This isn’t the catchphrase of your favorite anti-gun politician, but an actual product. I’m sure the marketing folks over at Recover Tactical had a good laugh about calling a product magazine clips. I know it gave me a smile. So what exactly is a magazine clip? Well it’s a clip that fits on your magazine.
A Few More Details on my Magazine Clip
Let’s explain this a little better here. A Magazine Clip is a device that attaches to the bottom of a magazine base plate and gives you a clip like that on a pocket knife. This does require a special base plate be installed on your magazine. Luckily the entire kit is included and single clip and base plates only run about ten bucks each.
The base plate replaces your stock baseplate on your mag and then you can install the clip. Or you can install a flush fitting piece to eliminate the clip. Recover Tactical produces magazine clips for the Glock 17, 19, 43, 21, as well as the Smith and Wesson Shield. Due to the design of the clip you have to have a gun that features a rear slot in the grip. It does limit you to a small gun selection.
As you can see I am rocking the MC17 for my Glock 17. Installation is simple, with the hardest part being how much of a pain removing Glock base plates are. The new base plate is a good bit wider, which I like. It’s easier to pull out of mag pouches and to grip overall. The bottom of the base plate has a slot to accommodate the magazine clip, or a simply flush piece.
Why?
Why does this exist is the big question. For me its makes it easy to carry a spare magazine in the pocket. I clip it on my pocket like a knife and go about my day. It’s a minimalist option to carrying a spare mag. In the pocket its not necessarily distinguishable as a magazine, and its covered by my shirt easily enough.
That wide base plate bottom is great when it comes to drawing from the pocket. It makes it easy to grab and draw with some degree of surety and confidence. Even without the magazine clip this base plate is great when it comes to drawing from belt pouches. That wider lip is easier to grab that the stock Glock magazines.
The Downsides
There are two downsides. First, the Magazine Clip base plate only fits Glock magazines. It will not function on Magpul mags. Not a big deal for most since Glock OEM mags are cheap enough.
The other downside is it may not function in your non Glock gun that feeds from glock magazines. For example, with the magazine clip installed the magazine will not load into my Kel Tec Sub 2000. The good news is removing the clip takes just a second and a little prying.
Overall
The Recover Tactical Magazine clips are a functional and affordable means to add a little versatility to your magazines. This is an excellent spare mag option, and it’s a cheap one. I’d say they are well worth the 10 bucks.
Photos by author
