Buy or Pass on Korean Glock mags?

[rskent]

pass, thank you.

 

[ku4hx]

I've had two for several years and they've always worked just fine. Got the pair and a Nylon web pouch at the same time for around $17 if I remember correctly.

Mine were rough around the interior mouth area, but a hobby knife and a little 600 grit emery paper fixed that. The springs felt a bit soft but never caused a problem. I replaced them with Wolff +10% units early on and they have worked flawlessly too.

I think that $17 was well spent.

 

[JTQ]

leadcounsel wrote,
Couldn't you say that about nearly ANY gun related or other hobby related item? I mean, seriously folks...

Hey, if you see value in the product buy them by the gross.

I suspect the typical Glock G17 owner has a couple dozen 17 round mags, and may have one 33 rounder, just because they make them, and mostly for laughs at the range.

As jmr40 says, there isn't much practical use for them.

jmr40 wrote,
At $10 each I'd try 1 or 2 just for range use. But wouldn't want to have to buy a dozen to get the discount.

FWIW, I have a couple of the factory 33 rounders and they are perfectly reliable. I don't see a lot of practical use for them unless things got truly bad. But I do take them to the range and would trust them if I had to.

 

[Big Bad Bob]

PASS< PASS<PASS< SHIP BACK TO THE ROK!

Seriously, if you need cheap Glock mags, the magpuls are a great option I recently ran a handful in a match with no issues. Steer clear of Promag and Korean mags. JMHO.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

I bought a bunch when they first came out. They all had weak springs. The g19 mags were light but fine, the g17 mags were really light and caused stove pipes. I think they may have used the same springs in both, they were the same length when I opened them up. I don't know about the 33 end mags, and I don't know if they changed out the springs. I heard a rumor once upon a time that the Korean gov bought a bunch of glock 19 pistols on the condition that a local supplier make the mags under license. The local supplier then started exporting the mags, and reverse engineered the g17 mags and made them too.

 

[Miky]

I would buy them and paint the bodies yellow or orange to designate them as practice-only magazines. There is a great reason to have them - more magazines equals less time spent loading on the firing line. If they are terrible, its an excellent opportunity to practice clearing malfunctions.

I wouldn't use them for serious business. Glock is on its 4th generation of gun and its 9th generation of magazine. That should give you an indication of how important the magazine is to the design. They aren't all the same.

 

[Zerodefect]

Pass. I wish I could get a 1911 that ran on Glock mags. That's one of the best reasons to get a Glock. Don't skimp here.

 

[justice06rr]

Man, I thought one of the selling points of Glocks was the plentiful and inexpensive factory/OEM mags!

They are plentiful, and relatively cheap if you shop around. Online is usually cheaper than local stores. And each store will always add their own mark-up for profit.

For range mags, the Korean ones work just fine. Its not going to be super reliable, so if you need reliable mags, stick with factor Glock mags.

 

[edmo01]

I'll stick with GLOCK mags...

Edmo

 

[AK103K]

I have a bout 20 of the Korean 17 mags, and shoot them every week in practice. They have been fine, and seem to be just as reliable as the factory mags. Priced at basically 2 for 1 (early on, it was 3 or 4-1), its hard to beat the price.

After a few years of constant use, I did replace the springs in 10 of them with Wolff springs. Dont know exactly how many cycles they had when I swapped them out, but I shoot on average, 300+ rounds a week, so that should give an idea. I cant say the factory mags would be any better with all that use, as I dont have a baseline with them to know.

I also have both Korean and factory 33 rounders, and both have had issues. I found two of the Korean mags in my safe, that had been loaded for a couple of years and forgotten about. They didnt fare well at the range the next time out. Lots of malfunctions. The other four I have, that werent loaded, seemed to be fine, and worked as they should. I replaced the springs and followers with Glock parts in the two that had problems, and they seem to be OK now.

The Glock factory 33 rounders havent been all that great either. They have had issues too, although they seem to be getting better with use. I dont trust them for anything serious either.

I wouldnt have a problem using the Korean 17 mags for anything serious if I needed them. As far as Ive seen, they seem to work as well as the factory 17 mags I have. They are great for practice mags, and worth it just for that.

 

[leadcounsel]

I have a bout 20 of the Korean 17 mags, and shoot them every week in practice. They have been fine, and seem to be just as reliable as the factory mags. Priced at basically 2 for 1 (early on, it was 3 or 4-1), its hard to beat the price.

After a few years of constant use, I did replace the springs in 10 of them with Wolff springs. Dont know exactly how many cycles they had when I swapped them out, but I shoot on average, 300+ rounds a week, so that should give an idea. I cant say the factory mags would be any better with all that use, as I dont have a baseline with them to know.

