What's the consensus on MBX Mags right now?

[tacomandood]

Just kinda curious what most of you are thinking. I've always seen from several reputable shooters and builders that "they just work", but then I've also heard and read more recently from close friends and trusted people that "they're not quite as good as they used to be".

 

So what do most of you think? I'm asking because I plan to be switching to a new Limited gun soon and I'm thinking of picking up several MBX mags. The builder recommended them, but now I'm unsure about what I'll get. Are there differences in reliability between 9/.38 and .40 mags that affect peoples' experience? Should I just go with a different brand and get the Dawson Mag Tuning Kit to do it myself and not have to worry about whether or not they work?

 

Edit: Guess this should probably go in the Gear & Accessories forum.. Mods, feel free to move it.

Edited October 23, 2019 by tacomandood

[wolffy1876]

Just bought a pair of 140 mm 9/38 mags. Did the break in per their instructions and they just run.  Can’t say that for a pair of gen2. STI I put together.

[jc3257]

My experience is they run great without much need for tuning. That is not the case with the STI mags I have. I’ve moved all my STI mags to practice mags and only run the MBX mags for matches. The only mag issue I have ever had in a match was with an STI mag, MBX 100%!


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[Furrly]

That's all I use.. PERIOD!! 

[lroy]

The sti gen 2 mags I have work fine with no issues. (After saying this I assume they will explode on me now). I don't entirely see the point of paying more than double for the mbx unless you really want the extra capacity.

 

That said, I've heard nothing but good things about them from people in matches.

Edited October 23, 2019 by lroy

[zzt]

I have MBX 140 and 170 in 40, and 155 and 170 in 9mm.  All run 100%.  I also have some STI Gen 2 mags.  They required tuning.  I also replaced everything but the tubes with TTI parts.  I use them for Classifiers, and any time I have to drop a mag in mud or dust.  If you drop them a lot you'll have to tune the lips every now and then.  

 

After three years of being dropped on rocks, gravel and dirt I imagine my MBX mags will require tuning at some point.  So far so good.

[BlindAsABat]

I have MBX 140 for my limited guns. The mags themselves are great and only rarely need tuning unlike my STI gen II mags. The MBX springs however do not last very long before I start getting nose dives. TTI springs last much longer for me.

[Rnlinebacker]

I've run mbx through my para p16s when I first started limited and now through my 2011s. They gave always run right out the box with 20 reloadable. A little dremel of the follower and I got them to 21 reloadable. Great mags especially when they're 15% off during Christmas sales

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[motosapiens]

18 minutes ago, BlindAsABat said:

I have MBX 140 for my limited guns. The mags themselves are great and only rarely need tuning unlike my STI gen II mags. The MBX springs however do not last very long before I start getting nose dives. TTI springs last much longer for me.

 

we were finally able to get our mbx mags to work by switching to TTI springs. The mbx springs wear out in like a week, and the mbx ownership didn't appear to care when I contacted them about it.

 

I've been having decent luck with STI mags as well, but the gen2 mags definitely have a little hiccup in them with 4-5 rounds left in the mag. I ended up having to modify the feed ramp of our guns slightly so they would not nose-dive even when the mags hiccuped.

 

(limited 40 btw)

[cheby]

I am running SV tubes with Grams guts. I also have a few MBXs as well but I do not really trust them for the above mentioned reasons

[BlindAsABat]

12 minutes ago, motosapiens said:

 

we were finally able to get our mbx mags to work by switching to TTI springs. The mbx springs wear out in like a week, and the mbx ownership didn't appear to care when I contacted them about it.

 

I've been having decent luck with STI mags as well, but the gen2 mags definitely have a little hiccup in them with 4-5 rounds left in the mag. I ended up having to modify the feed ramp of our guns slightly so they would not nose-dive even when the mags hiccuped.

 

(limited 40 btw)

 

Same experience with MBX. For the STI mags, the Atlas guy has a good video on fixing them (below). I also had to use TTI springs in those as well.

 

 

[sean_stw]

My mbx worked pretty good out of the bag but a couple needed the feedlips adjusted and the follower near the top would stick a little on a couple mags and make the last few rounds nose dive. All in all though most of the mags worked great and compaired to all the issues i was having to get sti gen 1 mags to run 9mm reliably the mbx's are a much better option. 

