Checkmate 320 magazines

[lwt16]

Are you using those for the 21-round magazines or standard 17 round magazines? I know a lot of people use the Grams follower in conjunction with the Springer or TTI baseplates on the 21-rounders for carry optics, but I am shooting Production and I am sitting on some CM 17-round mags which I haven't had any issues with yet (knock on wood).

More generally, is there any way us regular joes can specifically buy the Mec Gar mags online or do I have to go to the LGS and start reading the sides of the mags through the package?

We used them for the 17 rounders only. We had less than 10 problematic magazines which we marked and then regulated to range use only. Once we purchased the kits, the magazines were then 100 percent.

I'll ask the guy that is over purchasing what shop he dealt with but I do know he called and specifically said he wanted the Italian marked ones and this was a 1500 +/- order we placed and they were a pleasure to deal with. He (our guy) is a die hard Sig fan and is pretty disappointed in how Sig CS handled his inquiries. As an armorer, I have been less than thrilled with parts support and have found other sources that are cheaper...even after my so-called armorer's discount applies....which didn't apply the last time I had to order parts.

Regards.

[RAM Engineer]

I will admit that I am a bit dismayed by SIG. They were the gold standard not long ago and now it seems as though they want to become the American version of Taurus.....I really hope they can turn it around.

“Not too long ago” = well over a decade ago by my reckoning. The P228 was the last GREAT gun they made.

[HCM]

I'm over about 40 320s now with about 4-5 magazines per pistol as a certified Sig armorer. This aftermarket kit got our problematic CM USA mags back to running clean.

https://benstoegerproshop.com/sig-p3...s-engineering/

The local USPSA guys have figured out that they will only purchase MG Italian made mags and so far, I haven't heard of a failure with those. We only purchase the Italian ones now and the last order we bought was for 50 17 rounders.

Here are the issues I have seen in the last year:

1. Missing striker return spring
2. Out of spec magazine release
3. Three severely rusted magazine releases (heavy sweaty dudes)
4. Out of spec magazines (CM USA)
5. Out of spec magazine spring (15 round spring in a 17 round magazine)
6. About four out of spec extractors
7. Out of spec take down lever safety (you had to dry fire the gun to remove the slide)
8. Recoil spring assembly failure (about the 1000 round mark)
9. Out of spec rear sight to where you could push it out of the dove tail with finger pressure only.

Make sure you oil your magazine catch assembly. That is the issue I saw today when one of ours wouldn't retain a loaded magazine and I was called to "come fixy".

Regards.

I just inspected a POW P365 with an out of spec take down lever that also required a trigger pull to get the slide off. It was purchased from an IOP dealer. Haven’t heard if the dealer is swapping it out or if the officer has to send it back to SIG.

[Nephrology]

The 320 X5/Legion is likely the single most popular USPSA CO pistol. The MPX is one of the more popular USPSA PCC choices. The 365 is one of the more popular CCW pistols. That doesn’t even include the rest of the 320 series.

the Ram 1500 is a very popular pickup... that is easily the least-reliable in class.

Where is the "putting on my flame suit" emoji?

[10mmfanboy]

Aren't the p365 mags made by check-mate? Are they having issues? I know for sure 2 of my p226 mags were check-mate but had no issues with them. They did seem harder to load though, now I think about it. I wonder if sccy mags are by check-mate? I know a guy who just bought a sccy cpx2 or something and had all kinds of malfunctions. He ended up taking apart the magazines and cleaning them thoroughly and said there was a lot of gunk in them brand new and it seemed to bind up the spring inside. He said the gun has run flawless since he cleaned the mags.

[cornstalker]

Aren't the p365 mags made by check-mate? Are they having issues? I know for sure 2 of my p226 mags were check-mate but had no issues with them. They did seem harder to load though, now I think about it. I wonder if sccy mags are by check-mate? I know a guy who just bought a sccy cpx2 or something and had all kinds of malfunctions. He ended up taking apart the magazines and cleaning them thoroughly and said there was a lot of gunk in them brand new and it seemed to bind up the spring inside. He said the gun has run flawless since he cleaned the mags.

Interesting. All of my P365 mags have had a sticker gooey finish inside and out until cleaned with brake cleaner and wiped down with an oiled rag. Never had to do that with Italian P320c mags.

[GJM]

the Ram 1500 is a very popular pickup... that is easily the least-reliable in class.

Where is the "putting on my flame suit" emoji?

I am not trying to convince anyone to buy a Sig, just explaining why people do. As much as I dislike things Sig corporate has done, the 320 Legion has cured my wife’s debilitating shooter’s elbow, and for that I am very grateful.

[10mmfanboy]

Interesting. All of my P365 mags have had a sticker gooey finish inside and out until cleaned with brake cleaner and wiped down with an oiled rag. Never had to do that with Italian P320c mags.

That is very interesting! I think some of the problems may just be how they are being manufactured, or maybe they use a packing grease when they ship them out. I am actually kind of glad to see they are using a USA made company. I don't own a 320 or 365 but I have heard a lot of complaints on the p365 mags being difficult to load. Maybe they just need a good cleaning when new.

[LockedBreech]

I am floored by the new (to me) revelation that at least to some degree Sig is packaging Mec Gar mags with LE guns and Checkmate mags with non-LE guns.

I suppose it beats the alternative - I want LE to have reliable guns - but it shows more or less conclusively that Sig was aware of a more reliable option and a less reliable option, and chose the less reliable option with general retail guns to save a few bucks per gun.

I seriously don't know why I'm surprised at this point, but I'm surprised enough to be pissed at it.

[zaitcev]

the Ram 1500 is a very popular pickup... that is easily the least-reliable in class.

There is no question that Ram is less reliable. The question is if the reliability advantage of other trucks matters.

I drove a 2010 Jeep Wrangler for 8 years and 130k miles. It was bulletproof.

When I was buying it, I went to TrueDelta and looked up at the real numbers. The JK was showing something like 40 visits per 100 per year and FJ was showing 20. So, as you can see, Toyota was twice as reliable, but so what? Both were reliable _enough_. And my experience easily validated my trust in hard data and math.

SIG was surprisingly transparent, by the standards of this wretched industry, when it came to P365. Their representative shared that 0.8% of strikers broke on P635 made in the first generation. That's about 1 in 100. I never heard of Glock, FN, or S&W share these numbers with the public. I guess the whipping SIG received during the P320 debacle has dome them good. Let's keep up the good work.