X-Tech 17-round HK P30/VP9 Mags - prelim review

[LOKNLOD]

Found here: https://www.xtechtactical.com/product/hk-vp9p30-17-round-magazine/

These are attempting to be an OEM-copy with slightly longer body and different spring/follower to allow for 17 rounds. Being a capacity whore who still likes the P30, I was all about that. I picked up a couple at discount from AIM on black friday, and they arrived this weekend.

Initial impressions; Body is very similar to the HK mag, although the seam up the back is not quite as cleanly joined/welded, and it is obviously a slight bit longer (they claim 1/10 inch, I didn't get out the calipers to confirm that) and has more witness holes. It has a #20 hole for when they use these bodies for the mags with their extensions. The length increase is hardly noticeable and certainly shouldn't affect concealability the way a +2 extension might. The base plate is not a softer rubber feel like OEM mags, it is a slightly rough texture hard plastic feel (sorta felt like aluminum to the touch) and I question how well it will hold up to drops on gravel or concrete surfaces.

Today I took them to the range over lunch break and loaded them up.
Good news: they do hold 17 rounds, and there were no hiccups in the quick 100 rounds I ran through it.
Bad news: top round is so tight that loading a full mag on a closed slide is classified as one of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. In practice, these are going to be 16 round mags.

I'm going to continue to run these two mags only in this gun for a while, and see if they break in at all on that 17th round but I don't think they will. Based on feel, its not the spring force, it's the follower and mag design barely squeezing it in. It bottoms out with just enough space to get the last round in, nosed up.

[Trukinjp13]

Found here: https://www.xtechtactical.com/product/hk-vp9p30-17-round-magazine/

These are attempting to be an OEM-copy with slightly longer body and different spring/follower to allow for 17 rounds. Being a capacity whore who still likes the P30, I was all about that. I picked up a couple at discount from AIM on black friday, and they arrived this weekend.

Initial impressions; Body is very similar to the HK mag, although the seam up the back is not quite as cleanly joined/welded, and it is obviously a slight bit longer (they claim 1/10 inch, I didn't get out the calipers to confirm that) and has more witness holes. It has a #20 hole for when they use these bodies for the mags with their extensions. The length increase is hardly noticeable and certainly shouldn't affect concealability the way a +2 extension might. The base plate is not a softer rubber feel like OEM mags, it is a slightly rough texture hard plastic feel (sorta felt like aluminum to the touch) and I question how well it will hold up to drops on gravel or concrete surfaces.

Today I took them to the range over lunch break and loaded them up.
Good news: they do hold 17 rounds, and there were no hiccups in the quick 100 rounds I ran through it.
Bad news: top round is so tight that loading a full mag on a closed slide is classified as one of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. In practice, these are going to be 16 round mags.

I'm going to continue to run these two mags only in this gun for a while, and see if they break in at all on that 17th round but I don't think they will. Based on feel, its not the spring force, it's the follower and mag design barely squeezing it in. It bottoms out with just enough space to get the last round in, nosed up.

Never heard of these, thanks for the information. It is really hard to even think about running non HK mags in HKs’ but if they work then this is a pretty sweet option to have for range days. Having 17 rounds on top would be perfect for the Vp9/P30.


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[Mike C]

One of the best features about H&K is their magazines. If you remove them from the equation I suspect reliability would be effected. I don't know if the juice would be worth the squeeze. Known for unknown and all that.

[M2CattleCo]

The original HK, Beretta, HiPower mags are the best there is. They can keep the 2 rounds and I'll take the reliability.

[1slow]

One of the best features about H&K is their magazines. If you remove them from the equation I suspect reliability would be effected. I don't know if the juice would be worth the squeeze. Known for unknown and all that.

THIS !!!!!

[noguns]

I would just carry a factory mag and a factory 20 rounder as a spare.

If they were $10 each like glock pmag I'd buy several for range use only.

[Wondering Beard]

I would just carry a factory mag and a factory 20 rounder as a spare.

Where can you find the factory 20 rounder?

[Will_H]

Where can you find the factory 20 rounder?

https://gunmagwarehouse.com/hk-p30-vp9-9mm-20-round-magazine.html

[Wondering Beard]

Thank you.

[LOKNLOD]

I don’t expect reliability of function will be the deal with these. Long term durability may suffer if the springs are unduly stressed, and I think the tube should have been a hair longer to allow more compression with the last round inserted. If Beretta and everyone else can put 17 rounds in this size box and make a good mag, HK should be able to as well. Mag engineering is important but it’s not some sort of pagan magic. If they were Mec-gars we’d all be excited...

They’re not perfect, but If you could seat them easily on a closed slide and the base plate turns out to be durable, they could be a winner. I’m going to continue run them as a test and see how they do. Obviously they aren’t going to be carry mags.

[Default.mp3]

Bad news: top round is so tight that loading a full mag on a closed slide is classified as one of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. In practice, these are going to be 16 round mags.Maybe they'll loosen up over time; my spare 20 rounders with TF base plates are fairly difficult to seat when loaded to 26, but the ones I use for USPSA have loosened up quite nicely. Have not had any issues so far, still lock back on empty when I'm not aggressively riding the slide release with my off-hand.

[H&K]

Any mention of who makes these for X-Tech?

[CanineCombatives]

It would REALLY be in HK's best interest to make a flush fitting 17 rounder for this pistol, but thats what HK is all about, dreams and wishes.

[Ed L]

It would REALLY be in HK's best interest to make a flush fitting 17 rounder for this pistol, but thats what HK is all about, dreams and wishes.

Rather than trying to stuff as many rounds as they can into a magazine, HK P30 and VP9 full sized mags may only hold 15 rounds, but they are dead reliable and durable. There is a reason why they were designed to only hold 15 rounds within their size constraints of fitting flush.

From John P Correia on facebook, he is the guy who has that active self protection youtube channel that has videos of gunfights from all over the world (https://www.facebook.com/JohnPCorreia/posts/1251393405064469):

"My P30 has all kinds of problems but totally constrained to the new release aftermarket 17-round flush fit mags I was testing. Went back to factory mags and all was smooth as buttah."

As the late Pat Rogers would say, they call that a clue.

I would gladly trade two rounds for greater reliability and durability.

I have experienced problems with 17 round M&P9 mags where the rounds got wedged together inside the magazine. It seems in order to allow the mags to fit 17 rounds, the mags are a tiny bit too wide, and thus allow two rounds to sometimes get wedged together under certain circumstances.

I have had this happen with four or five different magazines, even after adding stronger ISMI springs to the magazine. I have also had this happen with different ammo, including Black Hills and Winchester Ranger.

Below are some pictures I took of what it looked like. A simple rap on the bottom did nothing. It is hard to tell what is going on, but bear in mind, the rounds are locked together about an inch down into the magazine and got that way during normal magazine loading.

Below are pictures that I have taken of the wedged rounds in M&P9 magazines:

[Ed L]

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