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Pistol

Mec-Gar Magazines: Your SIG 228’s Unsung Hero

May 19, 2018 by Mark Miller Leave a Comment

Mec-Gar Magazines: Your SIG 228's Unsung Hero

Mec-Gar makes their new Optimum magazines for twenty-seven different models of handguns. Using advanced materials and re-designed components covered in new anti-friction coating, Optimum magazines for the Sig 228 series pistols and the military’s M11 hold2 18 rounds and extends out just past the bottom of the pistol.

The Mec-Gar flush fit 228 magazine holds 15 round (a +2 capacity compared to factory mags). This is the upgrade you need to take your SIG 228 into the new century.

Mec-Gar Magazines: Your SIG 228's Unsung Hero
Mec-Gar SIG 228 mag

SIG SAUER P.228 – 9mm Magazine – 15 Rounds – Flush Fit – Blued

FEATURES

  • Caliber 9 mm
  • Fits P.228 and older P.229 pistols with flat-sided narrow magazine
  • Not for use in P.229 E2 pistols with wider tapered P229-1 magazine
  • Increased 15-round capacity in a flush-fit design.  Features US Patent# 5,386,657 which provides two additional rounds without increasing magazine dimensions
  • Hardened Carbon Steel Tube, heat-treated for strength
  • Higher tensile music wire spring
  • Witness holes for visual round count
Mec-Gar Magazines: Your SIG 228's Unsung Hero
Mec-Gar SIG 228 Mag Polymer Follower
Mec-Gar Magazines: Your SIG 228's Unsung Hero
Mec-Gar Magazines SIG 228 Steel Baseplate

I teach agencies carrying SIG duty guns and when I do, I shoot a SIG in class. The 228 is one of my favorites. The OEM 13 round mags are good, but an extra few rounds will keep demonstrations going longer without a reload. Bad magazines are not an option.

I was very excited when I got the Mec-Gar magazines in the mail. One of the limitations of the SIG OEM magazines is the limited capacity. These beautiful new blued mags hold a full 15 rounds with a flush fit. The functioned great and slide effortlessly in and out of the mag well, slick as an icy sidewalk.

The MEC-GAR magazines filled effortlessly with SIG Elite Ammunition my ETS CAM Loader. I went through 200 rounds pretty fast. Everything worked like it was supposed to and my training was magnificently uninterrupted by malfunctions.

MEC-GAR is a privately held family-run business founded fifty years ago to do one thing, make high quality handgun magazines. Edoardo Racheli combined family pride with modern proprietary manufacturing techniques to build Mec-Gar.

It is well known in firearms circles that most handgun companies don’t make their own magazines.  Chances are, if a metal magazine came with your pistol, Mec-Gar made it.

The major gun makers who use Mec-Gar magazines include: Beretta, FN Browning, Colt, CZ, Kimber, Llama, Remington, Ruger, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, STI, Tanfoglio, Taurus and Walther. Why do these companies use Mec-Gar magazines? Because they build a high quality magazine at a good price.

Mec-Gar magazines start with a sophisticated design process looking at both reliability and ease of manufacturing. They use certified carbon steel and heat-treat the housing. The followers and floor plates are rugged, made for decades of field service. The magazine springs are built from the some of the strongest wire available, type “D” music wire. TIG welding provides additional strength and a seamless finish. Each magazine is finished with a black, anti-friction coating to provide smooth manipulations and  high corrosion resistance.

My first encounter with Mec-Gar magazines was in the M-9 pistol. For a brief shining moment, Mec-Gar had the contract to provide magazines to the U.S, Army. These mags were sought out and stashed away because they worked. I carried the Beretta in combat and used it in competition. While never my favorite pistol, if you care for it, it is accurate and reliable. A big part of that care was finding good magazines and keeping them. An EOD buddy of mine ordered Mec-Gar magazines from home and never had a problem with his gun for his whole war in Iraq.

A pearl of wisdom I was given by a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant years ago is that 80% of all weapons malfunctions are caused by faulty magazines. Special Forces Soldiers are urged to mark their mags and destroy any mag which doesn’t work so that it doesn’t end up in another Soldier’s gun.

If you carry a SIG 228 as a service pistol from a police agency or the military, it behooves you to get the best magazines available. Mec-Gar magazines hold 15 rounds with a flush fit.

I look forward to more training with the new Mec-Gar Optimum magazines in my SIG 228. The biggest difference I noticed was the smoothness of the Anti-Friction Coating. Magazines drop free and reload smoothly. Every manipulation was easier and they feed flawlessly. The extra rounds of capacity in the flush fit mag are just a nice bonus.

Get you Mec-Gar magazines HERE. The SIG 228 magazines are $33.85 MSRP

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About the Author

Mark Miller is a Green Beret who served in Afghanistan and a number of other live fire locations. He's a poet-warrior in the classic sense, a casual hero and a student of science.

See All Mark Miller Articles

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