We all know good quality aftermarket magazines are rather hard to find these days but, these Mec-Gar magazines are as legitimate as they can possibly be. The CZ-75B magazines remained very solid throughout testing no matter what I threw at it on the range as well as while carrying. With new magazine producing companies beginning to pop up everywhere the options are plentiful for standard platforms. However, many of them are riddled with issues after short periods of time but continue to be bought due to the lower price. Which brings me to why I liked the Mec-Gar magazine so much because they cater more to some of the semi-standard magazine market.
A majority of companies cater to strictly the Glock or M&P or 1911 market because it is argumentatively the biggest market so magazines are plentiful. However, the arguably “secondary” carry market does not have a lot of options and many are sub-par in quality and performance at best. Admittedly, the CZ magazine market is very highly neglected but I don’t see any other competitors that could hang with Mec-Gar aside from buying factory magazines. They have impressed me to the point that I was sent only one to review but went out and had boughten another four magazines because they made such a great impression on me.
The 17 round flush fitting magazine is an every day carriers dream they can fit that one extra round in the same space as a 16 round magazine. As the age old saying goes, “it is better to have and not need than to need and not have” that one single round may save a life one day. That being said the purpose is certainly there as well as the quality and reliability. I have put right close to 600 rounds through these magazines and have had zero issues whatsoever. They have been thrown, tossed, dropped, kicked, and put in the mud with zero issues and simply keep functioning.
Aside from the abuse on the range that these Mec-Gar CZ-75B magazines received from me, I had also done a ton of magazine changes and reloading drills while conducting dry-fire practice. These magazines do not have the bluing like coating that the factory magazines do but they do have a “anti-friction coating” on them that wears away with use rather quickly. I starting noticing the friction points that are commonly in contact during magazine changes started to wear of around the tenth time changing magazines quickly. It did not affect any performance whatsoever as it is a completely aesthetic issue but had to be mentioned. However, the construction of these magazines suggested they are meant to be used and used hard without worries.
I have no issues at all backing these magazines with my word they are without a doubt on the factory level or superior. With the growing popularity of the CZ pistol they are certainly on the correct track to be the superior bar of how magazines in this platform should perform. Honestly the only quarrel I have is the massively fluctuating price of the magazines themselves the difference between MSRP and the current market price is around 80-100% mark-up difference. While the MSRP is about $34 they can be found with a simple product search for around $20-22 from online retailers. Aside from the price dispute these magazines are of serious quality and perform flawlessly in any condition I had exposed them to so check them out! As well as the 19 rounders! You can find them here.
