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Factory vs. Aftermarket Glock Magazines
If you have owned your Glock for any time at all, you’ve seen lots of ammunition magazines offered from various manufacturers for sale at gun shops and gun shows. Yes, factory Glock magazines are kind of pricey compared to some aftermarket products. In fact, you can sometimes buy two or even three aftermarket mags for the price of a single original Glock-branded magazine. So, what are the best Glock 9mm magazines out there? Let’s take a look.
Benefits of Factory Original Glock Magazines
Deciding which manufacturer’s product will work best for your Glock is easy. The factory Glock magazines offer bulletproof reliability and function in your Glock handgun. For personal defense or competitions with prizes (or prize money) on the line, a whole lot of prudent people use factory Glock products. I have shot over fifteen thousand rounds using Glock mags in the past ten years and can count on one hand the number of malfunctions. And none were the result of magazine issues.
But are factory originals the best Glock 9mm magazines? Even though they are factory original mags from trusted vendors, I still believe in the old maxim, “trust but verify.” I always function check the magazines before I carry them for life-saving purposes.
How do I function test them? I shoot both defensive and cheaper range ammo through them to ensure they work flawlessly in my pistols.
Best Aftermarket Magazines for Glock Handguns
For those on a tight budget or those who wish to buy some affordable aftermarket 9mm magazines for practice or training, there are a number of good non-Glock options that work well.
Magpul
Probably the best Glock 9mm magazines from an aftermarket manufacturer come from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Magpul introduced their PMags for Glocks in recent years. The company had some minor issues with some of the early ones, but their current product rivals factory Glock specimens in function and reliability. I have some myself and I can’t recall a single failure in over a couple of thousand rounds.
Even better, the Magpul Glock mags come in a range of capacities, including 10, 12, 15, 17, 21 and 27 rounds. Better still, as of today, all remain priced under $20 a piece street price.
Elite Tactical Systems
Elite Tactical Systems makes a clear plastic magazine for Gaston’s pride as well. I have limited experience using them or watching students run with them, but I have witnessed zero reliability or durability issues with those I’ve seen — to the extent that they’ve earned a place among the best Glock 9mm magazines from third-party manufacturers.
The handful of students over the years using these all expressed strong satisfaction with the clear mags as well. The only thing that has scared me away from these is seeing the cartridges jumbled around inside the loaded magazine. Sometimes some things are better left unseen.
Be Picky — You Often Get What You Pay For
I’ve had bad experiences with a couple of other inexpensive, third-party makers’ magazines. Yes, they boldly claim that they guarantee reliability and offer a money back guarantee. None of them have worked reliably for me. I got what I paid for in terms of spring and follower failures or deformed feed lips. A guarantee means nothing, especially if you can’t find a replacement for a faulty product because the company has gone bankrupt.
Why waste energy and your hard-earned money on marginal performers when you can buy flawlessly-performing factory originals for a few bucks more…or excellent aftermarket products from reputable makers at very affordable, competitive prices?
Be Sure to Stock Up
Whichever brand you choose, make sure you pick up some extra magazines for your favorite Glock pistol. Whether it’s the best Glock 17 magazines or the best Glock 19 magazines, they won’t last forever. They eventually degrade with use, in part because of those delicate feed lips. With hard use, they can become deformed or broken. This can lead to malfunctions.
Also, regardless of the brand of magazine you buy, a good practice is to number them with a Sharpie marker. That way, if you have issues with a particular magazine, you can remove it from your regular gear rotation and remand it to training or discard it.
