hocuzgetaction

Hey Sig Gang,

Got a question that I didn't see in any noticeable post. I got some really nice 9mm, 229-1 (for the E2) mags that came with my purchase. Now I want more. I heard that if I get the regular 229 mags that they may "wiggle" a bit but will still work. Can anyone confirm this?
Secondly, are there any cheaply made mags that I should avoid? The 2 that I got were made in Italy and seem really high quality and gorgeous.

Thanks ahead of time

Dozer

I too have the 229-1 mags and was told the 229 mags would work but, with the slop, could cause mis-fires and possible extraction problems. The two mags cost the same at my local shop so, I will just get the 229-1's and be safe.

TravestyTrav

I agree. There's no reason to throw your old 229 mags away, but I bought 229-1 mags for my E2 P229. I do have 229 SCT mags that work just fine in my E2 and have never given me any issues, however, MecGar now also offers +2 229-1 mags for E2 9mms

hocuzgetaction

So I called Sig Sauer and they confirmed that their is a high probablity that they COULD cause a misfire or jam. It would not be worth the risk to have that happen at the critical point of need for reliability (home defense). It is my first firearm anyway so I won't have anything to throw away. I just want to buy the right thing, the first time around.

TravestyTrav

Yeah, if that's going to be your home defense/concealed carry pistol and you're going to bet your life on it, you want the right mags for it. I only use my 9mm for range work and I use .40 cals for home defense and concealed carry, so I'm not too worried about using old-style 229 mags in my 9mm 229. For your purposes, definitely get the 229-1 mags.

bearone2

stay away from checkmate/usa made. many folks report "0" problems & others park 'em in the trash.

hocuzgetaction

I'm getting a quote of about $36 on sigsauerguns.com(USA made ). Shipping is kinda high though. Anyone see cheaper ones?

TravestyTrav

I usually get my SIG mags from topgunsupply.com. They seem to always have the best prices.

hocuzgetaction

Stay away from all USA made? Or you meant checkmate itself?

bearone2

lately, when sig has delivered pistols, the sig supplier has been checkmate & folks have posted that they say "made in usa", without the checkmate name on the mag & they're nowhere near the quality of the italian mecgars.

i'm certainly not going to say all usa made mags are garbage because my point of reference is only with p-series sigs & what's been reported on various sig discussion groups, like this one.

i'm fortunate to have all mecgars, save a few red headed step children that aren't marked & will never see sd/hd duty.

TravestyTrav

I agree, I think Mec-Gar magazines are much better. That's all I have. I wonder why SIG switched to Checkmate when Mec-Gar has supplied their "factory" mags for so long. Oh well, whenever possible, I try to buy the non "SIG Sauer"-stamped Mec-Gar mags that have the anti-friction coating anyway.

bearone2

$$$$-the facts of surviving in business, lower the cost, sacrifice reliability & tell the customer failures are acceptable.

hocuzgetaction

I just ordered a few 17 round Mec-gars. I'm ready for zombies! haha

bearone2

good choice

TravestyTrav

I just picked up a NIB P229 SAS Gen 2 today and it came with "Made in Italy" stamped on the factory mags, so I guess whenever that one was made they were still using Mec-Gar mags. I'm going to be really disappointed when I finally buy a new SIG and find Checkmate mags in the box.

Anyway, let us know what you think of the 17rd Mec-Gars. I have 17rd SIG-stamped 229 SCT mags that are made by Mec-Gar, but they're not 229-1 mags and they're not the same as the Mec-Gar-stamped mags, so I'd like to know how well they perform.

hocuzgetaction

I didn't forget. I just got a chance to use them this past Turkey Day. We shot about 600+ rounds through my new MecGar 17 rounders. We shot all kinds of ammo (except JHP) and it ate it all up with ZERO failures.

They work great and are stamped "MG P229-1 9mm" on one side and "Made in Italy" on the other. The butt of the Mag sticks out farther, and has "Plus 2" on it and it gives my pinky a comfy place to hangout now.

The only negative thing I have to say about the Mags is the last round is difficult to load, even with an Uplula loader. The finish is not anti-friction, like the mags that come with the gun, but still quality stuff.

TravestyTrav

Ah. Good to know. Thanks for the report.