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7/24/2026 12:47:12 AM EDT
I had a 4586 a few years ago, I wanted at least a second mag and I refused to spend 90-120. I sold it, for that reason.  
Surely in this day and time mecgar could produce them at a cheaper price right?  What's the reasoning behind the 100 dollar SW factory magazine?
7/24/2026 2:23:58 AM EDT
[#1]
If Mec-Gar thought they could sell enough to recoup costs,they would.  But the market isn't there, especially compared to other new products they have come out with recently (Glock, 2011, etc).
Froot Loops are all the same flavor. They just taste like froot. Whatever the heck that is.
7/24/2026 2:26:41 AM EDT
[#2]
Originally Posted By country_boy87:
What's the reasoning behind the 100 dollar SW factory magazine?
View Quote

Because s&w doesn't care about supporting old designs that they're never bringing back.  

At least you can find used magazines.  Once internal parts needs to be replaced, then your scrounging Internet boneyards to used parts.
Froot Loops are all the same flavor. They just taste like froot. Whatever the heck that is.
7/24/2026 7:24:23 AM EDT
[#4]
The availability and price of mags were a definite factor in my decision to sell my 1006.

Couldn't justify it anymore when coupled with the fact that it was a heavy, low capacity 30+year old design, long out of production with no factory support.

Shame
7/24/2026 9:30:56 AM EDT
[#5]
Mags for the big Smith autos have always been hard to find and expensive.  In the grand scheme of things they weren't huge sellers so supply was never great.  Now long out of production and I don't know if Smith supports the platform any more (I doubt they do).
7/24/2026 2:25:31 PM EDT
[Last Edit: rebel_rifle][Edited] [#6]
The easier mags to find as far as Mecgar goes are the model 59 series including 2nd and 3rd gens. I have several and they function just fine, all 9 mm of course. For whatever reason, Mecgar doesn’t make mags for the 39 (single stack) series. Only Promag  makes mags AFAIK. Quality of the Promags can vary, some have no issues and some have crap.

If looking for parts and/or mags, Numrich has a decent supply of parts and a lot of the time gun shows can be a good source for OEM mags.
7/24/2026 7:53:30 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Nick_Adams][Edited] [#7]
Quote History
Originally Posted By DavidY:
Because s&w doesn't care about supporting old designs that they're never bringing back.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Quote History
Originally Posted By DavidY:
Because s&w doesn't care about supporting old designs that they're never bringing back.
True.

At least you can find used magazines.  Once internal parts needs to be replaced, then your scrounging Internet boneyards to used parts.
Not quite true.

As long as the magazine body itself is intact, MidwayUSA still carries the followers and floor plates, depending on the model. I just bought a bunch of white followers for the 10XX-series mags, and also black followers and floor plates for the 45XX-series mags.

Springs for S&W 3rd Gen guns you can get from Wolff Spring Co.
7/25/2026 2:32:05 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote History
Originally Posted By Nick_Adams:
True.

Not quite true.

As long as the magazine body itself is intact, MidwayUSA still carries the followers and floor plates, depending on the model. I just bought a bunch of white followers for the 10XX-series mags, and also black followers and floor plates for the 45XX-series mags.

Springs for S&W 3rd Gen guns you can get from Wolff Spring Co.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Quote History
Originally Posted By Nick_Adams:
Originally Posted By DavidY:
Because s&w doesn't care about supporting old designs that they're never bringing back.
True.

At least you can find used magazines.  Once internal parts needs to be replaced, then your scrounging Internet boneyards to used parts.
Not quite true.

As long as the magazine body itself is intact, MidwayUSA still carries the followers and floor plates, depending on the model. I just bought a bunch of white followers for the 10XX-series mags, and also black followers and floor plates for the 45XX-series mags.

Springs for S&W 3rd Gen guns you can get from Wolff Spring Co.



I was speaking about internal parts of the gun, not the magazine. I think they made the announcement over a decade ago that they were not going to support the gun anymore. At that point, it was just a matter of what parts they're going to be able to keep getting produced and which ones they want.  I'm sure that's also tied into which large departments are still using them?

And my PD was a big user of the 5946 and I believe so was RCMP.  CHP had their version of the 4006.  Individual officers with Chicago PD were allowed various third generation guns, but how many of those people are still working?  


Froot Loops are all the same flavor. They just taste like froot. Whatever the heck that is.
7/25/2026 8:01:58 AM EDT
[#9]
3rd gens are well built. Keep the springs in good shape and they should about last forever.

The .45 and 10mm mags have always been expensive.
Sisyphus had it easy.
7/26/2026 4:13:48 PM EDT
[#10]
S&W mainstay magazines for .45’s and full size 5906 9mm’s were in regular production as recently as ten years ago.
7/26/2026 7:58:22 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote History
Originally Posted By DavidY:



I was speaking about internal parts of the gun, not the magazine. I think they made the announcement over a decade ago that they were not going to support the gun anymore. At that point, it was just a matter of what parts they're going to be able to keep getting produced and which ones they want.  I'm sure that's also tied into which large departments are still using them?

And my PD was a big user of the 5946 and I believe so was RCMP.  CHP had their version of the 4006.  Individual officers with Chicago PD were allowed various third generation guns, but how many of those people are still working?  


View Quote



Not many.  I opted for a Glock gen 5 21 with extras for 450 dont hate me.
If the 1 I found is still for sale maybe I'll consider it down the road.
7/26/2026 9:19:37 PM EDT
[#12]
Quality magazines are expensive to make and Big Blue has pretty much ceased making 'em for a while now since they're legacy products at tis point. I have a stockpile of mags I've picked up over the years. It is what it is. Mec-Gar still makes mags for the 59XX series and ProMag actually makes mags for the 45XX and 39XX series too. I have a couple of the Mec-Gar 17rders for my 5903s and a few of the Pro-Mag 10rders for my 4566s. The ProMags work and the Mec-Gars are better than factory S&W OEM mags.

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