TFB Review: The 18-Round Glock Metal Magazine By Mec-Gar

How do you write an interesting article about a piece of bent metal made in Italy? Well, if the piece of metal sits in the latest Staccato and has the potential to replace Glock magazines in those Austrian handguns, it might be a good start? If I also told you that the same magazine holds 18 rounds, one more round compared to factory magazines and still offers a flush fit, do we have your interest? I bought one magazine from a local Mec-Gar dealer for the sake of this review. At the time, he only had two and wanted to keep one as a demo for others.

Mec-Gar provides three magazine models: one for the Glock 17, holding 18 rounds, and another for the Glock 19, also holding 18 rounds ( here). The Glock 19 model includes an outer sleeve to cover the magazine portion extending below the pistol's grip. There’s also a Glock 17 magazine for 10 rounds. This review is about the Glock 17, which, of course, fits in the Glock 45, as you can see in the images. I tried the same magazine in quite a few G17s and G45s and it worked. As you can see, I’m using the original Polymer magazine latch and there’s no need to change it to a metal one.

Those looking to personalize their Mec-Gar magazines further will run into problems, as standard Glock replacement floorplates are not compatible. Furthermore, this magazine will not work with the Glock 19X pistol.

Mec-Gar’s Own Specification

https://mec-gar.com/shop/magazines/glock/glock-17-9mm-18-round/

• GLOCK® 17 9MM 18-ROUND
• Compatible Firearms: Glock 17
• Caliber: 9mm
• Capacity: 18 rounds (+1 round compared to factory magazines and still flush fit)
• Coating: Anti-Friction
• Follower: High visibility Green, High-impact polymer
• Tube: Heat treated carbon steel
• Spring: High tensile music wire
• Floorplate: High-impact polymer
• SKU: MGG171800A — UPC: 765595900004

Also note Mec-Gar’s disclaimer: “This product is not manufactured, authorized, endorsed, or warranted by GLOCK. GLOCK does not warrant or represent that this product is compatible with GLOCK pistols.”

Mec-Gar has been around since 1965 and is one of the most trusted magazine manufacturers in the World. All Mec-Gar magazines are made in Italy.

The price is $29, and I rarely argue about the price of magazines, so I’ll leave you readers to be the judge if it’s worth it or not. It’s hard to make a magazine that’s cheaper and better than Glock’s, but there are many advantages to Mec-Gar’s model. I’m not sure it’s measurable, but it seems they fall more easily during magazine changes. What’s measurable is the +1 round count, and in some way, they also feel a little more distinct. I had no issues with retention in any pistol.

Below: The Glock 45 MOS FS TB letting go of the Mec-Gar metal magazine. The drop is free, and while I don’t normally have an issue with Glock original magazines or Magpul’s versions, I would probably trust a metal magazine even more to drop freely.

I have tried my one and only Mec-Gar Glock magazine in about every Glock pistol I managed to find on the range, and there was never an issue with the fit or function. Not that I would use this magazine in a PCC (typically, I always run more than 18 rounds), but because most PCCs take Glock magazines, I thought it would be a good idea to try that as well. Here I ran into some issues, as a few PCCs wouldn’t accept the Mec-Gar magazine, for reasons unknown, and we did not spend a lot of time debugging either. This is not a major issue, or an issue at all in reality, but a review is a review and that’s what I found out.

Apart from some AR9/PCC issues, I have nothing negative to report. For some, this magazine is a game-changer, as one extra round can make a lot of difference in competition as well as in self-defense situations. I could only encourage Mec-Gar to add a version with even more capacity. The Mec-Gar magazine for Glock feels and behaves like a solid magazine that I would trust.

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