In the recent panic buying spree, one of the things people were snatching up left and right were s0-called “high capacity” magazines. The fear was that these mags would be banned in the near future, and people naturally wanted to stock up. What this meant, especially for Glock handguns, was that there were no longer any factory magazines to be had. Enter the aftermarket magazine manufacturers, looking to capitalize on the demand. But are they any good? . . .
ProMag makes aftermarket magazines for just about every firearm out there, from the Sig P226 to the Glock 19. In some cases, their magazines are indistinguishable, or actually better than the factory magazines. But in this case, there are some noticeable differences.
On the outside, and in the packaging, the magazine looks like just any other Glock magazine. But on the inside, where it counts, there are some issues. Original Glock mags have a metal insert that keeps them from breaking or bursting. Only the outside is plastic. The ProMag magazine, on the other hand, is 100% plastic. And not the nice, sturdy plastic that Glock uses. Instead, they went with something that’s just south of Lego standards.
That lack of quality shows through, especially around the feed lips. Where Glock magazines would have been clean and precise, the ProMag lips have residual flaps where the two halves of the injection molding machine came together. Not only are these flaps annoying visually, they could potentially lead to an issue with feeding ammo into the gun.
So, the magazine is cheaply made and feels like it contains less plastic than a Barbie doll. The real test, though, is how it works.
Well, you can actually load all 31 rounds into the magazine without excessive force. Which is already a step up over the Korean PW Arms Glock magazines, which I was unable to load to capacity. That’s an interesting quirk, though: these magazines are clearly marked on the packaging as “32 round” magazines, but the mag itself is only labeled for 31 (and holds exactly 31). False advertising? Or perhaps someone just mixed up in the labeling department.
Once the magazine is in the gun, though, you won’t notice a difference. It works exactly as advertised, and I couldn’t get it to malfunction.
In the end, this isn’t something that I would trust my life to. This is a range toy that keeps me from having to reload so often. And on that level, it works great. But if you’re looking for something to stick in your bug-out bag, you’ll want to wait until the legitimate Glock magazines are back in stock.
Specifications: ProMag 31 Round Glock Magazine
MSRP: $30
Ratings (out of five stars)
Overall Rating * * *
It’s cheap, in all senses of the word. But it works.
I’ve never regretted the extra $10-20 for a factory g18 mag………
ProMags are perfect for the range, they make great FTF training mags. Mix one of those in with your regular mags for a “surprise” FTF drill. ProMag is synonymous with crap. How they survive as a company is beyond belief. They manage to put out a crappy, unreliable magazine for just about every firearm available with the same lack of quality and functionality. Pre-internet days, I got bit twice by them for 2 different guns and will never give them my money again.
“or actually better than the factory magazines” –> What brand? I’m sure we’re all curious. Hi-Point? All kidding aside, I think I’d trust Hi-Point over ProMag.
I could not agree more about ProMag being crap, I bought two for my XD subcompact, the only thing that was worse than the magazine is trying to get customer service to replace a broken unit. Considered it a loss and replaced it with a smaller capacity magazine from Springfield Arms and am a happy shooter.
Customer service is even crappier than the junk they sell.
I bought 4 Promag magazines for an S&W M&P Shield and 2 work fine and the other 2 stick inside the gun and when forcibly removed the significant scrape marks are plainly visible. That’s a 50% failure rate.
I think for now Ill stick to the unfortunate $28 for a G23 factory mag.
Back when my SIG P238 was a recent purchase, I was looking to pick up a few extra magazines for it. Factory mags are pretty obnoxiously priced when compared to the mags for my XD(M), especially when you factor in that they hold >50% fewer rounds. The name ProMag kept popping up, and at 50-60% of the price of a factory mag, they looked hard to beat. However, before I pulled the trigger, I did some research, and it turns out that the reviews are almost universally bad. Even the “good” reviews are curiously ambivalent, like “for what you pay, they’re not bad” and the like. I decided to go with factory even though it cost me more, because I don’t have money to waste on “just maybe good enough.”
Stay far away from ProMag. One of their mags turned my S&W AR into a single shot rifle.
Buy them for malfunction practice and if by a statistical miracle you get a functional one,put it to work as a competition mag.If you’re using a ProMag in your gun,it better be because you fired the rounds loaded in the factory mag.
Same story for the 31-round mag for my CZ. With the ProMag follower. Swap it out for a factory CZ follower and it works reliably. I have heard this from other people as well who have issues with some of the metal ProMag magazines. Factory follower and 100% reliability. …so… give it a shot. Usually you can get a new, factory follower for under $4
the 31rnd-ers are just toys regardless of manufacture.
+1 they defeat the point of a pistol platform. I will mock anybody who puts an SMG stick mag into a pistol for any reason. At that point, you might as well trade up to a rifle. At least the ergonomics will be better.
actually, i kinda like the change in balance on the G17, but i’m not going to carry it around with me. And let us not forget glock fed carbines.
