Has anyone used 92FS magazines in thier P226s?  I was looking over the magazines and besides the different location of the mag release hole they are spot on.

No offense, but why would you want to do such a thing?  Both a Beretta and a SIG are finely tuned machines with exacting tolerances.  And neither is cheap.  Why risk screwing up a fine pistol with an off-brand magazine?

Yes I have done so. You are right about the mags being spot on. Most all of the current 9mm pistol use the same basic mag body, the only difference being the location and size of the catch notch and the shape of the floor plate.  I had a couple of Taurus pt92 mags that I fitted for a HS-2000, I got rid of the pt92 but still have the HS. The same mags were then fitted to a Beretta 92fs by cutting the catch notch deeper toward the back of the mag and worked fine in the 92fs.  I then checked them in my 226. the notch location is higher on the body but with the use of the dremel tool these same mags now will work in the 226.
These 3 mags I have will now work in a HS-2000(now the XD), a Taurus 92/99, a Beretta 92, and a Sig 226. The answer to the question of why some one would do this to a fine firearm is" Remember the 1994 mag ban when high cap mags were way over priced?"  Using a cheap aftermarket mag for experimenting is a good test bed for such modifications and if it doesn't work I am not out much. Since it did work, quite well in fact, I now have useful info to share with my fellow handgunners. That and having a pathetic existence where you sit around and ponder such things.

HTH, Moses-ying

Quoted: Why risk screwing up a fine pistol with an off-brand magazine?

how would you screw up the pistol?

it seems that a lot of manufacturers are getting away from the proprietary magazine.  the XD, for instance, will work with he exact same magazines as your sig 226 or your beretta 92.  all you'd have to do is dremel a new mag catch.  it's smart.

Quoted: Yes I have done so. You are right about the mags being spot on. Most all of the current 9mm pistol use the same basic mag body, the only difference being the location and size of the catch notch and the shape of the floor plate.  I had a couple of Taurus pt92 mags that I fitted for a HS-2000, I got rid of the pt92 but still have the HS. The same mags were then fitted to a Beretta 92fs by cutting the catch notch deeper toward the back of the mag and worked fine in the 92fs.  I then checked them in my 226. the notch location is higher on the body but with the use of the dremel tool these same mags now will work in the 226. These 3 mags I have will now work in a HS-2000(now the XD), a Taurus 92/99, a Beretta 92, and a Sig 226. The answer to the question of why some one would do this to a fine firearm is" Remember the 1994 mag ban when high cap mags were way over priced?"  Using a cheap aftermarket mag for experimenting is a good test bed for such modifications and if it doesn't work I am not out much. Since it did work, quite well in fact, I now have useful info to share with my fellow handgunners. That and having a pathetic existence where you sit around and ponder such things. HTH, Moses-ying

I just bought an XD-9.   Can you post the directions to converting the Berretta 92 mags for an XD/HS2000?  Also, do the 17 round Megar magazine protrude from the bottom of the magwell?

Quoted: I just bought an XD-9.   Can you post the directions to converting the Berretta 92 mags for an XD/HS2000?  Also, do the 17 round Megar magazine protrude from the bottom of the magwell?

It Should be easy enough...  It's just a matter of comparing the two mags and seeing where the catch is on your XD mag.  Take a couple measurements and then make an identical hole in the Beretta mag.


I happen to have an example of the opposite:

The mag on the left is an XD mag modified to work in a Beretta 92.  The mag on the right is an unmodified Beretta mag.


ETA:  it may be sloppy, but it works!





ETA 2:  17 round Mec-Gars for the Beretta fit flush with the mag well.

ETA3:  My apologies, I should've specified that the Mec-Gar 17's fit flush in a Beretta magwell.

I have several old Taurus 9mm mags that I had laying around when I got rid of the gun... took a dremel to the mags, added a notch for the 226 and opened up the notches that were already there for the Beretta, now the mags can go in all 3 guns if necessary.

In addition, my personal 226 sports Beretta magazine bottoms and I sold off the flat sig bottom plates with a couple guns I got rid of back in the late 90's.

The beretta mag bottoms look really nice mated up to the sig frame.

ETA :  Oh, and for those who want to say "Why screw up good equipment like that?" it was because I was living in Kalifornia and hi-caps were going for 75-100 bucks, I had 30 or so Beretta mags and just made them useable in all 3 guns... saved a whole lot of money.

Skylark, first off the mags do stick down from the bottom of the pistol. Not exactly pretty but they do work.
As far as directions, I originally tried to duplicate the notch of the XD onto the beretta mag. That was a bunch of work. I later figured out that all it requires is a pass with a dremel cut off wheel to make a slice about 1/4" wide and not even all the way through the mag body. (I know, "put the dremel down and step away from the firearms" ).  The way the XD mag catch works it will work with just a shallow notch cut in the front.  If you want to duplicate the hole, that would be ok as well.
To locate the place for the notch I took the slide off so I could see inside easily. Then took a felt marker and colored the front of the mag in the area of the mag catch. Then pushed the mag in and pulled it out to allow the mag catch to drag on the front of the mag body. Where the drag marks stopped was where I cut the top of the notch. The photos that Chips posted look just about like some of mine and like he said it may not be pretty, but it works.

Ps, I did the first couple with cheap mags to make sure I didn't screw up a good mag. As it turns out even the cheap ones work fine.

Moses-Ying


I should clarify that the 17rd mag fit flush in the 92F but stick out of the XD.

Ruger pistol mags also have virtually the same body specs as the Sig and Beretta.  Cutting the Beretta/Sig/Etc. mags with a Ruger style notch - a small rectangle at the front of the mag body, not the side of the mag - allows for use in the Ruger Police Carbines PC9 and PC40.  In a pinch you could just hold a non Ruger mag seated in the mag well with the support hand.

The Ruger Police Carbines are extremely robust and accurate carbines that increase the ballistic effectiveness of the pistol cartridges.  I believe that these carbines are viable intermediate alternatives to the LE shotgun due to their light recoil, accuracy,  and controllability a cheaper alternative to the AR.  On target hits dramitically increase vis a vis the LE shotgun in the hands of the novice or small frame shooter.  A LE officer/CCW could always draw a spare mag from his duty belt to feed the carbine, a faster tactical solution to the virtually low capacity shotgun.

The Rugers were once cost effective and accessible alternatives to the AR15 during the dark days of the Clinton AW ban, selling for $300-$400.  In 1999 while working in a Kalifornia shooting range/gunshop I sold dozens of these carbines with mounted tac lights in anticipation of Y2K.  Most of the buyers were lucky enough to already own preban high cap pistol mags.

These carbines were also great shooters in our indoor range which had been restricted to pistol caliber velocities.

I will try to modify a couple of my leftover Beretta mags for my P226 now.

there is one problem with this, if you modify a beretta magazine for a 226, it won't work in the beretta quite right anymore.  The beretta will catch the sig notch before it lands home...at least that's what happened when I tried a sig mag(unmodified) in my beretta.