MagPul GL-9 21rd Magazine Durability
I recently retired a couple of these mags. They were prematurely holding the slide open with one round left to go.
I use two to shoot steel and alternate which one goes first during a stage. Not all my Glock clones had this issue with these mags but it was easy to test: put two rounds in old and two rounds in new--old would only fire once then hold the slide open, new would fire both rounds.
Other than the recent hold opens, they have performed flawlessly with zero feed issues. I got over 2 years out of them and ~20 matches and an estimated 1500rds each of the steel case ammo shown. They have been dropped probably 100 times with nary a scratch or ding. I really like that they are flat on the bottom and very easy to load between stages. I only loaded 20rds into them and they inserted easily and dropped easily regardless of full or empty. Plus, 20rds is easier to manage when loading from a box of ammo--limited math required!
I got those mags and eight others along with ten GL-9 17rd-ers and twenty ETS 30rd-ers with a PSA 9mm lower kit in a "deal" probably a decade ago. So two more have come from inventory and are now #3 and #4--I number my mags and so should you. At this rate, it will be another 8yrs before I have to think about buying more 21rd mags...
Looking at the pics, you can see where the follower is sticking up a little more on the older mags compared to the new. The notched part that pushes against the slide release/stop. I don't know if the steel case ammo is harder on the plastic feed lips or not--they do have a zinc plating which might add lubricity...
If I think about it I'll go back and measure the feed lip openings old vs new with a caliper. I'll also take a pic with the mag in a gun--they don't stick out that much and don't look quite as dorky as a 33rd-er...
I recently retired a couple of these mags. They were prematurely holding the slide open with one round left to go.
I use two to shoot steel and alternate which one goes first during a stage. Not all my Glock clones had this issue with these mags but it was easy to test: put two rounds in old and two rounds in new--old would only fire once then hold the slide open, new would fire both rounds.Other than the recent hold opens, they have performed flawlessly with zero feed issues. I got over 2 years out of them and ~20 matches and an estimated 1500rds each of the steel case ammo shown. They have been dropped probably 100 times with nary a scratch or ding. I really like that they are flat on the bottom and very easy to load between stages. I only loaded 20rds into them and they inserted easily and dropped easily regardless of full or empty. Plus, 20rds is easier to manage when loading from a box of ammo--limited math required!
I got those mags and eight others along with ten GL-9 17rd-ers and twenty ETS 30rd-ers with a PSA 9mm lower kit in a "deal" probably a decade ago. So two more have come from inventory and are now #3 and #4--I number my mags and so should you. At this rate, it will be another 8yrs before I have to think about buying more 21rd mags...
Looking at the pics, you can see where the follower is sticking up a little more on the older mags compared to the new. The notched part that pushes against the slide release/stop. I don't know if the steel case ammo is harder on the plastic feed lips or not--they do have a zinc plating which might add lubricity...
If I think about it I'll go back and measure the feed lip openings old vs new with a caliper. I'll also take a pic with the mag in a gun--they don't stick out that much and don't look quite as dorky as a 33rd-er...
