Tag Archives: magazines

MKE MP5 Mags

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Deciding that, while plastic mags seem to be doing okay, it might be nice to have some durable metal magazines for the HK94/MP5 series of firearms I own, I ordered up a six-pack of MKE brand metal MP5 mags.

Results were mixed. The mags functioned fine in two guns, but in the MP5k-style gun the recoil of each shot would displace the magazine in the well and the mag would not be locked in place, thus resulting in failures to feed. Since the mags worked okay in the other guns, and the plastic mags worked fine, I’m suspecting that the mag catch on this particular gun is not ‘pushing inwards’ all the way to securely engage the magazine notch. Not sure if its a part that can be adjusted, as on an AR, or what. I need to experiment a bit.

For the record, the Unity-AC and ETS plastic mags have worked fine across the board..Because these are metal mags, and the area for the magazine catch to engage is pressed into the metal rather than milled out as on the pastic mags, perhaps the recess is not as deep as it could be. But…that didnt seem to matter in the other two guns…so Im guessing its the magazine catch. Fortunately, if thats the case, it could be as simple a fix as replacing the magazine catch. Need to play with it some more.

One of the nice things about having guns that are identical is that when it comes to testing things out, having a sample size of more than one is very handy for eliminating variables.

I’m going to go ahead and say the MKE mags were worth it since they appear to work just fine in my other two guns and its only these mags, in one particular gun, that is giving me a problem. Im pretty confident the problem is the magazine catch and I’ll probably head over to HKParts and order a replacement.

MKE MP5 Mags

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I have…a few….MP5 clones sitting around here. What I don’t have are genuine HK mags. ANd, thats a little understandable since the bloody things are around $75+ ea. And, for reasons known only to Crom, the fine folks at Magpul don’t make any MP5 sticks. (Although they do get points for making a drum.)

Alternatives? ETS makes ’em. And the former Yugoslavia has the “AC Unity” brand whcih is suddenly everywhere in the wholesale world. Prices are around $20 a mag, which is reasonable, and they seem to work okay although some can be a bit snug.

MKE makes MP5 clones and they sell metal mags. The MKE metal sticks have a seemingly good rep, and although I’ve found the plastic mags to be OK, I’d rather travel the apocalypse with something a bit more hardy. So, I ordered up a half dozen from Atlantic Firearms and will let you know how they perform.

And, dang it, at some point I’m going to have to grit my teeth and buy a half dozen genuine HK mags. But, lordy, thats some expensive happysticks.

Beretta mags

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The Beretta mags I ordered last week, at a rather nice discount, arrived yesterday. They are, as I expected, brand-new factory mags just ready for that long Deep Sleep in an ammo can somewhere.

I am, first and foremost, a Glock guy. Is the Glock my favorite 9mm handgun? No. The Browning HiPower is my fave. But the Glock is the gun I would prefer to carry through Ragnarok.

However, mostly because of the US military’s use of them, I keep a couple Beretta 92FS laying around as well. A fine gun, by 1980’s standards, but the double/single action design, all metal construction, and overall size/bulk make it a design that is surpassed by more modern guns…esp. the polymer ones.

Anyway, if I’m going to keep a gun tucked away for the end of the world, I’m gonna need mags for it. And when you need spare mags for your blaster you usually want them as capacious as possible while still being somewhat practical. (Which is why Glock 17 happystick yes, Glock 17 drum no.)

So these will get wiped down and tucked away in an ammo can to await the next magazine ban (because I always buy extras for resale) or to await the end of the world. Whichever comes first.

Although theres a good chance they’ll both be the same event.

Regardless, I hope you took advantage and got yours while you could.

Beretta mags

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Ok, I don’t know who here has the weight to pull off a purchase like this to get the discount , but:

Beretta 92FS Magazine 9mm 15Rds Unpackaged – $9.99 if you buy 41 with code 22BFD50

Their 30-rd Beretta 92 mags are already at 25% off, making them $29.99. If you order 27 of them, as I just did, you get another 50% off and free shipping. That brings the mags down to $15 ea. Since I have a pair of M9 pistols, these seemed like a good idea. I had plenty of 15-rd mags, but those 30-rd mags…mmmm….sexy.

These mags, ostensibly for the Beretta 93R, are tailor made for the Beretta 9mm carbines. But…they work just fine in your 92’s.

Go. Spend. Hoard.

 

Hamilton Gun Show

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Hamilton gun show was this weekend. I saw virtually nothing that looked even remotely like something I’d want to take home. Used gun prices were in the stupid-plus range. $550 for a Gen 2 used Glock? Srsly? I used to buy them by the bucket for about half that.

But, on the way back, I stopped at a gun store and found a cardboard box full of contract Beretta 92 mags. Well, I’ve managed to wind up with a pair of 92’s so…why not? Wound up buying 23 mags for $160..so thats..uhm…carry the one….$6.95 each. Hey, at that price theyre a lottery ticket against a future ban. But, since I have a couple 92’s, I’ll put half a dozen with each gun for the Deep Sleep.

Other than that, the gun show was pretty much a wasted trip…except, of course, for seeing a few people whom I only see when I go to gun shows.