[zzt]

7 hours ago, BlindAsABat said:

The MBX springs however do not last very long before I start getting nose dives

 

6 hours ago, motosapiens said:

The mbx springs wear out in like a week,

 

I'm astounded.  The springs and followers have been in my MBX 40 mags for three seasons of USPSA with zero failures of any kind.  That includes the big stick.  My 155 and 170 MBX 9mm mags have gone through 9,000 rounds so far this season, again with zero failures.  I bought extra springs and followers figuring I'd need them.  They sit in the parts bin unused.

 

People who are having problems must be doing something wrong.  I will say there seems to be a lot of confusion about what followers to use in Gen 1 and Gen 2 mags.  MBX doesn't help the matter by constantly changing the colors of the followers.  You have to look on the side of the follower to find out if it is Gen 2 or Universal.

[motosapiens]

10 minutes ago, zzt said:

People who are having problems must be doing something wrong. 

or possibly the springs they sold 3 seasons ago suck less than the springs they sell now.

 

if you put my few-week old mbx springs in the magazines without the baseplates, they stick out less than 2 coils worth at the bottom. the tti springs otoh stick out more than 3 coils worth. that extra spring tension is pretty significant when you get down to the last few rounds in the magazine.

 

the mbx guy says less than 2 coils is plenty enough spring tension to present the round, but as soon as i put stronger springs in, our problems went away.

[Nevadazielmeister]

11 hours ago, zzt said:

People who are having problems must be doing something wrong. 

 

Of course, it MUST be the people using them and there is nothing wrong with the magazine, correct? Please put down the Kool-Aid for just a minute, would yah?

 

The MBX magazines have changed over the years. I have had a lot of issues with the 10 magazines I bought for our Open guns last year. When I tried to work with the owner, I received the worst most confrontational customer service ever. I was amazed at the attitude from that guy. My favorite line: "I have been around for many years as a engineer and have more experience with magazines design and function than any one single person in the USA.." Wow

 

Having switched to STI 2nd generation magazines, properly tuned by Limcat and using the Dawson Magazine Tuning kit, I have had ZERO issues. I suspect that each magazine is suited for each type and manufacturer of firearm. MBX might work for some, but maybe not for others. But I would never blame the shooter. 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Nevadazielmeister

[Brooke]

6 hours ago, Nevadazielmeister said:

 

Of course, it MUST be the people using them and there is nothing wrong with the magazine, correct? Please put done the Kool-Aid for just a minute, would yah?

 

The MBX magazines have changed over the years. I have had a lot of issues with the 10 magazines I bought for our Open guns last year. When I tried to work with the owner, I received the worst most confrontational customer service ever. I was amazed at the attitude from that guy. My favorite line: "I have been around for many years as a engineer and have more experience with magazines design and function than any one single person in the USA.." Wow

 

Having switched to STI 2nd generation magazines, properly tuned by Limcat and using the Dawson Magazine Tuning kit, I have had ZERO issues. I suspect that each magazine is suited for each type and manufacturer of firearm. MBX might work for some, but maybe not for others. But I would never blame the shooter. 

 

I have 15 STI Gen 2 mags tuned by Atlas for a Nemesis.. As I understand it they have Grams springs and followers and certainly have TTI baseplates.. They are about a year old and are heavily used in practice and matches.. They all work great.

 

I recently bought a single MBX 140mm mag to test for future purchases. It worked great out of box and continues to work well after 3 months.. The only thing holding me back from more MBX is that I have also heard the stories about poor and hostile customer service.. Don't know if its true or not

[zzt]

13 hours ago, motosapiens said:

or possibly the springs they sold 3 seasons ago suck less than the springs they sell now.

 

That is possible, but unlikely IMO.  I bought three new mags this year, all Gen 2, and have had no problems with them.   After I conditioned the springs, which shortened them considerably, all was well.  They all feed to the last round.

