tuned 2011 mags

[Mike21STI]

I'm planning on getting a 2011 (most likely and STI Edge or eagle in .40 from Brazos) in the near future. Do the stock STI mags actually run in the guns or do they need to be tuned? What goes into actually tuning the magazine?

Also, I don't have a reloading press and probably won't have one for some time. Do these guns actually run with factory ammo?

Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[yoshidaex]

Use the search function for more detailed info but just to get you started, mag tuning allows maximum capacity, proper feeding and mags that drop free when the mag release is pressed.

Some mags work without tuning while others need a ton of work just to drop free.

[blaster113]

2011's can be finicky about factory ammo. Had a tuned Edge that ran it about 95% of the time, next customized 2011 from Brazos runs with it about 75%. Factory ammo is hotter than needed for our game (around 180pf) but will do in a pinch. Loading your own ammo will save you tons of money in the long run, also will make you more competitive as you're tailoring your loads to both be just hot enough to make major or minor pf, and with an OAL to optimize feeding.

if you're going to shoot in Level II/Level III matches then I think tuned mags are a small investment. You want to minimize the chances of your equipment taking a dump on you at a big match you've invested lots of time and money to get to. Had a death jam at A2 on my last stage which felt like a knife in the guts. Brazos Custom sells a tuned set of 4 mags for $500 online with Dawson or Grams basepads and Grams guts; $400 if you can catch them in the vendor tent at certain big matches like Double Tap, A2, and the Nationals.

[Saffer]

It's luck of the draw. Some folk have mags that work right out of the box, others not. I was one of the latter group. It took a few months to get my mags to work properly. The tell tale sign is usually double feeds, and this usually means that you need to correct the mag lips. I resorted to the Dawson Precision Mag Tuning Kit. But if you add all the extra money you spend on basepads, the tuning kit and stress, you would be much better off buying tuned mags from the outset.

[a matt]

Every STI, SV mag I bought borrowed or horse traded for work fine in my 2011. That said I run tuned SV mags for the round count and peace of mind. I reload at 1.185 oal I think that might help wilh the non issue also. For your peace and the money you will have with followers, base pads and springs, get a tuned set and have at it!! IMHO.

Edited November 20, 2011 by a matt

[Joe139]

I had a Brasos tuned Edge it ran any mag I put in it a little more money but worth it and hard chromed to

[Mike21STI]

Thanks for the replies so far, i attempted the search function but i guess my wording didn't yield the results i was looking for.

[pskys2]

Had Benny Hill build me an STI 2011 and have had no trouble with STI Mags with Gram or DP Followers and springs.

Could get up to 20 rounds with them.

Have a Bolen Follower and Spring in an STI mag for 21 Rounds and it runs fine.

Had and SPS Mag body and it was too soft and wouldn't hold shape well.

Never had a SV Mag.

The only issues I've had were caused by me and/or known ammo issues.

But...if you want 21 round mags, or even 20 round mags, without worrying over it. I'd be tempted to have Dawson Tuned Mags from the get go.

Also check out Doug Carden or some of the other Ammo guys, you can get ammo from them for IPSC that will be cheaper and better for your purposes than factory.

There are some tricks to tuning a 20+round mag. But for 19 rounds you just need to check the mag lip dimensions and check for burrs and dings in the body. A good base pad, like the DP, make it much easier to clean at a match and are really handy.

Edited November 20, 2011 by pskys2

[Joe139]

Mike,

Your gun should run fine with factory mags and factory ammo or send it back and get it fixed period.I shoot matches so I bought some tuned mags for piece of mind and my Edge shot Regular Blaser ammo fine to,Joe

[392heminut]

I have a 2011 that I built many years ago on an STI frame and it has run 100% with any STI or SV mag I have used in it. I also have quite a bit of Govt. issued 40 ammo given to me (usually 165 gr. HP, Remington & Winchester) and that stuff has always ran reliably in my gun. This gun just amazes me how reliable it is! Now that I've said that it will probably choke at the next match! My point is, if the gun is set up right it's reliability should not be affected by the use of any good ammo or mags. Right now I have 4 SV older style mags that I bought new and 3 STI mags that I picked up used, none of which have been tuned and they all work fine.

Edited November 20, 2011 by 392heminut

[Paul-the new guy]

If you ever set your gun up to not lock the slide back and you use mags that have not been tuned you will have issues with the slide catching on the follower and then the mag will not drop free. When you strip the mag from the gun the follower can be yanked from the mag causing all kinds of problems. Tuned mags are worth the money.

[RH45]

If you're going to shoot factory ammo, I've found that Winchester, white box, with 165 grain bullets chronos at 171pf, which is about as low as you'll find.

[Joe139]

Thats good to know

[Rick_L]

In the .45, I have found these mags need more care and attention than reliable single stack models.

BUT I am running 10 rounders for some of the games I play. I found every one of them required minor adjustments and tuning.

I learned how to do them myself in my shop. (not without speed bumps)

I also have purchased 14 round tuned mags and find they are reliable and perform reliably.

Still, I found it is important to keep them clean and lightly lubed so you are not worrying about them on a stage. When I slack off, I usually find a follower starts hanging in the tube and doing other things that force me to take the mag out of commission until I can repair it.

Just one person's observations. YMMV.

[GuyC]

I have purchased 8 factory mags, I instintley replace the follower to a Dawson and the base pad to a Dawson snl. They all hold a tight 20 rounds and run 100%. They all ran good in 2 edges and a custom 2011.