Bargains — $5 AK mags

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You know I love you crazy, prepping deplorables, right? Well, I do. Most of you, anyway. But…as much as I love you, I need to put my needs first. Thats why when I come across a bargain I don’t share it until I’ve taken my bite. Once thats done, its a free for all. Case in point:

A Friend of The Blog ™ and fellow blogger tipped me off to this deal:

AC Unity (Bosnia and Herzegovina..screw it, just call them Yugoslovian) AK mags in 30- and 40-rd capacity for a mere $5 ea.

20-PACK GERMAN MARKET AC AK47 30RD MAGS, UNDER $5 EACH

20-PACK GERMAN MARKET AC AK47 40RD MAGS, UNDER $5 EACH

While I respect the AK platform, I’m an AR guy. And, somehow, I’ve managed to wind up with a handful of AK’s as of late. Well, might as well get mags for them, right? I ordered a hundred of these, a mix of 30- and 40-rd, and they arrived today. They seem to fit well enough, and they have metal reinforcements at the magazine contact points (nose for the ‘rock in’, and rear for the magazine latch.) For $5 a mag, theyre a nice hedge against the looming bans.

I went long on AK mags a few years ago when those Korean-made AK mags were coming in. Good mags, although the metal was thinner than youre average Chinese mag. Worked fine though and the price was right. These are even cheaper. Go grab a few and tuck ’em back in the attic or basement for that rainy day. Or buy a bunch and resell them for a couple hundred percent profit. Either way, not a lot of reasons not to drop a hundred bucks (or more) on this.

Mag du jour

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Another day, another case of Magpuls. The mag-du-jour for today were the 9mm Glock 27-round happysticks. I stuck another case of 100 back into the deep sleep. And, because I have no self control, also grabbed three Magpul 50-rd drums for the Ruger 9m carbine.

It’s easy to get distracted by the most fervent ban-clamoring in quite a while, but don’t overlook all the other joy brought to us by Team Brandon Biden… inflation is not going away anytime soon, but your retirement investments sure are. And we have the niggling little war thing going on in Ukraine. And ‘supply chain issues’ that seem to disparately affect everything. And interest rates going up. And identity politics still doing its thing. And the term ‘food shortages’ is being thrown around in the media more and more…almost like they’re warming us up to it so we won’t take it as a surprise when the rationing starts.

Things continue apace here, though. I continue to sock away food and other consumables so that I can beat inflation, at least for a little while….perhaps even long enough for inflation to return to ‘normal’ levels. (Whats the normal level? Believe it or not, there is actually an ‘ideal’ amount of inflation…apparently we ‘need’ 2%) More than anything else, I’m trying not to rock the boat. There are times in your life where theres enough margin that you can play fast-n-loose with things, make mistakes, get careless, etc, and not really have it comeback and bite you on the tuchas. This is not one of those times. I do believe things are going to get worse before they get better, and having a job (and especially the health insurance that goes with it) will be rather important.

On a more interesting note, it seems that,as could be reasonably expected, the rising interest rates have started to cool the housing market a bit. From what I read, prices are starting to come down a bit which means that my happy little Piece O’ Nowhere may be out there just waiting for me. That’d be nice.

But…first things first – gotta make it through the Biden years first.

The winds of ban

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I normally keep a years worth of property taxes in the bank. Rather than pay every six months, I’d rather pay all at once and get it out of the way. As a result, the property tax fund usually has a several thousand dollars in it at any given moment. Put half of it into gold today. We shall see in November if that was a good move or not.
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I know I’ve been beating the drums about gun bans ever since I started this blog, and when the Assault Weapons Ban expired in ’04 I warned anyone who would listen that this was the opportunity to stock up because it will return. I was pretty confident it would return under Obama, but I was wrong. Gotta say, though, the way it’s getting flogged in the media these days make me think that this time it might have legs.

I remember what the last ban looked like. For those of you who don’t recall, let me refresh your memory:

Crazy times, those were. And thats just the magazines. “Pre-ban” guns like telestock AR’s and folder AK’s were bringing stupid money. A lot of people, after the ban ended, never really took the lesson to heart that this sort of thing wasn’t a one-off….it could happen again, and this time without the sunset clause. Thats why every since 2004 I’ve been steadily stockpiling. I hope you did the same.

Will we get ‘gun safety’ legislation? Who knows? What I do know is that I can’t afford the risk of thinking nothing will happen and then getting caught short when it does.

California’s mag ban upheld

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In case you missed it, the courts upheld California’s ban on normal-capacity magazines.

I can’t say I’m surprised but I can say I’m disappointed. I was hoping that from a legislative and judicial standpoint we had turned a corner in regards to such things. Apparently not….although the Ninth Circus is the one most likely to go and do something completely wonky out of all the courts.

What’s it mean to me and you? Well, unless you live in California, not very much except as an indicator of how the political winds may be blowing.

However, it’s a good example of why you need to buy your Uncertain Goods when you can and in the quantities that you want. Unless I buy some previously not stockpiled thunderoty, I have plenty of mags for everything I shoot that needs a magazine.

If Biden can get his marbles together long enough to comprehend what his advisors and handlers are telling him, he’d start pushing for Assault Weapons Ban 1994: The Next Generation. Fortunately he’s just busy mispronouncing ‘omicron’ and sniffing women’s hair.

The nice thing about putting my magazine needs to rest years ago is that I no longer have to funnel resources in that direction. I can take my rapidly devaluing dollars and put them into other tangible goods….like food, fuel, fuel cans, radios, armour, gold, silver, medicines, clothes, shoes, and all the other little things that go to make up a prepared life.