VirginiaTactical Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I was wondering if anyone could help me decide on a reliable ambi mag catch for my caspian 9mm 1911. I currently have a smith and alexander ambi mag catch, but the magazines tend to go way too high when I perform a dry reload. This leads to the magazine being stuck in the gun and my leatherman is the next thing that breaks out of it's holster. The magazines also tend to not fall out of the pistol when I hold down the magazine release. If I just tap it lightly they fall out, but if I hold down the magazine release like I am used to my M&P the magazines almost always get stuck. Any suggestions? Below are a few pictures of the pistol as well. I had the Marine Corps Precision Weapons Section make this gun for my wife as an anniversary present, and my wife wants to shoot single stack now. This gun needs to be fixed before we throw it in her bladetech holster! Thank You for your replies, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyGirl Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 (I'm the wife, and the source of all the gun problems.) To clarify, the magazine does not get stuck in the gun when I press the right-side ambi release button. I can mash it down as hard as I want and the mags fall out perfectly. However, the mag DOES get stuck in the gun when he presses the left-side normal release button all the way; if he presses it halfway, then the mags fall out just fine. I do still have the problem of the mags getting stuck when I seat them too hard. Thanks for your advice! The magazines also tend to not fall out of the pistol when I hold down the magazine release. If I just tap it lightly they fall out, but if I hold down the magazine release like I am used to my M&P the magazines almost always get stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resjudicata Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Sounds like the inside of the mag catch needs to be relieved. I've had to do this with almost all the mag catches I've used in my guns. If you take the slide off and look down the mag tunnel with good light you can see the mag catch. Depress the mag catch and watch how far into the mag tunnel the mag catch goes. You will be able to see how much and where you need to use the file/dremmel tool. What magazines are you using? There may be an issue with the magazines or the bottom of your grip frame allowing you to over insert the magazines. I have a Caspian 9mm as well and can't over insert either Mec Gar mags or Wilson mags. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaTactical Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 Sounds like the inside of the mag catch needs to be relieved. I've had to do this with almost all the mag catches I've used in my guns. If you take the slide off and look down the mag tunnel with good light you can see the mag catch. Depress the mag catch and watch how far into the mag tunnel the mag catch goes. You will be able to see how much and where you need to use the file/dremmel tool. What magazines are you using? There may be an issue with the magazines or the bottom of your grip frame allowing you to over insert the magazines. I have a Caspian 9mm as well and can't over insert either Mec Gar mags or Wilson mags. Chris Thank you for the advise Chris! I dremeled down the mag catch and now mags fall free with out a problem. We use Wilson Combat ETMs in our gun, and occasionally on a dry reload we slam them pretty high. There might be an issue with the bottom of our grip frame. I have a smith and alexander mag well and it has been blended to the gun. Maybe not blended enough? or blended too much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resjudicata Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Sounds like it may be blended too much. If you insert the mag with the slide off and the mag catch in the gun then the mag should not go more than a hair deeper than it needs to in order to get caught by the mag catch. If it goes deeper than that then you may need to have the local gunsmith add some material to the front of the mag well so that tab on the front of the mag has something to hit and prevent over insertion. Chris Sounds like the inside of the mag catch needs to be relieved. I've had to do this with almost all the mag catches I've used in my guns. If you take the slide off and look down the mag tunnel with good light you can see the mag catch. Depress the mag catch and watch how far into the mag tunnel the mag catch goes. You will be able to see how much and where you need to use the file/dremmel tool. What magazines are you using? There may be an issue with the magazines or the bottom of your grip frame allowing you to over insert the magazines. I have a Caspian 9mm as well and can't over insert either Mec Gar mags or Wilson mags. Chris Thank you for the advise Chris! I dremeled down the mag catch and now mags fall free with out a problem. We use Wilson Combat ETMs in our gun, and occasionally on a dry reload we slam them pretty high. There might be an issue with the bottom of our grip frame. I have a smith and alexander mag well and it has been blended to the gun. Maybe not blended enough? or blended too much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaTactical Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 Thanks for the advice! I contacted a gunsmith and I will be meeting with him soon to fix the issue. I believe you are right about the magazine front and the blend job. Hmmm ... maybe smith and alexander are not the mag guide experts after all ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resjudicata Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Thanks for the advice! I contacted a gunsmith and I will be meeting with him soon to fix the issue. I believe you are right about the magazine front and the blend job. Hmmm ... maybe smith and alexander are not the mag guide experts after all ... Great. Glad I could help. Without seeing the gun I don't know if it is the fault of the mag well itself or the installer. Did S&A install it and do the blending? