Recently, we tested two modern full-size 9mm pistols that were supplied with extended magazines or a combination of extended- and standard-capacity magazines. This stirred up interest in extended magazines in common carry guns and led to this report. We value marksmanship over a lot of shots, but many shooters find a surplus of ammunition comforting. But are these magazines reliable enough for home defense or compact enough for concealed carry? Sometimes when shooters are training, they may simply riddle a target and maybe they don’t learn much. Their ammunition goes quickly. They perceive they need more ammunition whether they actually do or not. After all, limited capacity is one reason few of us carry a revolver as the primary defensive handgun these days. Some magazines add a few rounds with little weight penalty and are not that difficult to conceal. Others affect the balance of the handgun and are impossibly unwieldy for normal concealed carry.
Most professionals think that there is too great an emphasis on capacity. That said, having 9 to 10 rounds on hand is good to have, and a reserve of ammunition is good to have. A spare magazine is used to address malfunction drills and just in case it is needed. Most defensive encounters are settled in the first three shots, but not all are.
Mechanically, an extended magazine is more difficult to get right than a standard magazine. Asking a magazine to feed from no compression to full compression of 20 to 30 cartridges is asking a lot. But for our testing, we accept no compromises in reliability, so we began testing a number of extended magazines for popular 9mm handguns. Here is our test procedure:
1. Loading to full capacity: How difficult is the magazine to load? Are the springs very stiff? Do we need a magazine loader?
2. Deployment: The magazine must lock in to the gun securely when fully loaded, and the magazine catch must support the extra weight.
3. Reliability: Because recoil impulse differs in 115-grain and 147-grain loads, we used Winchester white box 115-grain rounds and Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics 147-grain cartridges during the test, filling the magazines with a full load of each cartridge for testing. The ammunition has performed well in the past, and we used handguns that have proven reliable.
4. Carry Comfort: Finally, we put the extended magazines in a carrier to determine if they were viable for use in concealed carry, or if they tipped too far, or if they dug into the ribs. Here’s what we learned:
Beretta 92 20-Round Magazines
Mec-Gar MGPB9220DPS, $35
Beretta 1385979/1, $39
These magazines appeared identical, save the Beretta features a sleeve on the magazine body. The Mec-Gar does not. This sleeve is supposed to prevent ramming the magazine past the magazine catch and tying the gun up. This would not be possible with a standard-length magazine because it only fits flush and doesn’t extend past the gun butt. For what it is worth, we did not experience such a difficulty as we slammed the magazines home in field testing, even with magazines without a sleeve. In comparison, on Brownells.com, a standard 18-round flush-fit Beretta 92 9mm magazine may be purchased for $25 in the Mec-Gar line. So you have considerably more cost for two more rounds. We test-fired both magazines, and each was reliable. No problems there. However, loading to 20 rounds was very difficult. In fact, loading to 18 rounds in a 20-round magazine was more difficult than loading the flush-fit 18-round magazine. There is a possibility that both magazines are made by Mec-Gar; we could not confirm that, but they are similar. Even with a magazine loader, pushing in the last two cartridges is difficult. We found the slightly heavier magazine to be no problem in carrying in the magazine carrier on the belt.
Our Team Said: The added expense, and especially the difficulty in loading to full capacity, just isn’t worth it, in our opinion. We think it’s a better choice to keep standard 18-round magazines on hand for both home and field use. However, these magazines do work reliably in the gun, if you simply must have the extra two rounds.
Gun Test Grade C: Beretta
Gun Test Grade C: Mec-Gar
SIG P320 21-Round Factory Magazine
MAG-MOD-F-9-21, $50
This factory magazine is pricey but well made. It also features a sleeve on the bottom of the magazine. The 21-round SIG magazine listed on The Mag Shack (TheMagShack.com) is also the easiest to load to full capacity of any of the 19- to 27 -round magazines tested here. No more effort was required than in loading the standard P320 magazine. The 21-round magazine proved flawless in operation. The magazine never failed to feed. We really like the easy loading of the magazine. Finish is excellent as well. This magazine isn’t too large to carry on a belt carrier. It doesn’t tilt or tip or dig into the ribs.
Our Team Said: While pricey, this magazine serves well in increasing the payload of the SIG pistol. It is at its best in home defense or as a spare in the carrier.
Gun Test Grade A
Smith & Wesson Military & Police 2.0
23-Round Magazine 3015917, $45
This is another pricey magazine, but then we are getting used to the sticker shock compared to run-of-the-mill magazines. The S&W 23-round magazine is a nicely finished metal magazine. This is the same magazine supplied with the S&W FDC carbine. With different feed dynamics in a pistol and a carbine, it is a neat trick to make a magazine work properly in both types of firearms. The Smith & Wesson 23-round 9mm magazine runs just fine in either firearm. There is a magazine sleeve at the base of the magazine. While not necessary in most cases, these sleeves give the shooter something other than a square metal magazine to hold on to. We had four different examples that we tested in both the carbine and a Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Spec. Operation is flawless. The magazine locks and functions as it should. Both the locked-breech pistol and the blowback carbine were reliable. This magazine is on the long side for carry in a belt carrier. For some of the raters, it is just too long, hitting the ribs and tipping as you bend over.
Our Team Said: For function and for home defense use, the Smith & Wesson 23-round magazine is a good choice.
