grab on the magazine to clear it, normally a competition shooter wants this, or a lower profile base pad.  When  you get into concealed carry, sometimes those extended base pads or non-flush fitting 1911 magazines can cause the gun to snag t-shirts or clothing while CCWing  your firearm and you may want something else.  If you are in the situation  you just want to try something else or are a first time buyer there’s something about the Wilson Combat ETM Magazines that people like so maybe that’s what you should consider.

Top

Being the first to buy a new gun?

Kahr MagazinesFactory magazines9mm MagazinesWe’ve seen a lot of recalls in this industry and it’s almost always a gun that just came out, and 6 months later you find out their is a magazine spring issue, extractor issue, or the barrels just don’t cut it and there has to be a Generation 2 or a slightly improved version.   I remember learning this lesson years ago on a firing range when someone in the NYPD was telling me all of his friends were getting Kahr pistols because it had a consistent trigger pull like Glocks did so it was a very nice off duty firearm.  Back then, the Kahr was kind of king of the small 9mm concealed carry crowd because it was very well built and seemed to have a good track record except for one thing, the early production firearms had issues with the trigger pins coming out.

Now that just about everyone and their dog is putting out a .380 handgun, watch and see how many recalls you see this year, or how many guns won’t be around in 2yrs.   One thing for sure is that there isn’t going to be a shortage of getting Kahr Magazines if you end up choosing that design.  Check out all of the gun holster options for Kahr and you’ll see how popular of a gun it is.   Single stack magazines for 9mm, 40 S&W and 45acp are available.  I’ve personally shot a lot of these guns and although I don’t own any, it’s definitely a product line that I would suggest to someone due to parts and availability.

Top

If your gun isn’t up to par, don’t think adding accessories to it with change anything

MOE MagazinesOD Green AR magazinesFlat Dark EarthFoliage GreenMost AR15 rifles being built today are way ahead of the rifles from 10yrs ago.   I don’t hear about gas keys coming loose, gas tubes coming loose or firearms corroding like they use to.   The metals used today are so much better than before and the way the are put together has also been improved.  Now so many people are building their guns, sometimes from scratch and sometimes just purchasing the the upper receiver after building the lower.  We don’t act like experts when it comes to all the technical know how with various magwell, barrel designs, quad rails or stocks, but we can offer advice to help direct you in the right direction.   Recently we had a large purchase of Magpul magazines and all of the accessories that go with it and had push the product due to the departments lack of knowledge over the product line.

Most of the competition shooters know what all of the ranger plates and accessories values are what is just an over thought out product but sometimes it just comes down to the basics, to win  a competition or to win a fight.   Depending on the legalities of owning standard capacity magazines, Magpul 30rd pmags are by far the most recommended, although I would stick with the Gen 2 PMAGS because I personally  have had spec issues with the Gen 3 pmags and we had to put a recall on them, but I would blame that on Politics and hyperactive demand for the product line.    In this day and age, there are not a lot of GREAT magazines out there, but if your AR15 is not running with Magpul Gen 2 PMAGS or Lancer Magazines, I would highly recommend you consider taking the AR15 to a gunsmith to adjust the magazine release so the mags drop free.

Top

Smith & Wesson gaining with Glock with Law Enforcement?

Smith and Wesson magazinesM&P MagazinesSmith and Wesson Compact magsWe always are noticing trends in this industry because it has a big impact on what we will actually bring in to our store and stock.  There are always the Fad guns and Fad accessories that once the cool factory goes away people move on to something else.   We noticed that trend more than a decade ago, go from heavy barrel AR15s to lightweight upper receivers and even now the lowers are getting lighter and lighter.   Smith & Wesson has always had a big foot in the Law Enforcement and gun community but Glock has clearly gotten a huge foot to stand on because it was a major improvement technologically and in reliability.

The Smith & Wesson M&P was the first gun I personally shot that had the interchangeable back straps and if you are doing a purchase for your entire department, certain guns like this will help you decide on what to buy because there are always going to be hand size differences and caliber tolerances and control are not going to be a problem if you have the proper grip.   We notice that a large number of people have been buying the Smith & Wesson magazines for the M&P 9mm and M&P 40 and the Smith and Wesson Shield has been one of the most asked about gun holster in our store.  It always is a good idea to take  your time and use other peoples experiences when shopping for a firearm but the M&P rifles and handguns are here to stay.

