how to tell mags apart?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - how to tell mags apart?

Posted: 4/13/2017 7:58:27 AM EDT

don't know if any of you have , or have had the same issue. my two favorite range guns are my Beretta M9 and my Sig P226 9mm. the surplus mags for the M9 and the stock sig mags look almost identical at quick glance. the other day while running my Beretta through some range time I dropped an empty and tried to insert but it wouldnt lock in.. that's when I noticed I had grabbed a Sig mag by mistake.
with base plates that look the same, and very similiar almost Identical mag bodies ...mag release cutouts only a fraction apart.
Do you guys mark your base plates somehow? mark the mag bodies?

Posted: 4/13/2017 8:05:55 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
don't know if any of you have , or have had the same issue. my two favorite range guns are my Beretta M9 and my Sig P226 9mm. the surplus mags for the M9 and the stock sig mags look almost identical at quick glance. the other day while running my Beretta through some range time I dropped an empty and tried to insert but it wouldnt lock in.. that's when I noticed I had grabbed a Sig mag by mistake.
with base plates that look the same, and very similiar almost Identical mag bodies ...mag release cutouts only a fraction apart.
Do you guys mark your base plates somehow? mark the mag bodies?

View Quote

pistol case
you could always buy 2 separate cases and always keep your mags in there. Different color cases for each pistol.

or different color grip tape for the baseplates

Posted: 4/13/2017 8:30:55 AM EDT

[#2]

Yes, I mark them, just like I do with AR mags for .300 vs 5.56 so I don't interchange them accidentally.

Posted: 4/13/2017 9:11:04 AM EDT

[#3]

I mark all my mags with a silver sharpie. My Glock mags are marked G1-whatever the latest mag number I add I think I am around 30 something. Sig mags are marked S1-S12, CZ1-CZ12 so on and so on.

Posted: 4/13/2017 9:13:06 AM EDT

[#4]

I use one of these to store my mags.

Attached File

Posted: 4/13/2017 9:20:22 AM EDT

[#5]

https://dawsonprecision.com/1-dawson-precision-grip-tape-for-basepads/

Or some variation. It's good to know which is which among the mags you have too. Helps to track down any malfunctions.

Posted: 4/13/2017 10:32:37 AM EDT

[#6]

I just buy guns that either interchange or they are so different you can't mess them up

Well, it just turned out that way. G17/19, G21, 1911's, M&p

Posted: 4/13/2017 12:10:21 PM EDT

[#7]

Sharpie or a paint pen or a strip of electrical tape with a color on it

Posted: 4/13/2017 12:44:39 PM EDT

[#8]

Thanks for all the replies... I have quite a few Beretta M9 mags and only 6 Sig 226 mags as of right now.. I think I'm going to try the silver sharpie or paint pen and do the coded number thing as posted above... B1, B2, ect and S1, S2 ect...
so thanks for the help and suggestions!

Posted: 4/13/2017 10:13:15 PM EDT

[#9]

I use a white grease pencil to label the bodies, surprised at how well that has held up. Haven't had to relabel for over a year now.

Posted: 4/13/2017 10:24:33 PM EDT

[#10]

This is the exact reason I stopped having seven different pistols and started standardizing. It was a nightmare when I went to the range to shoot them, and I think I bent the feed lips on two magazines by putting them in the wrong gun. I've never been a Glock fanboy, but I do like their magazines the best, so I'm in the process of replacing the majority of my pistols with Glock19's.

Imagine if you had several cordless drills, but each were from a different manufacturer, and each took a different battery. That's exactly the frustration felt.

Posted: 4/14/2017 6:48:39 AM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
I mark all my mags with a silver sharpie. My Glock mags are marked G1-whatever the latest mag number I add I think I am around 30 something. Sig mags are marked S1-S12, CZ1-CZ12 so on and so on.

View Quote

When I had SIG's I would do that. Now that I'm down to Glocks, 1911s, and Berettas I just need a number.

Posted: 4/14/2017 8:11:26 AM EDT

[#12]

I tried an experiment in Iraq in 08' when I was carrying a SIG 226. Took both 226 and a M9 to the range. Since mags are nearly identical as OP mention. I crossed mags and they fired and feed. You had to hold them up with the heel of hand but it was nice to know if in an emergency. My tracker team carried the SIGs and all the soldiers with us had M9s. CZ-75 mags are base off same pattern. Also Taurus 92 mags can be made with cheap modified M9 (recut latch for FIL). I use a paint marker on base plates to ID.

CD

Posted: 4/14/2017 8:12:44 AM EDT

[#13]

I would paint the baseplate. Glock offers different colors of these. I don't think any other manufacturers do that. Easy to take off with acetone

Posted: 4/14/2017 9:17:00 AM EDT

[#14]

paint pen user also

Posted: 4/14/2017 12:14:20 PM EDT

[#15]

I use a paint pen, different colors for different calibers. If it's a generic looking mag like the P226 or 92, I will write the model on the basepad and then put a digit elsewhere on the basepad to number the magazine.

Posted: 4/14/2017 4:10:00 PM EDT

[#16]

I'd recommend getting some of Sig's factory padded floorplates for your P226 mags. I'll be honest - I haven't shot my P226 in a while, but I found that the padded plates made the mags comfortable to handle and insert, and they definitely help with visual recognition.

Posted: 4/15/2017 3:37:43 PM EDT

[#17]

I use Midway or California Competition 6 cell mag pouches and use different colors to store them. However, I keep my P226 and P229 mags in two different shades of khaki and green and did mix them up on one range trip.

Posted: 4/20/2017 8:01:15 AM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:
I mark all my mags with a silver sharpie. My Glock mags are marked G1-whatever the latest mag number I add I think I am around 30 something. Sig mags are marked S1-S12, CZ1-CZ12 so on and so on.

View Quote

This is how I keep my PPQ M1 magazines distinguished from my PPQ M2 mags. They are not interchangeable. So I just use a silver sharpie to mark them M1 or M2 on the bottom inside of the magazine where it doesn't show when the magazine is inserted.

I also use the silver sharpie to mark the outline of my cleats on my cycling shoes. That way when I replace the cleats its just a matter of placing them inside the silver outline and tightening the bolts. Works like a champ.

Posted: 4/20/2017 9:30:12 AM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:

When I had SIG's I would do that. Now that I'm down to Glocks, 1911s, and Berettas I just need a number.

View Quote

Glock is one thing but yeah the CZ and Sig mags look very similar other than one is shiny finish vs park finish. Newer shooters get confused when I shoot with them.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - how to tell mags apart?

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