Aftermarket Glock frames designed for metal mags…
I think it would be interesting to see what would be possible of an aftermarket frame company like polymer 80 or Nomad Defense would make a Glock frame with a smaller grip for metal pistol mags like S&W M&P mags or Beretta 92 series mags.
TED
Wouldn’t work because of the different grip angles, feed lip in relation to chamber ramp, etc.
I believe there are Aluminum frames, but they take Glock mags.
I’m thinking a polymer frame but designed for metal mags.
“Wouldn’t work because of the different grip angles, feed lip in relation to chamber ramp, etc.”
Hence the new frame.
TED
Certainly an interesting idea. A frame made by somebody other than Glock does not have to keep the Glock grip angle. The Lone Wolf Timberwolf frame is angled more like a 1911 etc but still uses Glock magazines, yet seems a bit thinner than a G17.
The design ends up being the one which might sell best. Building Glock-ish frames which don’t take Glock magazines might not seem like a winner in the marketplace, to those who are making such a thing.
Then again, maybe next month such a design will be on the market.
Bart Noir
I like the idea of using a Beretta 92 series mag in a Glock-ish frame using glock parts because I am completely blown away with the Mec-Gar 18rd flush fit mags which are awesome and work perfectly. Also the Beretta 92 pattern mags are abundant and affordable and except for some check mate brand mags reliable and available from several sources (“factory”, Mec-Gar, MDS).
TED
G17 mags are flush fit and are abundant and affordable and available from several sources
Why?
To save 1mm on grip width?
To change grip angle?
Yes, but they increase the grip size quite a bit and don;t fit in my Berettas and can;t be adapted to most other 9mms including XD’s.
TED
Glock is perfection. Leave it alone.
And XDs can’t be adapted to Beretta or HK or Glock or CZ. Your point is to have a cross platform mag to save $5? You could save more by just not buying all the other guns and trying to fit them into a Glock.
Buy one gun, stick with it. You’ve saved more money there then you would even on mags
I thought one of the problems with using metal mags in a Glock is the polymer mag catch will wear too much, and eventually fail.
They already make one it’s called M&P, Sig or HK. The interchangeability of Glock mags is a big selling point.
This could probably be remedied by including a metal catch with said metal frame.
The PX4 and M9 mags present the top round a few degrees closer to perpendicular with the mag body. Perhaps this can be worked out in the design of such a frame. The factory Glock frame isn’t as far off in angle from other designs as we tend to think. The backstrap hump exaggerates the look and feel of the grip.
The MecGar 18 rounder is only ~2.15mm narrower than the G17 mag, and ~4.95mm longer. I don’t think the juice is nearly worth the squeeze, and I’m a Beretta fan that’s carrying a Glock. Buy a 92 Compact or the Wilson Cent Tac.
Are you having failures with your 17rd Glock mags, or do you just want metal to match what you have and like?
In order for a company to go to the expense of development and making tooling, there would have to be a profit. What kind of demand would you forsee?
Well, price, demand, quantity… kind of a balance. Likely a very costly one.
It’s not a viable product because it foregoes a source of revenue for firearm manufacturers. The magazines are profitable. It’s why they tend to be proprietary. The sale of the pistol is a one time event. spares are relatively small. Magazines are consumables with high margins if the design is incompatible.
To make such a product viable, it would have to appeal to a small enough manufacturer (who wants to invest in the tooling), who doesn’t believe they’ll have enough volume to make a recurring revenue stream out of magazines. Then they have to choose a magazine which is retained by a large number of customers, who want to use those mags in more than one type of pistol. So shrink that down to a common, 9mm double stack magazine. There’s one who’s dominated the market for 30 years. Mags are ubiquitous, cheap, and now made by third parties to further depress retail prices. There’s a reason every time a pistol comes out, someone jokingly asks “does it take Glock mags?”
An example. Take Sig and the MPX, compared to a Glock AR or a colt AR mag receiver.
Sig can afford to use proprietary magazines, even though there are conceivably other magazines that could be made by multiple manufacturers, and that some consumers have. But they’re in a market that 1) is not saturated with competitors products, and 2) they’re able to sell to institutions, who are buying weapons systems, including contracts for ammunition and magazines. They’re locked in to Sig’s services.
Why then, did Glock lowers become popular when Colt mags were on the market for 25 years? Once again 1) not saturated with competitors products, and 2) not selling to institutions, but to consumer markets where people already had the magazines. Argue the merits of any magazine you wish, but they wouldn’t be a viable product if it weren’t for the glut of Glock mags already on the market.
Now you’re seeing tons of niches being filled as that market slows down. Catering to smaller and smaller markets of people with quantities of serviceable magazines from other weapons.
What you’re asking for is a weapon designed in conjunction with one of the most prolifically produced and affordable magazines in the country, to be re-engineered to provide a weapon for what is likely a small market. A 92 owner who also wants a glock. or an M&P owner. or 226 owner. Any of which represent smaller markets, and no future revenues post purchase. It will likely cost a great deal more than simply buying a glock and 5 extra mags.