Would you prefer 4 magazines with new pistols for little more money?

[el Godfather]

Dear THR:
Since lot of us end up buying extra magazines for our pistols anyway, would you prefer if 4 magazines are shipped with every new pistol box? I would pay extra at the beginning and be done with it and beyond 4 I dont need for all my semi autos. I think if we can convince the companies to package 4 magazines, it wont effect cost as much as we would pay for those magazines afterwards.

To a certain extent manufacturers have started this by adding the third magazine. Four would be ideal for me.

What do you think?

 

[CajunBass]

Why stop at four? Why not six? Or eight?

No matter how many they packed the majority of people wouldn't be happy. Some would want more, some, probably the majority wouldn't want to pay more (and you would have to) for more magazines they'd never use.

For example, the only gun I ever used more than one magazine for was a Colt 1911 I used for IPSC shooting years ago. To me, four would just be clutter.

 

[C0untZer0]

Centerfire Systems had the Korean Glock magazines on sale for $12.99 and I bought 2 of the 33 rounders.

I'm not really sure why though.

Most of the time when I'm at the range I just put 5 rounds in a mag anyway. I like bullseye shooting more than anything else and I don't feel like hefting 17 rounds worth of 9mm ammo. But because I only load 5 rounds, it helps to have 5 or 6 magazines instead of just 2.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Centerfire Systems had the Korean Glock magazines on sale for $12.99 and I bought 2 of the 33 rounders.

About a year ago I bought about a dozen of Korean mags for my G19. As I recall CDNN had them for about $8.

I had several loaded for months.
Glad I didn't have to use them because the springs died.

I bought new springs from Wolff. As I recall they came 10 in a package.


I am a big fan of extra magazines but IMO two mage with a new gun is OK for most people.

 

[PJSprog]

Depends on the magazines, I suppose. As long as they're supplying decent quality, more might be better. Seems to me, though, that most people end up springing for better quality after-market mags.

 

[wally]

Seems to me, though, that most people end up springing for better quality after-market mags

Virtually impossible to find better quality than the factory mags, about the best you can do is as good, if Mec-Gar makes mags for your pistol (they OEM a lot of factory mags). Pretty much every other after-market magazine maker for pistols other than 1911s are making crap -- ProMag, Triple-K, National, Replacement, to name a few "brands" I'd advise you to avoid.

I've so far had zero issues with the Korean Glock 22, Glock 17, and AK mags. ANd I've got a bunch that I paid from $5-8 each for at gun shows. The Korean PS90 mags have had underpowered springs that gave up the ghost (bolt closing on empty chamber 2-3 times in 50) after only a few outings.

I think the factory mags are generally over priced and we'd be better served with more magazine standardization -- there is no reason other than marketing that the 17-round Sigma, SD & M&P 9mm mags have to all be slightly different.

 

[weblance]

Autoloaders should come with 2 magazines at the MINIMUM. If the gun comes with one magazine(like many do) and that magazine becomes damaged, or lost, the pistol is a single shot, or worse... useless. I suppose you have to look at the supply chain. Many manufacturers dont make the magazines. When a new pistol is brought to market, the supply of magazines might be very low, so to sell more pistols, one magazine is supplied. I know this was what happened with the Umarex Colt Walther 1911-22 and the Umarex Walther PPK/S 22.

I like having a minimum of 3 magazines for my centerfire autoloaders. My FNX-45 shipped with 3, and I am not searching for more. I am happy with three. Rimfire pistols, I like 6, one in the pistol, and 5 extras.

Shipping a new pistol with 4 magazines would be great, but I dont see it happening.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I agree they should all come with 2.
I recently bought a Sig SP2022 and a Taurus 709 Slim and they both came with only 1 mag. I hate that.

 

[Fremmer]

Yep as every sig owner knows, the mags don't always make it to the consumer.

 

[Teachu2]

I prefer to choose how many mags I own for each gun, although I think they should all come with at least two. (SP2022 is a great example - and spares were hard to find. I bought two spares, gave one to a newbie who only had the one it came with.)

