Had been 92 less for some time.

Didn't actually believe the A3's existed. But snagged one yesterday. Paid way too much.

Anyone have a good/cheap source for mags? Are the sand resistant ones worth it? I'm in AZ but not mid-east kind of sand.

Mec-Gar mags are what you seek. They have an AFC exterior and come in an 18rnd flush fit or 20rnd capacity that really isn't that much more extended than the 18rnd mags.

+1  Mec-Gar 20 rounders are a fantastic magazine for the 92.  I've never had a failure with mine, and they aren't difficult to load like some handgun magazines.

I picked up 1 to try out a few weeks ago and I will be getting more. I found them for  $25 with free shipping and price is still good today.

While mecgars are great they are not what the op is looking for.

Mags

I don't believe he specifically asked for sand resistant mags. More of if they are worth it but thanks.





No OP they are not worth it IMO. Like I said and linked above the Mec-Gars are better, less expensive, have a higher capacity and also have an anti friction coating. They only thing they won't have if the FDE floor plates. If that is a problem you can probably get some floor plates cerakoted. My local guy will coat floor plates for a dollar each floor plate.

Actually, as much as I love the Beretta. Carrying my compact right now. The sand resistant mags are worth it for Sandy desert areas

@USMCtanker to explain

But in the menwhile. The Marine Corps requested better mags due to sand slowing down the follower. Beretta responded with new mags. I don't bother with them in New England. If I lived in the SW I would.

The 17rd PVD coated mags are the nicest I've used for the Beretta. Plus they come with fde base plates to match your M9A3. Yes they are worth ~$25 each imo. Unless you just want cheap range mags, then just find surplus M9 mags for under $10.

You can get 3 for $82 shipped with the code NRA2017.

http://www.berettausa.com/en-us/mag-m9a3-17rd/jmm9a317/

Totally worth it, IMO.  The Mec-Gars are not "better", but they work fine.  They are less expensive (you get what you pay for).  They do have a higher capacity, by using a proprietary spring and follower that Mec-Gar won't sell you when the one in your mag wears out (and they're not compatible with factory Beretta internals).  They have a coating and they call it anti-friction.  The main thing the Mec-Gars lack is the box geometry, which is one of the main features that makes the sand resistant magazines sand resistant (you see it as a groove up the side of the mag body).  The main reason the PVD coating was put on was to stop rust, the fact that it's kind of slippery was just a bonus.

I can't recall a time that I ever bought replacement followers and springs for pistol magazines and I have been shooting pistols since 1984. If a magazine wears out or starts causing problems I don't bother trying to fix them. I trash them and buy a replacement.

The sand magazine issue is way over blown IMO and stems from the military's archaic need to parkerize everything inside and out even when a manafacture advises them against it. That is why the sand problems popped up with pre-2004 Checkmate mags. Once the finish was changed in post 2004 Checkmate mags there were no more issues but like the old "Beretta's slides will come off and bust your teeth out" nonsense that can still be heard in gun stores and on the internet today, the sand jamming up a magazine issue that happened briefly at the start of OIF still lingers on today on the internet and gun stores.

Those sand channels in the magazine are just over engineering and are completely unneeded. Take your grips off and insert a magazine into the frame of your 92. There is whole lot of empty space. More than enough space for mud, sand, blood, water, etc to move or be pushed out of the way when inserting or removing a magazine. In my opinion if anything those sand groves should be on the inside of the magazine helping prevent the follower from dragging on sand that moves in between the follower and the magazine body. This is what caused a problem with the pre-2004 Checkmate mags.

Glocks have probably one of the tightest tollerances when it comes to the fit of the magazine well and mag body as well as the fit between the follower and magazine body. In addition to that polymer catches and will hold sand. Especially as the polymer expands and contracts with heat. With all the cool guys all over the world carrying Glocks why isn't Glock producing a sand resistant magazine for the Glock?

Just my thoughts and opinions on the matter. For me I would rather have the extra capacity over some feel good grooves.