 

If I had to guess, I'd say you were running Gen 2 followers in Gen 1 mags.  That will cause the problems you have, unless you remove some material from the sides.  If you don't the follower cannot go up far enough to feed the last, or last two rounds.  Gen 1 followers work in both.  In fact, Gen 1 followers sometimes increase capacity by one in Gen 2 mags.

 

Hold the follower upside down and look at the side.  If it has a 9 on it, it is a Gen 2 follower.  You can find out how to tell the tubes apart on YouTube.

 

11 hours ago, Nevadazielmeister said:

I suspect that each magazine is suited for each type and manufacturer of firearm.

 

That may be the case.  If so it is rare.  I shoot with a bunch of Open shooters, and Limited, using guns from SVI, Limcat, Atlas, Cheely, and other custom guns.  There are also a lot of STI guns.  The vast majority run either MBX or SVI mags.  The only people complaining were a couple running 155s in DVCs.  They run now, and I don't remember what they did to fix them.  BTW, I also use STI Gen 2 tubes with TTI guts and pad.  After tuning the feed lips on one, they run great.  SVI Gen 1 tubes with TTI guts and pads also run great.

[motosapiens]

5 minutes ago, zzt said:

If I had to guess, I'd say you were running Gen 2 followers in Gen 1 mags.  That will cause the problems you have, unless you remove some material from the sides.

 

running the wrong followers will cause the springs to lose tension? lol.

 

they are the right followers. I'm glad your mags work. Mine work now that I put decent springs in them. I got the tip from some other folks who had the same problem.

[zzt]

Just now, motosapiens said:

running the wrong followers will cause the springs to lose tension? lol.

 

No.  The follower is too big and can't be pushed up far enough.  Glad you got your problems worked out.  I recently ordered new springs and followers to have just in case.  I'll try a new one out and see if I have the problem you report.

[motosapiens]

51 minutes ago, zzt said:

 

No.  The follower is too big and can't be pushed up far enough.  

Yeah, that's what I assumed. I was being a little sarcastic. We had the magazines for a year or so, and the problem only recently cropped up when we replaced worn out springs. Maybe they just had a bad batch of springs. It happens. regardless, the TTI springs solved the problem effectively, and have been running perfectly for several months.

[Jim Watson]

My MBX 141.25 9mm are fine with one little oddity.  Every once in a while after shooting from them I will find a cartridge UNDER the follower. 

But then the STI Gen 1s that came with the second hand Eagle are fine, too.  Maybe the previous owner "tuned" them.

 

[motosapiens]

1 minute ago, Jim Watson said:

My MBX 141.25 9mm are fine with one little oddity.  Every once in a while after shooting from them I will find a cartridge UNDER the follower. 

 

 

this is not a problem if it happens when they are dropped for a reload. It is potentially a BIG problem if it happens without being dropped.

[cheby]

56 minutes ago, Jim Watson said:

My MBX 141.25 9mm are fine with one little oddity.  Every once in a while after shooting from them I will find a cartridge UNDER the follower. 

But then the STI Gen 1s that came with the second hand Eagle are fine, too.  Maybe the previous owner "tuned" them.

 

I have seen this recently happened to several people  with some new springs while shooting, without being dropped.

[zzt]

1 hour ago, Jim Watson said:

Every once in a while after shooting from them I will find a cartridge UNDER the follower. 

 

That happened to me once when I dropped a nearly full 155 mag and it hit pad down.   I heard it rattling around in the tube a couldn't figure out why for a bit.

 

37 minutes ago, cheby said:

I have seen this recently happened to several people  with some new springs while shooting, without being dropped.

 

With new springs and Gen 2 followers you have to bend the follower over so it sits more horizontally.  For some reason they come from the factory sitting at an almost 45 degree angle.  I'm just guessing now, but I think the springs are set up for the Universal followers and need a one time adjustment for the Gen 2 followers.

[Furrly]

8 hours ago, Jim Watson said:

My MBX 141.25 9mm are fine with one little oddity.  Every once in a while after shooting from them I will find a cartridge UNDER the follower. 

But then the STI Gen 1s that came with the second hand Eagle are fine, too.  Maybe the previous owner "tuned" them.

 

This has ONLY happened to me when a mag was dropped for a reload..