Mags in Different Pistols: Magazine Substitutes

[SharpsDressedMan]

Just had an interesting incident this afternoon whilst taking a break fron the backyard shoot. I went into my shed, which doubles as my reloading space/clubhouse, and picked up a magazine and inserted it in my Beretta 92FS to see if it was for the Beretta. It snapped into place way too soon, so I figured it was for a CZ75 (my brother had given me an aftemarket CZ mag just to get rid of it...he got it with other stuff he wanted). Curiosity made me depress the mag catch, and override the notch, to see if it would go further into the Beretta. It did, and then further testing found that it would indeed feed rounds into the Beretta if was held all the way in with the palm of the non-shooting hand. So, a CZ mag CAN be used in a Beretta, and can even be modified with an additional notch to work without manually holding it in. Will it work in reverse? Stay tuned, and I'll post some more findings in the near future. In the meantime, has anyone else discovered similar interchangeability with auto pistol mags, for permanent or emergency use? I thought it would be an interesting topic.

 

[Mad Magyar]

That's interesting, but not unusual. Many mags can be exchanged with other models (like S&W for Daewoo..etc.); they might stick out a little, but functional. What I warn pistoleros about are the aftermarket mags for vintage pistols. I've found that they might feed, but removal is almost impossible; like in the HSc by Mauser...

 

[jmr40]

Sometimes works, but I wouldn't bet my life on using the wrong mags. I once accidentally stuck a Sig 226 mag into my Beretta and it worked.

During the AWB it was quite common for folks to buy 10 round .40 mags and load 14 9mm rounds in them and use them. I had 100% success with both Beretta and Glock 9mm's doing this.

I once had a Ruger P-90 that would fire with 1911 mags in it. The notch in the mag didn't even line up, but as long as I held my little finger under the mag to keep it in the gun it functioned fine.

I have several guns with similar looking mags, G20 and G21 for example. I've since clearly marked all of them with a silver sharpie on the black magazines and with a black sharpie on the stainless ones.

 

[Plan-B]

During the Clinton ban, some Walther fans discovered that a Beretta 92 magazine can be used in a P99 with notch work. The catch for each gun is on opposite sides so it didn't affect function in the Beretta. I don't think it was 100% reliable (more like ~99%) so a lot of the folks chiming in were using it for range duty only.

 

[Pizzagunner]

A Beretta 92FS magazine will fit into the standard XD, and the original or Stoeger produced Cougar, but will need different notch cuts.

A Beretta PX-4 magazine extension base will fit the bottom of a S&W M&P magazine.

 

[rfurtkamp]

XD/92 will function with a new notch cut in Sig 226 (and probably 228/229) as well.