I dunno… I can see how a 30+ rounder could be useful. What if your home defense gun was a semi auto 9mm? Wouldn’t it be nice to have 30 instead of 16 or 17?
All my Glock 18 magazines are Glock made, and I paid less than they want for the Pro-Mag for each of them.
Almost always, the cheapest item you buy will be what fails first.
A few years ago I purchased some ProMag 10 round metal mags for my 6.8spc Ruger Ranch rifle because the fools at Ruger never bothered to make anything more than 5 rounders. Even though close inspection showed them to be well made and very similar to the factory 5 round mags, none of them worked reliably. I’m still optimistic I can make them work with a little redneck engineering but for $30 a piece it’s annoying. And I still have a bad attitude about Ruger for never offering more than 5 round mags for my now discontinued rifle. Very lame.
Ummm, which ones?
My only good experience with Promag is with Mini-14 mags.
If you gotta go cheap, get KCI and replace the springs.
Dont Glock 33 rounders have a +2 floorplate? This one seems to lack that. I got a really craptacular looking Korean happy stick which does have metal inside like a factory mag and the +2 floorplate. Despite it’s horrid looks the mag works well and seems durable. If this one doesn’t even have metal I wouldn’t touch it.
I was pleasantly surprised by the KCI G19 standard capacity mags. The only functional difference between them and factory is I had to sand down the sides so they would drop free when empty like the newer factory mags. Unfortunately, my 33 rounder isn’t functionally reliable.
Pro-Mag 5.56mm AK magazines are worthless crap. My Arsenal never had a failure through nearly 2K rounds until I took a chance on a Pro-Mag. The second round fired from *every single magazine* dives into the bullet lifter and gets telescoped deep into the cartridge case.
This didn’t bug me as badly (as a range toy) when 5.56 didn’t cost nearly $1 a round. Like the other guy suggested, these are useful training tools because try give you lots of FTFs to clear.
Otherwise, NOT RECOMMENDED.
I have a couple of those mags for my converted Saiga .223, and oddly enough they work pretty well. Never have had a failure with them. They wobble a little, but I’ve flexed them out by hand when firing, and it doesn’t affect function.
I did break one intentionally when trying to see how much crap it would take – I placed the floorplate of the mag on the ground, and cranked downwards and to the side with the rifle. After doing this a few times, the front latch stretched and deformed. The mag still worked fine, but it broke off when inserting into the rifle some time later.
When you can find them for $10/ea, they’re an OK investment for some beater 5.56 AK range mags.
For the SLR-106 and Saiga .223, surplus Polish Beryl mags are a better deal.
Also keep in mind that there have been several revisions made to the bullet guide of the SLR-106. Since that’s the only 5.56 AK sold by Arsenal, I assume that’s what you have.
Good review Nick. I have never used, because I have never hear ANYTHING good about Pro Mag. I did pick up Korean Glock 17 mag at a gunshow during a what the hell $20 moment. Spot on with it being impossible to load to capacity, even with a Glock reloading tool. Though, no problems firing. I use it for IDPA but nothing more.
If you shoot a .40 glock there is nothing better than the factory 22 round mags. Doesn’t leave the magwell and is GLOCK made.
I wish I had seen this website before I ordered 3 replacement magazines from ProMag.com.
I ordered one for a Beretta and 2 for my Taurus 380. All magazines were not good and the Beretta jamed the slide after the last round was fired. The followers were not formed like the original Beretta. Repeated calls to them on the 800-438-2547 number just got a recorded message not in English. As most said, they are usabile only on the range.
I just got two of these and they both have a 100% failure rate when feeding. Don’t buy these.
I ordered a pro mag extended magazine for a Taurus tcp738 from Euless guns and ammo in Euless texas and it never worked. I have 4 magazines and yours was the only one that was (totally) defective. I will write a full experience report on the shoddy quality of your product line as for the purpose of notification alerts to my gun club, affiliated shooting orginazations as well as my counterparts in the the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, and my United States Veteran associated contacts.
Your statement “made in America” must mean nothing to you apparantly. I expected to purchase a product better than Chinese manufacturing.
Sincerely;
Disappointed customer.
I have a pro mag in my 915. It jammed up and wouldn’t hold all 15 rounds and when it did hold em all some would just slide out. So I you-tubed how to possibly fix this. I learned that if you use some fine grit sand paper and round all the edges on the follower, it works perfect. Now never any issues. I wouldn’t purposely buy one but if you end up stuck with one like I did, this is how you solve the jamming problem.
Awful product, no customer service at all. Sorry, these people stating that these work are simply lying. You’re an idiot if you purchase one. Springs simply are too weak.
I never had any problems with Promag magazines and mine work flawlessly. If the magazines were garbage as some people allege, I would have said something but they work well for me.
My mags made for Glock by Promag work well and I would trust them for self defense.
I saw one video of a Promag magazine make for the Taurus G2 where the rounds were pointed up but whoever made the video did not show how he loaded the magazine. He may have been trying to do what NBC News did with the Chevy pickup with side mounted gas tanks where they used a flare to set a fire on impact.