Got three Sig packaged Checkmate (afaik)P229 40 mags the other day. I'm assuming new production as they were bought from a very large very busy online retaile. Pieces of crap won't go a mag without at least on stoppage , often more than one.
Same gun runs like I would expect with Mec gar mags (annoyingly they only seem to make a +2 mag). It's even been stoppage free with Mec gar 9mm P228 mags.
The only way I could be less impressed with these very expensive mags is if they gave me herpes.
Welcome to Africa, bring a hardhat.
Badabing!Originally Posted by Tamara
Using that exact reasoning, I oughtta go pitch my AR-pattern guns. Just sayin'.
Exact same deal for me, except they were 9mm mags and work just fine. They have what I assume is the "dry-film finish" that Jon references; they are a dark gray in color, and seem to be every bit as good as the pre-95 German Sig magazines I remember.
They darn well had better be, at $50 a pop. I thought I was buying HK mags for a minute. Of course, I can blame no one but myself, since this retailer, while he has some really nice stuff, is known for his "retail plus ten percent" pricing policies. I had a felony case of "I WANT it!!!" that was not to be denied, so I allowed myself to be raped without benefit of foreplay or lubrication.
Still the mags work fine. I'm up to well over 500 rounds now, and they have been wait for it flawless.
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Hey, nobody answered this question. Would appreciate some input from you military/LE guys with experience keeping herd on more than a few of these pistols.
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The biggest issue with locking blocks seems to be that if you break one, then you really should make sure the new one is fitted properly, otherwise you run the risk of the load not being spread equally between the two "wings" and premature breakage occurs. That is secondhand info that I've gathered from sources that seemed credible and knowledgeable.
It's my understanding that the current generation of locking blocks have substantially longer lifespans than the older ones as well.
All that said, I'd probably acquire a spare or two just to be on the safe side.
There is this article with some information http://pistol-training.com/articles/...the-beretta-92
As I recall, Bill Wilson reports having broken exactly one locking block in a 92, and he owns and shoots more 92 pistols than anyone else I know of. Bill doesn't waste a lot of time fussing over pm with his 92 pistols -- basically just adding lube.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
We've had some discussions here on the forum on this fairly recently, where Todd weighed in based on his experiences with his time at Beretta and with his Berettas. The most likely locking blocks to be subject to early breakadge were the Gen 1 blocks (and I personally know one BUSA guy, Randall LaPorte, who has a Gen 1 OEM block on one of his personal 92s, which is frequently used, and he's experienced zero problemas with it, and has not felt compelled to replace it).
That said, if I personally had one of the Gen 1 blocks (and a early trigger return spring), I'd probably replace both as preventave maintenance-quality OEM/aftermarket (regarding the spring) components are inexpensive and easily obtained. As has been mentioned earlier, when replacing the locking block, I think it's important to have it gunsmith fitted sot that the new one is properly mated to the slide, for best fit and longevity.
I have a Gen 2 locking block in my 1996 production/2006 acquired BNIB 92D, and I'm not particularly worried about it. I believe that post-Gen 1 blocks are considered good for at least 17K-22K rounds; of course, there will be statistical outliers, so it's important to look at the darn things for cracks when cleaning/lubing.
I know DocGKR observed/experienced some early failures with some newer (at his time of exposure) USMC 92s. I've also heard from reputable sources that DoD in their infinate wisdom obtained aftermarket replacement blocks from a vendor other than Beretta. While I think Doc's assumption was that the ones that failed had OEM Beretta blocks, I'm wondering if some canny armorer didn't swap out the OEM ones and replace them with the aftermarket ones...but that's pure speculation on my part. I just haven't come across that sort of issue with post Gen 1 blocks, and BUSA is subject to some pretty rigid quality control standards inherent to the M9/M10 contract specifications.
Best, Jon
Here are some pictures of the differences in the Locking Blocks. The Gen 3 is suppose to be better than the previous generations but as long as the gun has a gen 2 locking block you should be good until standard replacement whenever that is.
Another pretty decent discussion that we had here recently on this: http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...locking-block)
Best, Jon
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