Josselyn Obregon never grew up with guns in her native Guatemala — she was around them because they belonged to the army, police and worse.
For Obregon, carrying a firearm wasn’t something she considered because the right seemed reserved for the army and police. Still, sometimes it was hard telling them apart from the cartels and gangsters that have helped rip apart the Central American nation.
When she legally immigrated to the United States in 2013, she had her sights set on a photography career until a chance encounter at the Corpus Christi airport. That’s where she met her future husband, Kent Myers. They chatted and chatted some more.
She was going to Chicago; he was going to Costa Rica. She couldn’t get him out of her mind, and they kept up a conversation that blossomed into something more. But the underlying part of their relationship involved Myers’s interest in firearms.
Growing up in Ohio, Myers’ father found it hard to reload magazines in the field when it was cold. Myers’ father figured there was a better way, and he came up with a quick-loading ratcheted magazine that used a spring to load ammunition quickly. It wasn’t perfect, but it sparked an idea that formed the company owned by Myers — SPDMag, now based in Kerrville.
Initially, Myers and Obregon had the company based in Rockport, Texas, along the coast. Hurricane threats changed their minds, and in 2021 they relocated to Kerrville.
“I love this place,” Obregon said of Kerr County. “Everyone is incredibly nice.”
Another reason for the move is that it’s close to a San Antonio injection molding facility that helps develop the final product assembled in Kerrville. Obregon manages the operation and works closely with designer Rodolfo Cardosa, an immigrant from Cuba.
And the region’s gun culture is welcoming. The Kerrville Police Department is testing the magazines designed for the department’s Glock 40 handguns. While not for sale publically, the magazine allowed KPD’s range instructors to quickly load magazines by turning the spring and almost dropping the bullets inside.
“We are trying to save thumbs,” said Obregon, whose small fingers sometimes have difficulty squeezing the rounds into the magazine.
There are other ways to load ammo into magazines quickly. Obregon and Myers quickly patented the simple technology that allows for the spring-loaded mechanism adaptation on a Glock, two Sig-Sauer and a Springfield Armory handgun, and two models of AR-15 magazines. New magazine concepts will roll out in the coming months for handguns and AR-15 platforms.
Obregon said they are constantly seeking feedback on the product, and they’ve faced their share of skeptics. However, Obregon’s enthusiasm for her work and newfound home makes it hard not to be won over.
“I just love Texas,” she said. “I love everything about it here.”
