Noob Open Mag Questions

[Sarge]

Picked up my mag parts this weekend and have a few questions.

One mag won't take a base pad. I'm guessing it is a little fat or is it more likely a burr or something. I can't really see anything obviously wrong with the tube or the pad(Bolen).

The Grams followers are all hanging up on the rim of the mag when loading the first round. I have to push back and then down while loading. Plus the followers don't feel real slick inside the tubes. I'm guessing polishing will tke care of both?

With 9mm I am able to get 22 in my 140's and 28 in my 170's. Does that sound about par for grams followers with bolen 4 and 7mm pads? I can actually get 23 and 29 but there is absolutely no more room in the mag. I'm guessing this puts me at 22 and 28 reloadable?

[40S&W]

What caliber, 9mm or 38Super? Are you using Grams springs & followers? Might want to try using Dawson +1 SNL base pads. Did you buy the tubes from someone reputable? I use polished STI tuned tubes from Blue Mountain, Grams spring & follower kits, & Dawson +1 SNL base pads. Plastic spacers for the 140mm & stainless spacers for 170mm when shooting 9mm minor. I use the same tubes and 38 super Grams spring & follower kits, Dawson +1 SNL base pads, and no spacers when shooting 38 super comp. Get 29 rounds reloadable in the 170mm mags & 23 rounds reloadable in the 140mm mags in both calibers. The mags work 100%, knock on wood!

Did you set the springs i.e load the mags & let them sit for a few days loaded? Springs need to be set. Did you follow the Grams installation directions for the followers???? If you don't want the slide to lock back then remove the tab on the left-side of the follower. If you want slide lock back then leave the tab, might have to dress up the tab a bit. Might want to check the mag tube feed lips dimension, should be 0.356.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[TRUbor9]

the grams might be oversized a little but that round count is good you'll have 29 reloadable soon when the spring wear alittle.

[BMartens]

When Jim Anglin built my gun he told me to get my mag parts to him and he would set them up with the gun. He figured when the didn't run I was going to blame the gunsmith... If he set it up to run it would and there would be no problem. He included that in the build and I was happy to have him do it right. And he did, gun has run from the start, 7000 rounds without a hiccup. Jim stands behind his work and a gun will not run without good mags no matter how well the gun is put together.

He preferred SVI tubes, Gram guts and Dawson base pads. SNL's on the 140's. After the springs took their set I get 23 & 29 reloadable. I have 2 - 140's and 2 - 170's. That is a good set up for me and I usually carry all 4 mags topped off on every stage. If anything goes wrong, I'm covered.

After you get them running you will want to give the 170 springs a little stretch before each match and make sure the top coil is tipped so that the follower is at least 45 degrees. If it's a big match do the same half way through or each day or whenever you have to clean them.

[Pat Miles]

What base pads are you using?

The width of the retaining ears on the bottom of the tubes might need to be narrowed and might need to be thinned (thickness wise) a bit. Go slow in both cases. File and fit, file and fit....

The Grams followers can be filed back where they are catching on the front of the tube. Very careful work on a belt sander works well.

I have the old style SVI tubes. With Bolen followers, springs and 11mm Grams base pads I get 25 rounds of 38 SuperComo in a 140mm mag. I get 29 rounds reloadable in the 170mm tube with the same follower and spring and use a 2.5 mm Grams base pad. This combo fits the guage.

Pat

[Sarge]

Picked up my mag parts this weekend and have a few questions.

One mag won't take a base pad. I'm guessing it is a little fat or is it more likely a burr or something. I can't really see anything obviously wrong with the tube or the pad(Bolen).

The Grams followers are all hanging up on the rim of the mag when loading the first round. I have to push back and then down while loading. Plus the followers don't feel real slick inside the tubes. I'm guessing polishing will tke care of both?

With 9mm I am able to get 22 in my 140's and 28 in my 170's. Does that sound about par for grams followers with bolen 4 and 7mm pads? I can actually get 23 and 29 but there is absolutely no more room in the mag. I'm guessing this puts me at 22 and 28 reloadable?