I’ve always preferred to own things I can maintain rather than replace.  I’ve lived through two magazine bans and countless threats for more.  The ability to rebuild a magazine may never matter or it may be worth its weight in gold.  Just because we’re currently living in “the good times” doesn’t mean things won’t change in the future.

As far as the box geometry goes, I don’t think you understand how this all works.  The sand grooves, or at least the effects of them, ARE on the inside of the mag.  Pressing a groove into the sides of the mag creates what is, in effect, a rail on the inside.  The bullets column rides against the rail instead of flat against the inside wall of the magazine.  Doing so creates space for debris to flow down past the cartridges instead of jamming them up as they rise during cycling.  It has nothing to do with inserting the magazine into the pistol.  

The sand resistant magazine was developed at the request of the Marine Corp because of beach sand, not because of bad Checkmate magazines (although I’m sure those stories helped make the case for a better magazine).  The first several thousand magazines delivered to the Marines during final testing were blued.  They asked if anything could be done about rusting and Beretta added the PVD coating.  The blued mags were dumped on the civilian market and were sold by Sportsman Guide and CTD (I think).  They had all of the features of the sand resistant mags, and were sold as such, except for the PVD coating.

The Checkmate mag problem was more than just Parkerizing, there was a spring issue as well.  Glock magazines, like all magazines, will jam up if they get too dirty.  People understand this and do maintenance to deal with it.  The problem with the Checkmates was that maintenance didn’t help.  You could maintain the daylights out of them and still sucked.

Mec-Gar makes a fine magazine.  If the increased capacity of them is of value to you then they are a great choice.

I can see the value of having the ability to rebuild mags, I just have never done it even during the AWB so it is not something I consider when I buy a mag. I wonder why Mec-Gar will not sell the follower or spring separately. Has anyone really tried or are we assuming because they don't have the spare parts listed on their site they won't sell them? I am genuinely curious. I am going to try to reach out to them today and find out.


ETA: I just sent Mec-Gar and email about purchasing replacement springs and followers for the 18rnd flush fit AFC mags. If I don't hear anything from them by Friday morning I will follow up with a phone call.

Please report your findings.  I know it's been asked before and the answer was always no.

You can not buy any replacement parts for Mec-Gar mags, at least as of last year you couldn't.

The 15 round sand mags are probably the most reliable semi-auto pistol mags on Earth, as are HK P30 mags.  The sand grooves are the inside of the mag, not the magwell.

The response that I received looks like you can order replacements but right now they are out of stock on the followers. Springs look good to go. My email is attached.

Nice. I contacted them by email a little over a year ago and was advised that springs and followers were not available for purchase. I wouldn't mind picking up a few replacement springs for my M9 and P226 mags. I did have a +2 extension break when one of my P226 magazines fell to the floor and was able to get a replacement +2 through Top Gun Supply, but the standard flat floor plates were available for purchase.

Wolff +10% mag springs for the M9 and 226 are the shit.

Agreed. I replaced all of my 80's and 90's vintage factory 92FS and P226 magazine Springs with the Wolff +10% springs. Big difference.

I've heard mixed reviews about their +2 extension. Apparently if you drop the 20rnd mags while loaded it is not uncommon to break the extension. For this reason I mostly stick to the 18rnd Mec-Gar mags. Something I had forgot about earlier in this thread but I recall when the 17rnd Beretta mags first came out the floorplates were cracking around the edges if you kept the mags loaded. I don't know if this is still an issue or not.

Well done CF, that’s big news.  Did they give you any idea of the cost?  I don’t know how many people would actually buy them but I’ve seen folks asking about these springs for YEARS.  I’m almost certain the same spring is used in the Sig P226 so interest in these should be pretty good.

I didn't call them. I will call them today at lunch and find out about pricing.

I called three times and got a vm each time. maybe they are closed on Thursdays.

They seem to only be closed when someone tries to call. The +2 extension I had break had the back of the metal retaining plate shear off. The magazine was loaded when it fell. I would prefer to just replace them with standard flat floor plates.

I just tried and got the same thing.  Heck of a way to do business.