ive heard alot in the way of, only beretta factory mags work well or hold togather.  Does anyone out there have any thoughts on this.  i see alot of non beretta mags that say they have lifetime warranties w/ them.  that being true i was wondering why they aren't good for practice shooting.  i will always use beretta factory mags for carry purposes but i would like a cheap alternative for practice.  40-80 bucks a mag is cutting deep.
matt

IMHO Mec-Gar mags are of the same high quality as factory Beretta mags. In fact in the early 80's Mec_Gar had a contract with the US military for 1 million mags. I have been using Mec-Gar 17 round 92 and Mec-Gar 12 round 96 mags for thousands of rounds and have NEVER had a FTF or FTE and they always lock the slide back after the last round. The problem is the Mec-Gar mags cost just as much as factory Beretta mags most of the time.
I also have some of the Asain Military mags and while the metal the bodies are made of is much thinner and the paint on the follower and base plate leaves much to be desired I have never had a problem with them either but I wouldnt use them for self-defence.
These are the only two after market mags I would spend my money on. IMHO USA, TripleK, RamLine are junk and should be avoided. The old saying of getting what you pay for could never be any truer then when talking about pistol magazines.


BKVic

Look on the EE for those Asain mags as they could be had for $18/per. They are hard to beat. I've had the same luck with Mec-gar's as I had from Asian; my only complaint is they both fail to lock the slide on occasion. Other aftermarket mags are only good for expense ammo storage cases.

Afirm on the import magazines. I bought a bunch back in 1999 for the pistol I didn't even own yet. Work great and not a problem in four years of shooting with them. A couple had full pads but most were just steel construction.

Just got my pre-ban 15 rounders in today.  Thanks again Lanny, they look great.  Also if anyone needs pre-ban beretta mags I would suggest Pistolcraft anyday.  Haven't gotten the pistol yet though, just getting them a head of time.  

One question though, haven't found a answer to it in the Beretta manual, but do you need to lubricate the magazines and internals?

Quoted: One question though, haven't found a answer to it in the Beretta manual, but do you need to lubricate the magazines and internals?

It's a good idea so long as you're not going to be playing in the sand.

USGI mags can be readily found at around $40. The Asian Military mags work good also.  At these prices, it doesn't make sense to by the cheap ones that may fail when you need them most. Original MecGar high caps are great, but hard to find.  

Pinetop

Quoted: USGI mags can be readily found at around $40. The Asian Military mags work good also.  At these prices, it doesn't make sense to by the cheap ones that may fail when you need them most. Original MecGar high caps are great, but hard to find.   Pinetop

Is that used, brand new, brand new in wrap, and where?

GoGo

Mainly all high capacity magazines you will find available are used.  Because of the 1994 Crime Bill aka assault weapons ban any pre-bans usually are.