Let me highlight everything that has been asked.

The mag tubes and parts were bought new from the most reputable place on the planet, Shooter's Connection.

[Pat Miles]

Picked up my mag parts this weekend and have a few questions.

One mag won't take a base pad. I'm guessing it is a little fat or is it more likely a burr or something. I can't really see anything obviously wrong with the tube or the pad(Bolen).

The Grams followers are all hanging up on the rim of the mag when loading the first round. I have to push back and then down while loading. Plus the followers don't feel real slick inside the tubes. I'm guessing polishing will tke care of both?

With 9mm I am able to get 22 in my 140's and 28 in my 170's. Does that sound about par for grams followers with bolen 4 and 7mm pads? I can actually get 23 and 29 but there is absolutely no more room in the mag. I'm guessing this puts me at 22 and 28 reloadable?

Let me highlight everything that has been asked.

The mag tubes and parts were bought new from the most reputable place on the planet, Shooter's Connection.

Yeppers, your right, I missed that.

Pat

[GrumpyOne]

Picked up my mag parts this weekend and have a few questions.

One mag won't take a base pad. I'm guessing it is a little fat or is it more likely a burr or something. I can't really see anything obviously wrong with the tube or the pad(Bolen).

The Grams followers are all hanging up on the rim of the mag when loading the first round. I have to push back and then down while loading. Plus the followers don't feel real slick inside the tubes. I'm guessing polishing will tke care of both?

With 9mm I am able to get 22 in my 140's and 28 in my 170's. Does that sound about par for grams followers with bolen 4 and 7mm pads? I can actually get 23 and 29 but there is absolutely no more room in the mag. I'm guessing this puts me at 22 and 28 reloadable?

Let me highlight everything that has been asked.

The mag tubes and parts were bought new from the most reputable place on the planet, Shooter's Connection.

Almost sounds as if you should change your handle to GrumpyTwo!

Sarge, sorry I can't help with your issue, every mag (STI) I've bought for my open gun (38S) has run without so much as even the littlest tweak.

Edited April 16, 2011 by GrumpyOne

[Sarge]

Mine may very well run too. But I don't have my gun yet to find out! The one that will not go together is probably a little fine tuning only. My shooting mentor says he can tune them but I am still thinking of asking Kgunz to tune them .

I actually did the red print highlighting thing in jest. I thought it was funny that so many questions got asked that were right there for everyone to see.

I think a little polishing and tweaking will go a long way with the new mags.

[CocoBolo]

Sarge it all sound normal. On the one that will not fit the base pad, get the file out and adjust it. The Grams followers need to be cut down slightly on the front corner if it bothers you that you have trouble loading them, its the unloading that is the important part.

You will get a little extra room in the mags once the springs take a set. So capacity for new is about par.

Now for the part you have not found out yet.

1. The slide locks open and you are looking at the last round in the top of the mag. I'm impatient I hold the foller to the grinder and take the corner off where the slide stop hits till it will not lock open even when empty.

2. On about shot 3 or 4 the mag goes salt shaker. This can happen especially with SVI tubes when it gets hung up coming off the base pad.

3. The mag won't fall out the gun and its a bit hard to get into the gun. This applies to SVI tubes. Mark all corners with a marker and hammer fit till it don't rub, Bobbie puts the squeeze on them in the vise.

I'm with GrumpyTwo or One, every mag I bought for not only 38 Super but also 9 major and I will qualify that as STI has had no need to be tuned. 50% of the SVI mags I have bought have needed serious hammer fitting and other tuning to get them 100%. SPS don't waste your money. Next time I fire up my compressor I'm going to hook up the plasma cutter and get rid of my 2 year old brat sps tube that runs once and quits after repeated attempts to get it right, its had every brand of guts and been hammer fit had its lips botoxed and the works, it possesed by the axis of evil..