Top

Magazines should drop free

Glock magazinesWe all start out at some point with our firearm training or learning experiences.   I started out at 10yrs of age with handguns and 22lr rifles and it was basically all a Father/Son environment where kids shot next to their parents and learned the basics.    You learn the basics at a 100yd range with a 22LR and the differences between bullet weights and velocity can mean several inches in bullet drop.   Iron sights are always the best starting point and optics should come later.   When you move away from bolt action rifles, things can become more complicated and reliability of firearms can dramatically diminish with second rate magazines.  I’ve had bad experience and witness tons of malfunctions with semi-auto 22LR rifles but there are things you can do to improve reliability.

Back in the 1990’s after the AWB there were a ton of people buying aftermarket magazines and some firearms just didn’t handle them very well.   Many Factory Glock Magazines where going for close to $100 and aftermarket mags could be had for under $30 but they didn’t drop free or sometimes just didn’t run right.   There are several manufacturers that make magazines for several different companies but just stamp different brand names on them.   Magazines like Mec-Gar and Promag do have magazines for Walthers and Browning that work well but I often tell people that if the magazine doesn’t drop free you are going to have problems with it and might want to stick with Factory magazines.   There are replacement parts you can buy like followers, Wolff gun springs and base plates that can fix things but there’s an awful lot of testing I would do before I used them as self defense mags.

Top

Magazine Capacity and Drama

MGMPI571BLK-2TOne of the biggest lies that goes around the anti-gun propaganda machine is with magazine capacity.   There is so much emotionalism when people hear “high capacity” like this is for something that is above the norm.    “Rate of fire” is another one that goes around the news networks and there is a very funny California Rep that made a royal jackass out of himself by falling victim to all of the outlandish and inaccurate specs for the AR15 SBR that he  was holding up.  Folks, Nuclear, Chemical and Biological weapons can do more damage to a civilization than the 1950’s designed AR15.  I personally believe that an AR15 is a better urban self defense weapon than any handgun and people are far less prone to accidents with rifles than they are with handguns.

Magpul inc. is going to go down in history as a patriotic company that was under assault by an overzealous Government and the blowback that occurred in Colorado against it’s Politicians, has been set in motion with the recalls and this November, you can expect more.   Probable the best balance for an AR15 are 20rd pmags, but the most common are the Magpul 30rd Pmags that seem to have become a staple for any AR15 owner.   I’ve checked out some Lancer products because many of our competition shooters use them, but Magpul Industries has so many good products it’s been hard to not keep expanding their product line.

Top

European firearms and trying to find replacement magazines

promag magazinesWe recently heard about a change in several of our Factory magazines, from Glock to Walther, there have been changes to the material and designs.  Some of our customers may not notice the difference, and in all honesty, sometimes we can’t tell the differences but they are there.  Some of the Beretta Factory magazines have gone up a few rounds with their stand capacity magazines.    I’m not sure of all of the changes that are taking place, we usually find out from our customers when they are the first to find out or someone asks for the new version of a mag.  Recently we’ve been getting  a lot of calls about Walther and CZ magzines and if there are any alternative manufacturers.

We’ve sold a good bit of Walther P99 magazines and recently we have moved several Promag Magazines for the CZ.   Today I had to do some research for a customer on Promag Magazines and find out if a CZ 75 PCR would run the  CZ75 magazines and Promag couldn’t give me a definite answer since they didn’t have the technical info on the gun, this seems to be the story every week around here because there is always some new variant of a firearm and nobody knows what “other” magazines will work with it or what holster they should by.   See previous blog posts about researching firearms and their ability to be accessorized or the availability before you buy.

Top

Going smaller than a 9mm without compromising durability

Kahr MagazinesThere was a time I avoided some of the smaller Kel-Tec firearms even though some really smart and good people I know were carrying them.   When I saw some of the ballistics for .380, 22LR and 32acp,  I wasn’t impressed and being on the “experienced” side of life, I know how big and drugged up some people are and going with firearms that punch tiny holes are have, in most situations, very poor penetration, I was not going to choose to go with something that needs recoil spring replacements after putting 500rds through it.   Some fancy guns like the Rohrbaugh 9mm are nice but very expensive and high maintenance.   I ended up with a Sig 239 considering its very reliable history and it’s 9mm ballistics.

Things have changed, changed for the .380, both gun designs and the ballistics of the round have improved by several hundred feet per second, as well as the durability of firearms chambered for this.   Kahr Firearms have a very good reputation for both being reliable and small,  Kahr magazines are not that uncommon and getting replacement parts or not burning a hole in your pocket are a good thing.    Even Glock has jumped on the bandwagon this year with a .380 chambered Glock 42.   I don’t like to be the first to buy guns made by manufacturers that are putting their first on the line, but Kahr has been a safe bet for a long time.

Top
1 2 3 4 5 … 22 Page 3 of 22