View Full Version : MAGAZINES AND THEIR MANUFACTURE
Most of us agree that aftermarket magazines fall short of OEM, and of course, I exclude Mec Gar mags from the aftermarket category. What I can't explain is the reason that a manufacturer with its engineers and modern machines can't duplicate OEM quality. An example is Promag, which has been in business over two decades and they still can't get it right. Is cost the main reason?
Most of us agree that aftermarket magazines fall short of OEM, and of course, I exclude Mec Gar mags from the aftermarket category. What I can't explain is the reason that a manufacturer with its engineers and modern machines can't duplicate OEM quality. An example is Promag, which has been in business over two decades and they still can't get it right. Is cost the main reason?
When their target demographic is a low information consumer, why would they waste money on ensuring quality when it would not increase sales to their target demographic?
When their target demographic is a low information consumer, why would they waste money on ensuring quality when it would not increase sales to their target demographic?
Said very well.
This is, sadly, the reality.
Realistically, promag doesn't need 99% reliability, yes I say 99%, machines fail, they, and all manufacturers, will never be 100%.
Sadly, the consumer is the primary reasoning for this. Until no one buys them, because of their failure rate compared to a quality magazine failure rate, they'll continue to provide such quality.
It is cheaper to replace a cheap, under-researched/developed product, if a consumer has issues within warranty than it would be to research high end materials, and the material production process', to get a marginally higher purchase quantity from their consumers.
They offer them cheap enough, it doesn't matter quality, they will be purchased.
Plus, they work, most do. Usually just with conditions. Only load these halfway, use a certain ammo it likes, or with certain firearms, and you'll get some reliability (not saying this works for all). But not the reliability the educated consumer is looking for.
Plus where would educated consumers buy the "guaranteed failure" mags to get some reliable clearance drills practiced?
I fell like I can add something to this conversation....
Quality and consistency cost money. Quite a bit of money actually. And a lot of times that is reflected in the cost of some OEM mags. Sometimes you pay even a little more extra for the name. And sometimes, mags can be expensive and still be a POS. I will tell you that making extremely consistent and reliable mags is not easy. If it were, there wouldn't be suck ass mags.
What I find most interesting about this type of conversation is how a lot of guys will complain about how expensive OEM mags are, then the same person bitches when the cheap aftermarket mag sucks and isn't as reliable as the OEM....kinda funny.
There are some of us mag makers that focus on quality. Our goal was always to be as good or better than an OEM. However, some makers just focus on being cheaper. In the end, the magazine is one of the most important components in making sure your gun runs like it should. Make sure you have good ones....
Promag has never focused on a real quality output...they make a cheap product (money and quality wise) and as mentioned above target a demographic who doesn't care about purchasing a known quality magazine.
MecGar makes some incredible magazines that are at a good price point which have proven themselves over years of use. Magpul has done this with AR mags and is finally starting to dip their toe into the pistol category.
When it comes down to it, the magazine is the most likely cause of problems with a firearm, so while most guys on this forum are selective about what magazines we would purchase and run, we don't represent the vast majority of gun owners who would look at a Mecgar and a Promag side by side at Academy and say "well hell Johnnie, it's the same danged clip for half price!" before loading up on some RIP ammo.
Mecgar I think is OEM for a lot of places. So excluding them is more than fair.
Beyond that, I would consider it to be a degree of one laziness, two lack of QC, or perhaps near complete nonexistence, and trying to sell to the lowest common denominator(Shit mag and RIP ammo indeed). I mean go check out the dumbest things over heard in a gun store thread and you'll get my point there. Also, understand the average consumer is cheap as hell, I mean, they might splurge on a high dollar gun, but how many have seen $2k or even $3k or more rifles with POS optics? Now, look at a $400-$600 handgun and seeing someone trying to save $5 suddenly isn't that surprising. I would also ad in a certain amount of lack of imagination as well on the part of some manufactures since there is a constant theme of the same shit with different branding from some places. Also, I think there is an honest amount of no one holding them accountable for ****ing up.
From the standpoint of myself and many here, Promag and many junk aftermarket brands you are only looking at maybe a $5-10 savings per mag over quality OEM, at least in taking a few moments to browse through what Promag mags are and knowing what I can OEM mags for for Glock, Beretta, Ruger, and a few others, so they are running about 2/3 to 3/4 the price of OEM. Now Magpul and even ETS in regards to Glock mags are about the same price, ETS I think is a couple dollars more than the Magpul but still within the area, and the magpul mags for Glocks have done well for me and have ETS mags on my list to grab to play with. Both seem to be quality, either through personal experience or the braintrust here, and both show signs of imagination since both offer, or will offer, things that the market has asked for(Extended mags in no stupid length for a handgun), and features that are different from OEM. Promag offers nothing from what I see in this regard, and KCI the other only aftermarket glock mag that I can think of is basically a cheap knock off of a factory mag, but with QC and materials lacking. I mean I have had KCI mags that after a couple range trips looked worse than factory mags after five years of regular use, and have personally had more malfs in the handful of KCI mags I have had through multiple glocks than I have ever seen total with all other glocks I have run with factory mags. But at $5 a piece they were good for the training, at $15 I'd buy OEM for a few more dollars or buy Magpul or ETS.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.