pcschwenke Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Since building my 38 super longslide several months ago I've noticed these mags don't like to have more than 8 rounds in them. What happens is the nose of the loaded round starts to nose dive after 8 rounds in the mag. I've taken the mags apart and removed all the excess flash from the followers and this helped but, still have problems. Would heavier springs help? I've never had this problem with my Wilson 45 ACP mags. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 I know this is kind of a dumb question but are you sure the mag springs aren't in backwards? Otherwise I would call Wilson and ask for some replacement springs. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcschwenke Posted June 30, 2004 Author Share Posted June 30, 2004 Springs are in the correct way. I'm starting to think the rim of the cartridges are causing the problem but, thought it would not effect it this much. Any one else have ideas? The follower does seem to have enough slot that it can rock forward. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 For what it's worth, I used these magazines without problems, however I was running 9x23 Winchester in them, not the rimmed Super - a superior choice, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Gonsalves Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 I have 10 of the same mags. I use them in my Yost Commander (Carry Gun) all function with 10 rounds of .38 Super. They are tight getting them in but they work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 pcschwenke ... do you have the same trouble with other brands of magazines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcschwenke Posted July 1, 2004 Author Share Posted July 1, 2004 After shooting more last night, I think the problem lies with either too weak a spring and the rim of the 38 super. You can see the problem without even putting the mag in the gun. If you look at the side of the loaded magazine it looks like the 2nd or 3rd one in the bottom has a visual gap about 0.200 between the rounds. Chico 1911, there is absolutely no way I could get 10 rounds in them. I don't know if Wilson put in the wrong springs or what. Rhino, I only have the Wilson 38 super mags. No others in 38 super. I'm very experienced in the 1911 guns and have never had a problem with Wilson mags before. I used them over and above all other mags in my 45 acp guns. Infact, I've got probably 20 mags for the 45 acp in shooting star, mecgar, colt, wilson, metalform and they all work fine. The 38 super mags just don't try to hold the nose of the bullet up. After 7 rounds, each consecutive round points further down, and by the time you get to 9 (all mine hold!) the nose of the bullet is within the mag. Makes me re-think using my 20 round 38 super mags for the para I bought back in 1995! One thing that did help last night was smacking the backside of the magazine on my had to shift the loaded rounds against the back of the mag. Seemed to help but not eleviate the problem. I'll try to contact Wilson today. Maybe this is why they got out of the 38 super mag business! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 The only problem I have with my Wilson mags is the followers crack after a few months. All will hold 10 rounds (with effort) and function perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcschwenke Posted July 2, 2004 Author Share Posted July 2, 2004 Talked to Wilson today. They think that the springs may be too weak. So, they are sending new springs and followers. The technical service person said that there is no way to get 10 rounds in these magazines even with 9mm. Guess I'm not loosing my mind yet! I'll keep this updated when I find out the problem. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 The technical service person said that there is no way to get 10 rounds in these magazines even with 9mm. Well, I hate to say this, but that particular "technical service person" is just flat wrong. I loaded 10 rounds of 9x23 into my Wilson mags all the time, and the 9x23 has the exact same rim diameter as the 9mm Para. I mean, really. Wilson wouldn't have sold these mags with an advertised capacity of 10 rounds if they couldn't hold that many. I'll be the first to admit though that 9x23 is a hell of a lot easier to fully load the mag with than .38 Super. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcschwenke Posted July 2, 2004 Author Share Posted July 2, 2004 Duane, They may have change the followers over the years but, the last design will not accept them. The service rep. said he was helped develop the new Wilson 9mm 1911 due to the IDPA craze. The guy personally uses the 38 super mags in 9mm parabellum Wilson 1911. After hearing others get 10 rounds in the mags I feel ripped off. I need another 0.1" or so to get in my 10th 38 super! I have used Wilson mags in all my 1911s for over 15 years with out problems. I think I know why they no longer make the 38 super mags! I'm going to try 38 super comp brass soon to see what happens. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 I'd think .38 Super Comp would be a good way to go in these mags, much more so than Super. (You might or might not need to tweak the extractor to work with the rimless casing.) I might ask, how old are these mags? I found, when my mags were brand new, it was all but impossible to load 10 rounds. I had to load nine, leave them loaded for about a week, and then I could load 10. Again, that was with 9x23. Honestly does compel me to admit that I found the .38 Super so hard to load that, after trying it a few times, I never tried it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcschwenke Posted July 5, 2004 Author Share Posted July 5, 2004 The magazines were bought last September and have around 200 rounds through each of the 6 magazines. Most of the time I only need to have 6 because the gun was built for ppc but, I'm starting to have fun with the 38 longslide and would like to fill the magazine without having a jam for the 1'st and sometimes 2nd round. Seems like only 3 of the magazines are causing the trouble and not all of them. I've used the gun to win several PPC auto events and a steel plate match where I've only had to load 6 or 7 rounds. I'll try loading 9 rounds in the mag and leave it for several days. Maybe they will loosen up. Thanks Duane and others. Hoped to solve this issue by 7/10 because of a big plate match but, springs will not be shipped until tomorrow. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 I know the current version of the .45ACP followers and springs are significanlty different than those I've purchased in the past, so it may be true of .38 super as well. With my new .45 springs and followers, I can't use the mags as a reload with eight rounds in them because they won't seat without a serious whack on the bottom. The springs are incredibly strong, almost the opposite of the springs they used to use. If I start with one of the mags in the gun, it runs great though ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 Is Wilson making .38 Super mags again? (Well, they didn't make them, they had them OEMed, but you know what I mean.) My impression was they stopped selling these things years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcschwenke Posted July 9, 2004 Author Share Posted July 9, 2004 Best understanding of the 38 super mags is that they stopped selling them around December of last year. Up until that time, Brownells at least was still selling them. That is where I picked mine up. Received my new springs and followers yesterday. The springs seem extremely strong compared to the ones I have now. I may get a chance to try them this weekend but, have a steel plate match to contend with first! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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