My carry guns have at least three each, my GSSF guns at least five. If I'm going to shoot a 50-round match three times, I want to load the mags the day before (touch of arthritis in my hands, so they get sore and weak).

 

[GBExpat]

Would you prefer 4 magazines with new pistols for little more money?

Of course.

 

[osteodoc08]

My Sig TacOps came with 4 magazines from the factory. I haven't had issues with the checkmate mags. I'm happy.

 

[g_one]

In my opinion, one is not enough. Two is nice, I wouldn't really expect more to come with your average gun. Three is perfect, and I would be pleasantly surprised. Four or more is overkill.

 

[gandog56]

Four is about the MINIMUM amount of magazines for any of my semi pistols.

And I have quite a few!

 

[Deaf Smith]

I don't read that many gun magazines to need four.

Deaf

 

[Ben86]

Not really, I can just get extras on my own. I would rather reduce the initial sticker shock my wife experiences.

I don't even like it when they include an extended mag with a gun instead of the regular flush mag. I like my magazines to all be flush so I end up selling the extended one to get another flush one.

I get tired of manufacturers trying to guess what extras we want and then include them in every purchase, at additional cost mind you. Just include the gun and a few magazines please.

I only need six magazines for my carry gun anyway, as I rotate three at a time. The rest are fine with three.

 

[moxie]

Three or four might be enough assuming you don't do drills or classes where they can get damaged. For me, three's the minimum for a carry gun, and that's what I think should come with a new gun. But if I use it a lot at the range I use different mags (don't want carry mags full of sand and stepped on), and have 8-10 of them. And, a few years from now, when the gun is out of production, will you be able to get replacements? There are many factors that determine how many mags each of us needs.

 

[Hokkmike]

I'd be happy with 2. The last two semis I bought had NO extra magazines. A spare should be standard.

 

[TestPilot]

4 magazines for a little more would be my preference.

 

[hentown]

Why 4? Why not 5, or 8 or some other number?

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I honestly think 3-4 are a good number from the factory. I can deal with 2 but when they give you just one ATI 1911 .22, Hk/Umarex MP5 it just pisses me off. Then most want an outrageous amount for an extra magazine...

 

[Fatdaddy]

At one time lots of guns came with only one magazine, some still do.
Adding the cost of more magazines may put the purchase of a new firearm out of reach for some shooters.
The manufacturers could even cut out some of the "useless" extras IMO.
The buyer should be able to decide if they want to purchase a holster, mag carrier, nice plastic storage case or additional magazines?
I'd be perfectly fine if guns came with 2 mags and packaged in a small cardboard box like the new Shields come in.
Less clutter in the gun cabinet

 

[GBExpat]

Would you prefer 4 magazines with new pistols for little more money?

To me, "little" is the operative term in the question posed, which is why I responded in the affirmative.

The first thing that I, and almost all of us, do upon acquiring a new handgun is source extra mags.

Am I interested in paying the equivalent of MSRP for those extra mags included with the new gun? Absolutely not ... but I would happily pay an additional ~$30-$40 for 2 extra factory mags.

Most recently, after buying my SA XDs45 last summer, I sourced extra factory mags. Best price that I found was $22.07/ea for the 5s at Brownells ... and they are still on backorder.

EDIT:
BTW, I agree that the MFRs should lose the extraneous crap ... and, thereby, trim the prices a bit.

IMO, Pistol + ~4 mags + Manual carefully packaged in a sturdy cardboard box (the way my S&Ws came) would be perfect.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

I would prefer 3 instead of two.

 

[giggitygiggity]

I prefer that my guns come with one or two magazines as I suspect that if they came with more, the seller would raise the price and you'd be overpaying for an additional magazine. I tend to like to have 5-10 magazines for all my pistols. I keep my eyes open and buy magazines when I find an awesome deal. Rarely do I ever pay full price for magazines.