I also have both Korean and factory 33 rounders, and both have had issues. I found two of the Korean mags in my safe, that had been loaded for a couple of years and forgotten about. They didnt fare well at the range the next time out. Lots of malfunctions. The other four I have, that werent loaded, seemed to be fine, and worked as they should. I replaced the springs and followers with Glock parts in the two that had problems, and they seem to be OK now.

The Glock factory 33 rounders havent been all that great either. They have had issues too, although they seem to be getting better with use. I dont trust them for anything serious either.

I wouldnt have a problem using the Korean 17 mags for anything serious if I needed them. As far as Ive seen, they seem to work as well as the factory 17 mags I have. They are great for practice mags, and worth it just for that.

Thanks for the feedback.

At $10, versus $30+ dollars, the super-high capacity ones are about 3 for 1 versus Glock factory. I figure worst case that the springs need replacing. The wolff springs are $8. So that's still about 2 for 1 pricing IF the springs are inadequate. The body is really the important ban-able part. Hard to ban a spring.

Hence why I've decided to buy up a bunch, even if I don't "NEED" them.

33 rounds is > than 16 rounds all things considered equally.

 

[Lman57]

I have 6 mags for my Glock 17 all Glock mags I would not try anything else.

 

[AK103K]

If you only have a couple of mags for the gun and dont really use them all that much, then the factory make the best choice.

If you practice a lot, and are using them hard, then the Korean make better sense. You get more mags for your money, and saves wear and tear on the factory mags.

I load mine all up before I go, so I can concentrate on shooting. I normally dont have to load any more at the range.

 

[Sapper771]

I dont have any experience with the specified mags.

I purchased 4 of the KCI 17 round G17 mags back when CDNN had them for $4 ( ~2009-2010). I got them with the intent of using them as range mags. I kept a record of how many rounds was fired through each individual mag. IIRC, I did not have any problems with them til around 1200 to 1500 rounds through them. The problem was that fouling and gunk was causing the magazine follower to misguide rounds. They would get stuck in the mag body and cause FTFeed. I took them apart and cleaned them, fixed! . I still use them today without issue. My eval of them stopped just shy of 2k rounds through each mag. After that, I replaced the follower and spring with Glock factory parts.

I did lose one of the four training mags to a busted magazine pad. I was training on hardball and did my first mag change.....pad busted and all the guts shot out. So, I wouldnt drop them on hard surfaces.

I am now evaluating the Magpul G17 mags. I have 2 so far that have been flawless. Mine were recall mags, no problems before or after the body swap. A friend reported one FTFeed while using them with hollow points on the old mag, none since the swap.

 

[Buzznrose]

Stick with either OEM Glock mags or the new Magpul Glock mags. They had an issue at the very beginning but that's been resolved and from all accounts and my experience, they are now as reliable as OEM mags at a 30-35% price discount.

 

[AK103K]

I may give the Magpuls a try, but with my experiences with the Korean 17 mags, Im confidant in their quality and reliability, and even with todays inflated prices, Im still $5 ahead with them vs the Magpuls.

Ive been buying the Korean mags for awhile now, right when they first showed up, and here and there when I see them on sale, or cheaper than usual. I didnt just buy one or two, or a bunch from one lot, but across the whole import lot over time. Other than the issues Ive had with the 33 rounders (which the factory 33 rounders dont seem to be immune from either), I havent had any troubles with the 20 or so 17 mags, or the dozen or so 19 mags I have. They all seem to work OK.

 

[atblis]

Have a few of the Korean mags. No issues. GLOCK factory mags can be had for less than $20 if you shop around.

 

[Lycidas Janwor]

Of my 9 Glock 17 mags 2 are KCI (Korean). Neither has given me a hint of trouble.

I just bought 5 Pmags 17s (GL9) for $70.00.

 

[WinThePennant]

PASS

Only buy Glock mags. They aren't that expensive, and just plain work.

I am hearing good things about the Magpul mags for Glock.

 

[atblis]

Maybe this will bring the Korean mags back down in price. I remember them being $7. They made sense at that price.

 

[AK103K]

That works for me.

 

[Stugotz]

I tend to concur with many here that would go with factory mags for one reason or another. The current friendly prices
on them seems to be the main motivator.

While I have used both Korean and factory mags in several sizes with equally good success, I just FEEL better (on all
counts) with Glock factory mags.

Call it ... peace of mind.

 

[Sapper771]

Since I have been evaluating the Magpul G17 mags, I forgot that I also have 3 KCI Glock 19 mags. These were purchased a few years ago. I think I paid $7 each for them. They have around 400 to 500 rounds fired through each of them with no issues.

While on the range Saturday, I noticed this between drills.




The mag continued to function fine. The range I was on was grassy, but rocky and hard as concrete. I will have to check the other 2 for cracks.

My opinion is that the mags are great for range/training mags, but I would still use Glock factory mags for serious work.