Magpul Products' Availability in the Philippines

(Update Note: I have updated this blog, click here to read about the latest developments about the topic)

MAGPUL is a relatively new company, that has taken the firearms world by storm the last couple of years. The company's official name is "Magpul Industries Corporation", and was founded in 1999. The company is best known for their plastic accessories and parts, specifically for the AR-15/M-4 platform, and their products are not only very well made, but also very elegant and high-tech looking, which is a big part of their success.

I started buying some of their stuff for my Glock (why I am buying M-4 parts for my Glock? Long story, to be taken in other blogs), and I have had a bit of confusion with regards to which of their products are genuine, which are copied from China, etc. So I did a little bit of research, and I would just like to share some of the things I found out.

First, it turns out that Magpul has two main plants in different locations, producing slightly different parts. And these are MAGPUL USA, and MAGPUL PTS.

'Magpul USA'
Magpul USA or officially, "Magpul Industries" is located in Colorado, USA, and the most important thing to remember about them and their products, is that they only serve the US market. US laws by default forbid them to export these parts and/or accessories for high powered rifles to other countries. They can apply for export of these parts and accessories, but for some reason, they have opted not to do so. As a result, this has had a huge impact on the prices of their products outside of the USA.

That inability to export their products is the primary reason for the outrageous prices of ORIGINAL Magpul USA parts in the Philippines. For example, a "Magpul Compact Type - Restricted" (CTR) Stock in the US costs only USD 80, but some shops at the Makati Cinema Square (MCS) sells the same products for approximately USD 348. That is more than four times the retail price in the US. Another example, would be the Magpul Back Up Sight (MBUS) Generation 2 sights, for example. These retail for only USD 40 in the US, but in an MCS shop? P12,000 (approximately USD 279), or around SEVEN times as much.

My Glock 23 Review Part Five

'Reloads on Stock Barrel'
There has been a lot of written articles about not using Teflon reloads on the stock .40S&W Glock barrel as this would be prone to the kaBoom! or kB! issue. I thought about getting one of those aftermarket barrels which Twin Pines is selling for P7.5k, they are also recommended for shooting Teflon reloads, but then I noticed that a lot of Glock .40S&W owners also has been saying that they have been using Teflon reloads on their stock Glock barrels, so I decided just take a chance and start using reloads. Besides, I just could not afford to keep shooting brandnew FMJ ammo at P21.50 per pop.

As of this writing, I have shot around 950 rounds of Semi-Wadcutter Teflon reloads on my Glock, of which 350 rounds was fired at full auto, and so far I have had no serious issues yet. I do understand the risk, perhaps one of these days I will regret this action and ruin my precious Glock. But, then again, in my humble opinion, as long as I use quality reloads, I should have a good chance of continuing of having a good, shooting experience.

By "quality" reloads, I mean reloads from the major shooting ranges (i.e., those with multiple branches, like Jethro Dionisio, Armscor, etc.). If the shooting range is a small, mom and pop or backyard affair, I think it is worth the risk of buying reloads from major reloaders (i.e., Stronghand, Magnus, etc.), and just bringing it to the range and paying for the corkage fees.

I do make it a habit of cleaning a pistol thoroughly (especially the barrel) within 24-hours of each shooting session. My late father told me you have that amount of time before the corrossive components of the powder residue starts corroding and pitting your barrel. I don't know if that's true, but it does make for a great shooting habit.

One problem I do see with using reloads, is how dirty the gun can be afterwards, especially since I average firing 100 rounds per shooting session. The dirt gets into the nook and crannies of my unit, so I have to detail strip it every time I clean it, to remove the smell and the soot. Strangely, though, the barrel doesn't seem to be excessively fouled up after a shooting session. The barrel remains in excellent condition, with no pittings on it.

Glock 23 Machine Pistol Configuration Part Two

'Heavier Recoil Springs'
I was thinking of putting an extra power recoil spring to reduce wear and tear on the gun especially since I am now firing full auto on it, it sort of makes sense. However, it turns out that there are some adverse effects when using heavier recoil springs, like increased muzzle flip and felt recoil based on this advise from Springtech: http://www.custom-glock.com/springtech.html

They recommend using a LOWER strength recoil spring to reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip, but that would increase the wear and tear on the gun, especially if I use it at full-auto. As it is, I think I will stay with the stock recoil spring for now.

'Alternative Extended Magazine Option'
They are selling those 22 round .40S&W magazines at Makati Cinema Square (MCS) at insane prices, so on alternative to getting higher capacity magazines at cheaper prices for your Compact-sized Glock would be to:
a) Buy magazines used for the full-sized Glocks;
b) Buy magazine extensions for it.

Magazines for full sized Glocks will fit into the compact units, meaning a Glock 22 mag will fit into a Glock 23, if you don't mind the bottom of the mag extending out from your magwell. But then again, if are going to replace and extend the basepads, it wouldn't matter anyway. Trust Trade seems to offer the cheapest Glock magazines, I bought Glock 22 (with "Austria" markings ) Generation 4 magazines (with ambidextrous locking depressions) from them for only P1.7k (with flat basepads).

Take note, though, that removing the baseplates on the stock Glock magazines can be a pretty difficult thing to do, thanks to the over-zealous locking protrusions. In the end, I decided to just remove those protrusions using a cutter to make it easier to remove/install those basepads. I don't think this will affect the functionality of the unit, as the magazine spring tension should be enough to lock those basepads in place.

