Differences between Sig P226 Magazines?

[B16]

I'm gearing to purchase a Sig P226 and have been researching what stuff to get. One thing that stood out were the different kind of mags that are available for the p226. I was wondering if you guys can tell me the differences and purposes of some of these mags.

1. Flat mag plate? Are these mags the stock ones that come with the P226?


2. Thicker, rubber base plate? When did Sig start shipping mags with this kind of base plate?


3. What is the purpose of the lower part of the mag? The part where it separates into two?


4. Are these Mec-gar mags?


How can you differentiate between factory Sig and Mec-gar mags? And is Mec-gar currently the offical producer of mags for Sig? I remember reading somewhere that Sig has Mec-gar making all the mags for them now.

Thanks for the help!

[fullrearview]

None of my P226 mags look like those (Nor did the mags I had when I was at my last department). I have one Sig MecGar mag and two Sig Factory mags. My duty P226 was one of the last produced with the old style extractor.

It was said that the American made Sig mags sucked, which is why they outsourced. I my case, they have been flawless and actually fit better. When full, the mecgar mag wont drop freely. It swells and sticks in the mag well.

If I get a change, I will take a few photos and post them.

Having said that, if they all work, who cares!!!

[paintballdad]

1. Looks like standard capacity (15 rd) mags. The original mags were German made zipper or dovetail mags. Some Sigs are currently being shipped with crappy Checkmate mags.

2. I believe those are standard capacity mags that were sourced from Mec-Gar. They are probably stamped "Made in Italy".

3. Reduced capacity (10 rd) German made factory Sig mags.

4. Reduced capacity (10 rd) Mec-Gar mags. Should be stamped "Made in Italy".

Mec-Gar mags are just as good as the German made Sig mags. Use it with confidence.
The current Checkmate Sig mags are garbage.

[dfens]

They make it so confusing why can't Sig just pick a mag spec wise and stick to it.

1. Those are 15 rounders for the 9mm 226.

2. Those aren't rubber base plates they are plastic. At one time some mags could be ordered with flat rubber plates. I think those are 10 rounders for 40 SW/ .357 SIG.

3. Was the old 9mm 10 rounder. They designed it into 2 parts so that the mag body could not be modified to hold more than 10 rounds since that bottom part is solid.

4. Not sure haven't bought a new Sig recently but I think those are Mec-Gar 10 rounders they look similar to my P-99 mags.

All I know is in the past Mec-Gar was the company making the factory Mags for Sig they also make the factory mags for my Walther P-99 and many others. Great mags by the way.

[tbhracing]

Nice thread. I have the Sig german flat mags. Will post some photos here tomorrows.

[B16]

Thanks for the help Calgunners! Definitely going to check out what mags come with the Sig.

I'm reading up about the Checkmate mags and those are going to the ones I stay away from.

Do any Sig mags that hold 10rds have the following mag bodies?


I actually prefer the mags in (1) and (2) and any websites stock them?
I've checked out TopgunSupply and CDNN, but want to see if there are any other stores available.

[WoodenGun]

Body for a 10 round mag is different than higher cap mags. Will try to post pictures later.

[Sturnovik]

Mecgar, according to their website has changed the loom of there standard capacity mags. In any case I have a boatload of the old ones in the last picture. I pretty much only use old sig OEM, mecgar, although I do have 2 checkmates, they work fine. I just don't care for the finish, but 100 percent reliable.

[paintballdad]

Thanks for the help Calgunners! Definitely going to check out what mags come with the Sig.

I'm reading up about the Checkmate mags and those are going to the ones I stay away from.

Do any Sig mags that hold 10rds have the following mag bodies?


I actually prefer the mags in (1) and (2) and any websites stock them?
I've checked out TopgunSupply and CDNN, but want to see if there are any other stores available.

No, those are 15 rd mags bodies. IIRC, the only 10 rd mag that closely resembles those were the SS Pachmyr mags which are no longer in production.

I believe the only way to acquire the German made Sigs mags/rebuild kits is to buy used. The 15 rd Mec-Gar made Sig mags might be available from Sig, TGS or a few online retailers. The Mec-Gar branded mags are only available in 10, 18 and 20 rd capacities and can usually be bought for less than the Sig branded mags.
Here's a link to the line up of current production Mec-Gar mags for Sig pistols...

http://www.mec-gar.com/Magazines/Sig-Sauer

Since what your looking for are mags with capacities greater than 10, you should read the sticky regarding the restrictions in California.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=387409

[WoodenGun]

From top to bottom - 357/40 12 rounder - new body with old follower, spring and end cap. 357/40 12 rounder - old like early 1990's old. 9mm 15 rounder body made in 2012 with old internals. 9mm 10 round made in 2012. All are factory mags.





Someone mentioned a dovetailed mag:

[Oldnoob]

I haven't seem the new Checkmate mag. Any one care to post a picture? All my 226 mags were dovetail mag or Mec gar.

[paintballdad]

I believe the 3rd and 4th mag in post #10 are Checkmate mags.

[unusedusername]

Checkmate mags are easy to tell because they are stamped "Made in USA" without a manufacturer name on them. I guess they don't want us knowing who made them

Promags (which are also junk btw) are stamped "Promag made in USA".

The best ones in my opinion for 9mm are either the 10 rounders made by Sig (Image #4 of post #1) or the 18 round AFC MecGars, which you can get as rebuilds, but can not put together in this fine state unless you are repairing a bunch of P226 magazines you owned prior to 2000.

I try to avoid the ones with metal basepads as they sometimes have burs on them that make them sharp (ouch!).

[B16]

Very helpful posts so far everyone. It's strange that there are so many variations of a P226 mags and still don't seem to have some consistency in one standard mag.

@Woodengun: The picture you posted, the mag that was is 10rd made in 2012, did you order that somewhere or did it come with a Sig?

And do dovetailed mags have less welds on them compared to the zigzag? I pulled up an image of a zigzag mag and it looked like someone took a flat nail and stamped the mag together.

[SoulStealer]

226 TacOps Mags


Here are a few pics of the new mags. I have had no problems and have put about 400 rounds through them.
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]