[Corey]

I've got 7 factory mags that i swapped a Dawson SNL basepad on and put grams guts inside. 20 rounds in all of them, some reloadble 20, others not. All of the function flawlessly with my Cheely Limited gun. Im not going to worry about tuning them or getting tuned mags until i start to see a reason.

[jcc7x7]

both my STI's ran out of the box.

I've bought tuned mags for the 40 real nice stuff, and did a coupel myself. I agee with the others that say buy 'em tuned. Cheaper in the long run.

The 38SC I did all the mags except for the one that came with it. Again buy tuned mags its worth it

[Jaxshooter]

Out of 30 Limited and Open(9mm) magazines I own one that has been tuned. It is a 170 mm Open mag that holds 30 rounds. All of my mags are setup to not lock the slide back and I have never had any problem with them hanging up or catching on the slide release. On new mags I check the feed lip dimensions and set them to specs if they are out. I use Gram's guts and base pads in Opeen and Gram's guts and Dawson SNL base pads for Limited. Limited 14 old style SV tubes. Open 14 old style SV tubes and two new STI tubes (with spacers for 9mm).

[Rick Stone]

For Limited I use SV tubes, Dawson SNL, Grams springs and followers. I get 21 in the mag for first mag, 20 for the reload. I had to work a little of the metal off the rear of the mag lips to fit the gauge.

[GunshineST]

Are the tuned mags necessary for say, someone who just likes to shoot a lot, but doesn't compete? I'll have an STI Tactical 5.0 in .45 in my hands within the next couple of weeks, but currently don't plan on doing a whole lot of competition. Are standard mags sufficient for average plinking / range time? Or if this is going to be a home defense piece, is a tuned mag a better idea?

[EkuJustice]

Really just have to see how your mags run first. Usually factory stock mags work fine in their factory condition. When we add springs, followers, basepads to them for capacity tuning is sometimes required

[JDHunz]

Are the tuned mags necessary for say, someone who just likes to shoot a lot, but doesn't compete? I'll have an STI Tactical 5.0 in .45 in my hands within the next couple of weeks, but currently don't plan on doing a whole lot of competition. Are standard mags sufficient for average plinking / range time? Or if this is going to be a home defense piece, is a tuned mag a better idea?

Joe -

I have 4 tuned mags that work flawlessly in my Edge and I also have 4 stock 140mm STI mags that have had DP SNL basepads added and, guess what, they run perfectly, too! The major difference is that the tuned mags do not lock the slide back when empty where the stock ones do. But, I use the stock ones for L10 and the tuned ones for Limited.

I would say for you, I would go with stock mags first and add some new pads to them if you want. If/when you start competing, then look at maybe going with some tuned mags if you shoot Limited. If you get back "home" over the Xmas holidays, we can try and get together and I can show you my stuff (I know, that sounded way too weird!)...

Hope that helps some!

Joel

[cbmax]

Are the tuned mags necessary for say, someone who just likes to shoot a lot, but doesn't compete? I'll have an STI Tactical 5.0 in .45 in my hands within the next couple of weeks, but currently don't plan on doing a whole lot of competition. Are standard mags sufficient for average plinking / range time? Or if this is going to be a home defense piece, is a tuned mag a better idea?

Joe -

I have 4 tuned mags that work flawlessly in my Edge and I also have 4 stock 140mm STI mags that have had DP SNL basepads added and, guess what, they run perfectly, too! The major difference is that the tuned mags do not lock the slide back when empty where the stock ones do. But, I use the stock ones for L10 and the tuned ones for Limited.

I would say for you, I would go with stock mags first and add some new pads to them if you want. If/when you start competing, then look at maybe going with some tuned mags if you shoot Limited. If you get back "home" over the Xmas holidays, we can try and get together and I can show you my stuff (I know, that sounded way too weird!)...

Hope that helps some!

Joel

[cbmax]

I have an STI Edge in 40 and tuned the mags myself. I was able to get 20 rounds in the magazine without any problems. You may be able to get 21 rounds in the mag if you have a pro do the work for you. At my skill level, 20 round capacity worked just fine. It wasn't worth it for me to spend $500 for tuned mags and wait months and months.

Here is what I did. Buy 140 mm mag tubes from Brazos. Get Dawson SNL +1 base pads. Get Grams followers and spring kit. I believe you will want 14 coil but don't quote me on this part. If you contact Grams they will sell you the correct kit. Order a modified slide stop that does not allow the slide to lock back. It is good to also have an indent put in the slide stop which fit into the the plunger pin.

Once you get your parts you will need to dremel down the wings on the bottom of the mag to get the Dawson base pads to fit. Go slow, you only need to remove a little material. Next, take the dremel to the grams followers and grind off the left edge of the follower. Polish up the follower edge so it is nice and smooth. Finally, get some jewelers rouge and polish the he'll out of the magazine lips. If necessary, you can play with the spacing on the magazine lips with a bench vise. Make sure the follower doesn't come up too high in the mag body. Loads some round in the finished magazine and see how they load/ unload. Finally Check for function in your gun.

If I can do it so can you!

CB

[deerassassin22]

I just picked up an STI Eagle in .40 and have run all 6 of my factory STI mags with zero issues straight out of the package i didn't tune them or anything. After the matches I clean them out really good and put them back together. It is hard though to get all 17rnd in them though at first.