Marking Metal Magazines

[JCN]

Another silver sharpie user for CZ basepads.

Aluminum extended pads work with a label maker if you degrease it well first.

[Jim Watson]

A target paster makes a very sticky label on plastic or metal floor plate.

[awp_101]

I just picked up a set of THESE for that exact purpose. I can't see why they won't work on the baseplate and body of my 92/96 mags.

[Hot Sauce]

Another silver sharpie user for CZ basepads.

Aluminum extended pads work with a label maker if you degrease it well first.

Silver is for the poors. Go straight to gold.

[Trooper224]

[Artemas2]

Sharpie; reapply as needed is what I did for a while. I gave up trying to mark individuals when I found I had multiple mags labeled with the same number and now use a batch approach.

I just have a pile of new/vetted mags for carry, a match pile, a practice pile, and a dry fire pile.
Carry mags become match mags after one year of being loaded, beat up match mags become practice mags, problem mags are either tossed on the spot or earn a blue base pad and become a dry fire mags filled with dummy ammo.

[Evil_Ed]

On mags that are used to carry for self-defense these markings will usually go a few years before they need to be redarkened. For range mags that get used, dropped and beaten up a lot they can easily go a year before they need to be remarked. They fade, but they do not go away. Acetone will take the markings off if you have a slip of the pen or change your mind.

Attachment 77603

That's precisely the marker and type of marking I did on my carry and practice HK P30 mags. I used to use blue painters tape with numbers sharpied on them taped to the sides of (cleaned with alcohol) mags, but too many instances of them peeling off at the wrong time or during reloads, or just gumming things up. I didn't want to "permanently" mark mags, but...there's nothing that Hoppes can't clean, right?

[Elwin]

I’ve found oil paint markers to hold up better than the silver sharpie I was using, and they work pretty well even on the side or back of a metal mag. I have a system of marking carry mags with orange and range mags with yellow. Each of my 1911 mags is also marked with a “9” or “45” on the spine, and that’s holding up so far.

One of my favorite things about them is that as durable as the markings are, they come right off using just a paper towel with some isopropyl on it.

[PX4 Storm Tracker]

That's precisely the marker and type of marking I did on my carry and practice HK P30 mags. I used to use blue painters tape with numbers sharpied on them taped to the sides of (cleaned with alcohol) mags, but too many instances of them peeling off at the wrong time or during reloads, or just gumming things up. I didn't want to "permanently" mark mags, but...there's nothing that Hoppes can't clean, right?

You are certainly right that these numbering or letter combinations can be removed and changed. We normally use acetone and occasionally Goo Gone. Though we have not needed to try the Hoppe's #9, a little Hoppe's #9 and a toothbrush should take it off.

I have so many mags that lettering and numbering are coded to show its purpose and assignment, while the numbering shows it's order in that configuration.

Occasionally a magazine becomes retired as a range mag and then we have to remove the lettering to put range type lettering on it.

We have never had any lettering or numbering wear off to where we did not know what it was, yet when we want to remove it we easily can.

[Snapshot]

For casual / recreational use (the only kind for me in Canada ) I use Brother P-Touch labels or similar. The have some with strong adhesive which holds up pretty well to sweat, sand, mud, rain, etc. They can be removed if you sell the magazines, something I have only done once after 140mm magazines became no bueno for IPSC Standard division.