So what’s a pistol magazine extension review doing here? Simple, the XTech MTX +5 magazine extension is freaking cool! Why should Glock owners have all the fun? Now HK VP9, VP40 and P30 owners have a solid magazine extension option. But wait, there’s more! Let’s say like me you love hunting hogs and often carry a sidearm as a backup or just something to run in the event things get super close. Well, as previously told here at SHWAT™, 9mm can do the job but you’d probably like to have a big magazine of bullets. I tested the XTech MTX to see how it would perform and hold up.
Why Get the Xtech MTX
Full disclosure here, I really like HK pistols. I purchased my VP9 as soon as HK released them. It’s seen range time, EDC time and been out on a couple of hunts as backup and alternate entertainment piece.
The idea of a five round magazine extension for the VP9 appeals to me for several reasons. If you own a gun you should practice with it. That means loading magazines, something not generally described as fun. The XTech mag extenders mean fewer time outs for loading mags.
Then there’s the hunting side of things. No, 9mm handguns aren’t really anyone’s first choice for hunting anything. At least not anyone that I know. However, they will most certainly put a hog down as we’ve previously reported. But it wasn’t just one shot that did the job either, so more bullets beats fewer bullets.
Adding the Xtech MTX to Your HK Magazine
This is super simple, no tools required. Disassemble your factory magazine (should take you approximately two seconds). Put the factory follower on the Xtech spring and slide those into your magazine. Add the spring stop and the inner MTX housing. Slide the outer housing on and when it clicks into place you’re ready to load and make ready.
Xtech MTX Test
All that is great, but only if the MTX works and works well. To find out, I first loaded the now extended magazine to capacity, 20 rounds. It easily inserted properly on the VP9’s closed slide. It worked just as well on an open slide. So, full mag, full fuction. So far so good.
But what about an almost empty magazine? Would the Xtech MTX extended spring have enough pressure to keep the gun running as it emptied? With a round chambered and one round in the magazine, I fired. The magazine fed its last round flawlessly. I repeated the test with two rounds in the magazine, then three. Each time it performed perfectly. Again, so far so good.
The next question to answer was whether the MTX would hold up well. Time for drop tests from reloads. I hit the VP9 mag release with the magazine empty over concrete, dirt, railroad ties and gravel. Not unexpectedly, it was impervious to the impacts. But the real question would be how it handled drops with a few rounds still in the magazine.
I repeated the test enough times to lose count, sometimes with a single round remaining in mag, sometimes with two or three. In one instance with three rounds in the magazine as it hit the railroad tie, it spit one round out. Almost perfect.
The real fun of this test was, of course, magazine dumps! They were flawless and left me grinning. In all the tests, the slide locked back as it should.
Xtech MTX Quality
As far as I can tell, the results are no accident. The spring is engineered to work specifically with the VP9 and P30. The internal wall of the extender is consistent. The polymer is solid.
Final Notes on the MTX +5 Magazine Extender
The Xtech MTX Magazine is a made in the USA and is a terrific way to add capacity to you HK VP9 mags. I don’t have a P30 or VP40 to test on, but suspect the MTX would work well with those platforms. Retail is $29.99. To my way of thinking, if you own a VP9, you ought to own at least one MTX. Unless, of course, you live in a state prohibiting such things. If that’s the case, go vote pro gun and get others to do the same.
