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Slide locks with one round left in mag


Mulkey

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I just got a used Limcat with 3 mags. All 3 mags will lock the slide back with one round left in the mag. Can I file the follower down a little or will it keep it from locking back or cause it to tip or move around in the tube and cause malfunction?

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Think there are Grams guts in your mags ,you can modify them to not lock back at all ( witch is my personal prefference ) .

But it seems to be a P.i.t.a to get them to lock back reliable on a empty mag .

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There is another recent thread on the subject with a picture on where to remove material. IMO, it is an either or situation. While it is possible to remove just enough material to lock the slide back on empty, I question the reliability. If the spring takes more of a set and the follower no longer rides as high, no slide lock. If the angle of the follower changes, slide lock with one in the mag, or no slide lock at all.

I went a different way. One of the clubs I shoot at requires slide lock and mags dropped for certain competitions. I bought MBX mags. They have competition followers that will not lock the slide back, and followers that will at the expense of one round of capacity. I have both installed on springs, so I just switch them out as needed. Fortunately, it only takes 20 seconds per mag.

I also have new Taran springs and followers for my Infinity 170 mag. Unmodified, they will always lock the slide back with one round left. I don't care, because the mag will be dropped and the gun will be unloaded. I just load one more round than I will need. I remove the triangular bump at the left front of the follower to eliminate slide lock for USPSA shoots, and just swap out spring/follower sets as needed.

If you don't want to be bothered and will never, ever want slide lock on an empty mag, you can modify your slide stop so that no mag will cause it to lock the slide open on empty.

Edited by zzt
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I always make my followers not slide lock. I prefer the Dawson because they don't tip over and use normal springs and won't lock the slide back. Only problem is they don't have a 9mm and I am struggling with some 9mm mags right now.

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If you are using Grams and want the slide to lock back, as I do, then notice the dremel tool that is being used in the Brazos link to grind the ledge off. That is what I use but instead of using the sides of the tool to get rid of the shelf, I put the bottom of the tool on top of the shelf to lower it to promote slide lock. I take it down until it will pass the test with the slide removed and inserting the magazine in the frame with 2 bullets, stripping the top bullet off with my finger to see if the last bullet ,when it comes up ,trips the slide release.

Then you have to test it during live fire because during recoil the shelf is still not low enough sometimes. If that's the case, while you are at the range, continue by scraping the top of the ledge with pocket knife for example ,a little at a time ,until it is reliable. If you are worried about the cons of slide lock as described by Brazos ,use Dawson base pads. Those pads will prevent any over insertion. If you like, you can also use Dawson's mag release button that prevents over insertion, as well.

It may not be popular in IPSC circles to want slide lock but for me my reload is faster from slide lock than after hearing click first, because I screwed up.

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Yes, putting a detent in the slide stop will help. However, it's a bit hard to remove the slide stop when you're field stripping the gun (just bring a punch with you so you can push the slide stope out).

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