Magazines

Magazines cause more malfunctions than any other part of a firearm, and they are consumable. Springs take a set, feed lips get bent by being dropped on concrete, and followers crack. Anyone who shoots seriously treats them as wear items rather than permanent fixtures.

Factory magazines are the safe default for pistols; the gun was designed around them. For AR-pattern rifles the aftermarket long ago overtook mil-spec, and polymer bodies with anti-tilt followers are now the sensible baseline. Steel still has a place where magazines get abused.

Buy more than you think you need, number them, and retire the one that causes a stoppage instead of blaming the gun.