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaTactical Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 Thanks for the advice! I contacted a gunsmith and I will be meeting with him soon to fix the issue. I believe you are right about the magazine front and the blend job. Hmmm ... maybe smith and alexander are not the mag guide experts after all ... Great. Glad I could help. Without seeing the gun I don't know if it is the fault of the mag well itself or the installer. Did S&A install it and do the blending? Chris No S&A did not. A Marine Corps PWS 2112 (1911 / ar-15 armorer) did it for me. They made the whole gun, it was also the 1st time a 9mm was made in PWS. They only make .45s for Marines in teams and recon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resjudicata Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Thanks for the advice! I contacted a gunsmith and I will be meeting with him soon to fix the issue. I believe you are right about the magazine front and the blend job. Hmmm ... maybe smith and alexander are not the mag guide experts after all ... Great. Glad I could help. Without seeing the gun I don't know if it is the fault of the mag well itself or the installer. Did S&A install it and do the blending? Chris No S&A did not. A Marine Corps PWS 2112 (1911 / ar-15 armorer) did it for me. They made the whole gun, it was also the 1st time a 9mm was made in PWS. They only make .45s for Marines in teams and recon. Ahh. I would expect that it is the blending work rather than the S&A magwell's fault. If you want to post a pic of the front of the magwell with the mag locked in it may give a clue as to what you need done. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaTactical Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 Thanks for the advice! I contacted a gunsmith and I will be meeting with him soon to fix the issue. I believe you are right about the magazine front and the blend job. Hmmm ... maybe smith and alexander are not the mag guide experts after all ... Great. Glad I could help. Without seeing the gun I don't know if it is the fault of the mag well itself or the installer. Did S&A install it and do the blending? Chris No S&A did not. A Marine Corps PWS 2112 (1911 / ar-15 armorer) did it for me. They made the whole gun, it was also the 1st time a 9mm was made in PWS. They only make .45s for Marines in teams and recon. Ahh. I would expect that it is the blending work rather than the S&A magwell's fault. If you want to post a pic of the front of the magwell with the mag locked in it may give a clue as to what you need done. Chris Ok Chris attached are some pictures. It was actually quite challenging getting the pictures to look right on the magazine since the shadow would always show the rubber end on my cobra mags flush with the gun. There is about 2 mllimeters of room from the rubber part to the bottom of the gun. I took my surefire and made some light! Noel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resjudicata Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 So, is the rubber bumper the only thing keeping the mag from over insertion or is there a metal tab inside that rubber? If there is no metal behind that rubber then the rubber might be compressing allowing the mag to insert too far. Have you tried other mags? The slot that the rubber bumper fits into looks right but maybe someone who knows more than me might have some insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaTactical Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 So, is the rubber bumper the only thing keeping the mag from over insertion or is there a metal tab inside that rubber? If there is no metal behind that rubber then the rubber might be compressing allowing the mag to insert too far. Have you tried other mags? The slot that the rubber bumper fits into looks right but maybe someone who knows more than me might have some insight. I have tried a few other mags, I will take the mags apart and check them out. Next week I am also seeing a 1911 gunsmith in the northern virginia area. Thank you for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resjudicata Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 So, is the rubber bumper the only thing keeping the mag from over insertion or is there a metal tab inside that rubber? If there is no metal behind that rubber then the rubber might be compressing allowing the mag to insert too far. Have you tried other mags? The slot that the rubber bumper fits into looks right but maybe someone who knows more than me might have some insight. I have tried a few other mags, I will take the mags apart and check them out. Next week I am also seeing a 1911 gunsmith in the northern virginia area. Thank you for the help! Well, hopefully the gunsmith can see in person where the problem is. Good luck. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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