Which 9x19 Hi-Cap pistol has the cheapest magazines?

One of the things I feel burned on when I bought my CZ 82 is the cost of a new magazine. The CZ itself cost around $250 after taxes, shipping, and FFL. But the magazines are over $45 a piece. You can try your luck with CZ 83 magazines, which range from $29.99-$39.99, but they do not work well in my CZ 82.

So when shopping for a new pistol in 9x19 my biggest concern is that I'm not going to be spending 1/5 the cost of the gun on new a new magazine. I consider $20 reasonable for magazines, mainly because I can find rifle mags for AR's, AK's, SKS's, and just about every bolt-rifle in production for that much.

So here is the format:

Pistol Name: X
Manufacturer: X
Cost of a new magazine: X
Where: X
How often you see them: X

Yes, I'm deciding the future hi-cap 9x19 I'll own on the cost of it's magazines. Why? Because every 9x19 out there has a review stating its reliable, accurate, and lightweight. But when it comes to to have a second or third magazine for it, I don't want to be disappointed by shelling out 1/5 or 1/4 of the cost of the gun for a single new magazine. And God help me if I have to look as hard to find a mag like I did for the CZ 82.

I think they are all getting up there. Bersa, Springfield Armory, Walther and on are all 30 and 40 dollars. The only one I know of that is still fairly reasonable is the Glock 17 and 19 mags.

I don't have a problem paying a little or a lot extra for factory mags. I know they are going to work. And that is what I need, mags that work in my pistol.

Sir, you are making a terrible mistake by selecting a pistol merely on the basis of the cost of its magazines. The principal criteria for selecting a pistol is shootability in YOUR hand, not some reviewer's hand. Skydivers dont select a parachute on the basis of how much the airplane ride costs, and that's exactly what you're doing here. So go have a cup of coffee and rethink this thing before you do something extremely ill-advised. If we lived closer, I'd even buy the coffee.

JP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JayPee

Sir, you are making a terrible mistake by selecting a pistol merely on the basis of the cost of its magazines. The principal criteria for selecting a pistol is shootability in YOUR hand, not some reviewer's hand. Skydivers dont select a parachute on the basis of how much the airplane ride costs, and that's exactly what you're doing here. So go have a cup of coffee and rethink this thing before you do something extremely ill-advised. If we lived closer, I'd even buy the coffee.

JP

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Imagine for a second, that every plane in the world, while looking differently, had nearly the same top speed, creature comforts, mileage, and seats. Now imagine that every parachute in the world opened up the same way and had the same chance (99.9999999%) of opening with the same diameter of chute.

That is a metaphor for today's 9x19 pistols.

After weeks of research, I've come to the conclusion that despite the difference in looks, a CZ 75b and a Beretta 92FS will do the same job with the same chance of excellent accuracy, reliability, and light-weight. Seriously, I've read every comparison on the web, or at least the ones on the first three pages of a google search. I've compared the Taurus PT92 to the CZ 85. I've compared the Glock 17 to the XD9. I've been over the .45 vs. 9x19 so many times I had a dream about it.

9x19 Pistols have gotten to the point where, despite completely different theories on how to achieve reliability, accuracy, and manage weight, nearly every manufacturer is doing it to a great degree of success.

The pistols I've held: Taurus PT92, CZ 75b Omega, Beretta 92FS, Ruger P95, Ruger SR9, Glock 17, Springfield XD9 and XDM 9, Hi-Point C9 (yep, ever went there), S&W Sigma 9VE, S&W M&P 9, and a H&K USP (it was a .45, but apples to oranges on the grips right?).

My experience: They all fit in my hand, they all weigh about the same, they all shoot 9x19, they all have 15+ rounds in the magazine.

Only thing that was bothering me: cost of Magazines. CZ 75's look like the have the most expensive magazines out there from what I've been e-mailed. I've also formed a theory that if Mec-Gar makes a magazine for a pistol then I can assume magazines are cheap and plentiful for that pistol.

OK, so you have done your homework..... that's different. If you've done your research and handled all those pistols and know you can shoot them equally well, then making a decision on the basis of magazine cost is more reasonable. You still have different trigger systems, resets, and so on you may want to consider....i.e. the Beretta reset isn't nearly as good as that of the CZ75/85 series, and DA/SA trigger systems feel different than striker fired systems. But if you've handled these guns and are ok with all their triggers, then go look at magazine cost. Generally, factory mags sold by the factories themselves are the most expensive, and many outlets charge the same as the factories do.

MecGar's are superb mags and they now manufacture mags for a great many of the pistol companies. I use them in seven pistols and have never had a problem with them and don't expect to. Promags and USA mags are a different story, as are a lot of the foreign military mags. Take a trip over to http://www.cdnninvestments.com/higcapfacor.html and rummage through their mags. They sell used factory mags from police tradeins for reduced prices and they make good range mags, although I would only use new ones for defense. Still, they have stuff a lot of outlets do not have, like MecGar 10 round mags for the Browning Hi Power for only $9.95. They have a flat rate shipping cost of around eight bucks, but they're a first rate outfit. You can go to their home page and download their entire current catalog also. I've never found a better place to look at mags. Best of luck.

JP