Glock 23 Machine Pistol Configuration Part One

'Glock Full Auto - Initial Shots'
I had an all-metal Fire Selector Switch for Glock (FSSG) that was given to me by a gunsmith (see "My Fab Defense KPOS Review Part 3" for the full story), and I wanted to try it out, just to see how full auto fire would be with a .40S&W caliber round and a compact frame like the Glock 23. The FSSG is currently stuck on full-auto mode only, I dare not have it fitted again to have select fire capability for fear that it will be ruined again.

I wanted to fire it free hand (i.e., without the help of a shoulder stock and/or front grip), only using my two hands. I haven't fired any pistol in full auto before, so I decided to take it slow, loading only three rounds into the magazines for every shot. I was afraid that if I load a full magazine, the worst will happen and I will start shooting the ceiling if the recoil was severe. I used my standard shooting settings: 13 meters, SWC-TC reloads.

When I fired the first shot, I was surprised at the violence of the recoil. Since I'm firing a .40S&W round, the recoil of three shots was severe, I could feel a tingling in my right hand. Muzzle climb was severe also: I aimed at the center, and the first shot was at center, the second higher, and the third out of the target board. I shot nine more rounds of three rounds per magazine for a total of twelve, and out of those twelve rounds, only seven hit the target board, two of which hit both ears of the target. I even tried aiming at the bottom of the target to compensate for the muzzle climb, but to no avail.



Lesson learned is you definitely cannot fire full auto using a .40S&W caliber in a compact pistol free hand, and hope to have decent accuracy, at least not at 13 meters. At this point, I decided to take a break, go outside, and buy a Fab Defense GLR 440 Stock. I wanted to see how much control a shoulder stock will give me when I shoot the pistol.

My Fab Defense KPOS for Glock Review Part Three

'FSSG for the KPOS'
My one and only biggest frustration about the KPOS right now, is making an FSSG work on it. First problem, is that you will need a special FSSG (Fire-Selector Switch for Glock) for it, instead of the usually cheaper, flat, sliding or rotary FSSGs that are more readily available. This is because you need a backplate that will act both as an FSSG, and also as anchor for the removable cocking lever. This means you will have to get the rarer, and more expensive variant of the FSSG.

As for installing the FSSG on the Glock: They replace the backplate, and instead of my usual routine of removing the slide from the frame and replacing the backplate, you needed to replace it while the slide is still attached to frame. This is because the FSSG is bulky, and if you install it on your slide and slide it to your frame, it will snag with some of the frame's protrusions.

The way to install it is to lock back the slide using the slide release, then replace the backplate with the FSSG. This would also mean that you will NOT be able to disassemble the slide from the frame easily, you will have to remove that FSSG first, before you can remove the slide from the frame.

'FSSG Fitting Problem'
I was able to buy an FSSG from Bro Spitfire, and it needed gunsmith fitting. There is a sword-like protrusion on the FSSG that goes forward and backwards, and it controls whether the gun goes full-auto or not. The depth or distance of this protrusion seems to vary per model, and is built oversized so the gunsmith can slowly file away by trial and error the length of that protrusion. So what the gunsmith did was file it down a little, assemble, then test by firing a couple of rounds off.

The second problem was that the Gunsmith didn't turn out to be very familiar with the product, and made a crucial mistake: He got confused on when the FSSG was supposed to go full, or semi-auto. So he put the gun on extended or full auto settings, and then filed it down to semi-auto. The result: The FSSG won't go full auto anymore.

My Fab Defense KPOS for Glock Review Part Two

'Burris Fast Fire II'

The generic Taiwan HUD I was using was giving me a bit of a headache after using it, I think its because they used some sort of a low-power laser for the dot, and I was worried it might be doing some long-term damage to my eyes. So I decided to replace it with a branded one. I chose the Burris Fast Fire II as it is a low-profile sight, and fits well with the low overall profile of the KPOS.

I bought it online, and the unit arrived in an ordinary, unmarked box, not in the original manufacturer's box. It was generously wrapped in bubble wrap to ensure safe and proper transport. It came with a spare battery only, and despite not having any manual with it, I was able to find instructions in the internet on how to replace the battery.

I read in the internet that these Burris scopes are made in the Philippines, and it was confirmed when I saw in the battery well prominently marked saying, "Made in the Philippines". I wonder which local electronics company is making this? 

My Glock 23 Review Part Four

'Better Shooting'
Went to the shooting range to test my Glock using the NY1 Trigger Spring, 3.5 lb. Connector and Tungsten Guide Rod setup. I used new, Semi-Wad Cutter Full Metal Jacket (SWC-FMJ) rounds labeled as +P rounds, and I'm guessing they were the standard 180 grain bullets. Distance was 13 meters, 100 rounds were fired and no malfunctions were found.

Pic below is using the left hand, 50 rounds

Pic below is using the right hand, also 50 rounds


I definitely shot better using the NY1 Trigger and 3.5 lb. Connector setup. My groupings were tighter, and the difference between my left and right hands were not so obvious anymore. The smoother and lighter break of the setup was easier to shoot, though I still used slow fire (3-5 seconds between shots) method as I still didn't trust myself to shoot as well firing at a faster rate.

The trigger still feels like a two-stage trigger, but it did not affect my shooting, obviously. I guess I will be staying with this setup, and just mess around with the Striker and Striker Block Springs if I am going to lighten further that trigger break.

'Tungsten Guide Rod and Recoil'
My only complaint with this shooting session, was the recoil. I found it to sting my hands a lot more so now than in my first shooting session. I got the feeling like when you hit a solid object with a steel bar, and the bar sorts of vibrates and transfers that vibration into your hands. It felt very much like that. It got so bad that after the first 50 rounds, my hands started shaking a bit. I tried to rest it out, but the shaking took a bit of time to dissipate, and I wonder how I was still able to shoot well despite that. Thanks perhaps to the Glock's fast lock time.