Gun Test Grade A
Smith & Wesson SD9
32-Round ProMag SMI-A20, $31
The S&W SD9 is a price leader in 9mm pistols, so we were surprised to find an extended magazine available for this economy handgun at the website GunMagWarehouse.com. The ProMag magazine is an all-metal unit with a dull matte finish. The magazine was very difficult to load to fuIl capacity. Furthermore, it was difficult to load at all with the first full round, and every round was very hard, even with a magazine loader. It was difficult to get the first few cartridges loaded, and the last three were extremely difficult. The magazine locked into the pistol okay, but there was loose motion in the lock up. Then, we had difficulty convincing the first cartridge to feed. After a half dozen attempts, the first FMJ nose finally fed. We tried locking the slide to the rear and releasing it to load, and also racking the slide over a loaded magazine. We finally had success in slapping the magazine home and racking the slide. Once the first cartridge fed, the magazine fed properly with each type of ammunition. Since we smelled a break-in situation, we went beyond the test parameters and tried a third magazine load, this time with CCI Blazer 115-grain 9mms. We had the same difficulty. This time we also had good function in feeding and firing after four attempts to get the magazine to feed the first round.
Our Team Said: We rated this magazine down a full grade on hesitant first-cartridge feeding and another grade down because it was the most difficult of any of the magazines to load. We’d pass on this one.
Gun Test Grade D
Glock Factory +2 19-Round Magazine, $25
This is a Glock factory product. Glock magazines are famously reliable and rugged if dropped or even if run over by a vehicle or dropped from an aircraft. Glock magazines feature a steel inner construction covered in polymer and have round-counting openings in the back face of the magazine. This magazine is a 17-rounder with an enlarged base plate providing two more cartridges. One rater has lost count of the add on base pads he’s broken in training. Many are not robust. Glock factory magazines are another thing. These magazines were tested in a Glock 45, a Glock 19-length pistol with a full-length slide, and also a Glock 49, which uses a Glock 19-type grip. Despite protruding from the Glock 49’s butt, there were no malfunctions. Locking in place and ejection are normal. Carrying on the belt isn’t difficult.
Our Team Said: These magazines never failed to function. We feel that these magazines are a great addition to the Glock.
Gun Test Grade A
Glock 9mm 33-round Magazine $38
This magazine was originally developed for the Glock 18 fully automatic pistol. They are large and heavy magazines but offer a good reserve of ammunition. If facing a takeover robbery or a home invasion by multiple adversaries, the Glock 33-round magazine offers 16 double taps in a fully loaded handgun. The magazine was the subject of quite a bit of discussion and its tactical niche. The magazine is heavy. However, the Glock is generally referred to as slide heavy. The balance isn’t that bad when firing offhand on the firing range. Function is good, without any trace of a problem in locking in place or ejecting. Feed reliability is excellent. Loading the magazine becomes more difficult than the 19-round magazine as the round count approaches the 27-round mark. It is a struggle to get to 31 rounds, and a magazine loader is needed to fully load the magazine. We don’t think a home owner who is only able to load 30 rounds is in a weak position. We also tested this magazine in a KelTec G3 9mm Sub 2000 carbine. We feel the magazine shines in this application.
Our Team Said: We rated it down half a grade on difficulty to load to 33 rounds. As for carrying on the belt or on the person, it is hopeless, but the 33-round magazine is fine for home defense.
Gun Test Grade A-
MagPul 27-Round Glock
Magazine MAG662, $19
Listed at PalmettoStateArmory.com, this magazine is affordable and useful. However, it isn’t as robust as the original Glock magazine, and it doesn’t feature the round-counting witness holes of the Glock magazine. Just the same, outside of this test, we have used more than a dozen MagPul magazines with excellent results. If in service for training, they are ideal, and we see no reason not to deploy the MagPul magazine for that use. This magazine holds 27 rounds. Loading was similar to the difficulty experienced with the other magazines. We were able to get to 24 cartridges without difficulty. The last three were a struggle, but we were able to load to 27 rounds without a magazine loader. It is easier to use a magazine loader from the get-go. Locking in place was positive and feed reliability excellent. Since this is a new type of magazine, we also added a mixed load, which we did not do with the other magazines. One of the raters is looking to deploy this magazine as his home and camp-gun load up. Reliability remained good.
Our Team Said: The 27-round MagPul magazine isn’t as heavy as a 33-round magazine, but it isn’t really suited to belt use either. The MagPul is a good buy and a useful magazine. We rated it down a half grade on stiffness in loading.
Gun Test Grade A-
Canik TP9
20-Round Magazine, $35
This magazine comes standard with the long-slide Canik pistols and also fits, locks, and functions in more compact Canik pistols. As a bonus, this magazine fits and functions in Walther PDP handguns. We tested the magazines in both Canik and Walther pistols. The magazine is well finished, if not quite as nicely finished as the Smith & Wesson magazines but equal to the Beretta. The magazines are easily loaded. We felt the slightest additional pressure over an 18-round Walther magazine as an example.
Our Team Said: The magazines locked, ejected, and fed properly. The extension is minimal, really a heavy base pad. We found the only drawback is that the magazines seem loose in the subcompact Canik, which features a 10-round magazine. That is nitpicking, but accurate. We were impressed with this readily available and reliable magazine.
Gun Test Grade A
Written and photographed by Bob Campbell, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT
I think you missed my favorite magazine extension option. I use Taran Tactical machined aluminum extensions for my factory stock M&P 9 and 40 Smith and Wesson magazines. I carry a stock magazine in my EDC handgun and an extended magazine in a Safariland Snag Mag kydex pocket magazine holder. I consider this the best of both worlds. Thank you for your excellent articles.