Before the election, I wanted to pick up some more Glock happysticks. They are moderately practical for pistol use, but at some point I plan on having a Glock-mag-compatible carbine and I’d like to have some mags on hand for when that day happens. Anyway, the Glock-branded mags are, of course, flawless. They are also, of course, expensive. Magpul is supposed to be coming out with their own version, and based on my experience with their 17-rd mags I have no reason to think they won’t be an excellent alternative to the Glock magazine. But….Magpul is taking their time getting the bloody things on the market. Alternatives are the Scherer (utter junk) brand mags and the Korean (hit-n-miss with an emphasis on ‘miss’) mags. But, nature (and the market) abhor a vacuum. One of my regular reads is Tam’s blog and in it I found this post. Tam shoot’s more in a month than many of us shoot in a year, and I’m not one of those gunnies who gets hung up on who has two x-chromosomes and who doesn’t, so I respect her opinion. If she’s having a good experience with them, that’s enough for me to try a few. So…Palmetto has a sale on the ETS happysticks and I ordered up a few. So…when they get here we’ll see how they run.
Notes From The Bunker
For what it’s worth, in one afternoon across approximately 400-500 rounds, I saw three guys running ETS Glock mags have the following issues:
-slide failed to lock back
-failure to feed
They were running various manufacturers and ran both brass and steel cased ammo, and had problems with mainly steel case ammo.
Two of us running Magpul Glock mags only had one complaint: they didn’t always drop free as easily as factory Glock mags when they were empty.
Right now, the best deal going (IMO) is 10 factory Glock 17 mags for $17.99 each with free shipping at Palmetto.
Just a public service announcement from someone with a little bit of first hand experience (granted, not nearly the round count that Tam has under her belt, so take it for what it’s worth).
This.
The Magpul mags have been solid performers, and the only complaint I’ve had is that they occasionally require manual stripping.
Just to expand the data set, I’ve only used the ETS 30-rounder in the Gen2 17, and the 20-round stick in that same gun and a Gen4 34.
I have found that the Wolf Polyformance is an absolute no-go in the ETS mag, but then that stuff doesn’t play well with some of the various finishes on steel mags, either: It binds up in the mag tubes of M&P9s, PPXs, and Ruger Americans in my experience.
One note I forgot to mention – everyone was running either a Glock 19, Glock 26, or Glock 17. The issues didn’t seem to be gun dependent or mag capacity dependent.
While I can’t confirm function with the Kel-Tec Sub-2000, or 9mm AR-platform rifles, the ETS mags have enough variation from factory Glock mags to be incompatible with Gen II KRISS Vector carbines. OEM glock mags and the Korean magazines both function in the KRISS, but not the ETS magazines.
On the plus side, an associate and I attempted several creative ways to damage them and the best we could do was a slight dent in one by slamming it, loaded, on to the edge of a cinder block. The mag still functioned in both a G17/G19.
For me, the ETS mags make great training/range mags. For duty/SHTF/EDC/etc. I’d stick with the OEM. YMMV.
“…the ETS mags have enough variation from factory Glock mags to be incompatible with Gen II KRISS Vector carbines.”
Well, darn.
😉
I was pretty pissed. I ordered quite a few of the ETS mags only to find out none of them would properly seat in the weapon.
Good mags. Just aren’t universally compatible with various weapons platforms.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2319344613/magpul-pmag-gl9-magazine-glock-17-34-9mm-luger-polymer-black
https://www.bayoutactical.com/product-category/9mm-handgun-magazines/
http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting/firearms/handguns/handgun-magazines-speed-loaders%7C/pc/104792580/c/553829580/sc/105526980/i/445682880/magpul-pmag-174-glock-magazine/2030876.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fhandgun-magazines-speed-loaders%2F_%2FN-1114855%2B4294757573%2FNe-4294757573%3FWTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU
Where, oh where, are the .45ACP KRISS happy sticks?
Commander,
I’m also in the market for a Glock-mag-fed 9mm carbine. Honestly it’s more of a want than a need (a condition I have that seems to be getting worse) but it will be nice to plink with an AR platform that charges .10 cents less per round. I just started my buying research. Would you mind sharing what makes/models are on your candidate list? Much appreciated.
Also, to BePrepared, Brownells has factory KRISS Happy Sticks, both the complete mags and the kits to extend factory Glock 21 13-rounders. I got one of the latter to try out. Seems to work fine but shooting my G43 with it is like doing a single dumbbell front raise.
The biggest difference I’ve seen in 9mm Glock carbines is that some have a last shot bolt hold open and some do not. The ones that do, as I understand it, sometimes require a modified Glock magazine/follow to work the catch. Since I want to use outta the box Glock mags with no mods, this is unacceptable to me. On the other hand, The Ak and HK dont have last shot bolt hold opens so perhaps that’s not as big a deal as I might think. I’m leaning towards Angstadt arms‘ guns. They look pretty good and I’ve read good reviews. I’m also looking at TNW’s Aero Survival rifle since it breaks down and can be had in 10mm, .357 SIg, etc, etc.
Thank you for the insight. I was totally unaware that some might require mag modifications to function.
Oh and minor typo in my original post; I meant to reference my Glock 41, not the 43. I don’t think a 25rd Kriss .45ACP magazine would work too well in a single-stack 9mm.
Brownells have Magpul mags for glocks in stock.
27 rounder for $20.85, 3 for $62.55.
21 rounder for $18.95, 3 for $43.99 (was $56.85).
12 rounder for model 26 for $15.15, 3 for $45.45 (which if you think on it is 3 times $45.45).