Skeeter190 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 My STI mags would not go into the gun, not even close. My SV with Grams follower and spring and Dawson SNL base pad locked in and hand cycled all 20 rds. I tried an Arredondo extended basepad on the factory Mecgar with stock spring and follower and got 19. When I put in the Arredondo follower and spring, I got 20 in it, but the follower got stuck at the bottom. I think the best combo I have tried is the SV with Grams guts and Dawson pad, but that is an expensive option. The best bang for the buck is gonna be the Mecgar with Arredondo bases for 19 rds. for around $25 total. Must be enough tolerance difference in STI tubes for mine not to work, and others do. Interesting, I have heard of having to take sti mags and flatten them out, sorry i dont have a better term for it,sort of like they swell out in the middle. How do you think the Arredondo bases will hold up? Im thinking they are plastic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctordan70s Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 skeeter is that the para-usa p16 magazine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter190 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) No sir its the mec gar P16 mag from greg cote. From his site Para Ordnance P16 15 round .40 S&W blued MGP164015B Edited December 28, 2014 by Skeeter190 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 They are definitely too fat in the middle of the tube. I may try coloring them to see where they are sticking. The Arredondos are plastic. They aren't as stout as Dawsons, but I have a dozen of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeti Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I have a couple each of STI and SV .40 mags at home. Will report in a couple hours. Yeti, see my post just above yours. The Dawson Para pads work on Mecgar mags, and add 3 rounds without a spring/follower swap.Ah, I see it now. Thanks! Great resource. Time to get some Dawson Para bases, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctordan70s Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 thanks skeeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Shot my Pro Match today with the factory mag, factory follower & spring, and Arrendondo basepad. Loaded 19rds., and the follower got stuck. 18, and it ran perfectly. I also tried inserting my 9mm STI mags to see if the outside dimensions are different than my 40's. The 9mm mags locked in and dropped free. These two STI 40 mags are out of spec for some reason. Edited December 29, 2014 by OPENB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaGunner Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Try trimming the followers as Dawson suggests, it should stop the followers from sticking and you might get one more round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter190 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Finally got the Dawson basepads for para mag. They work fine on the mec gar mags and lock in to the gun and drop free. Loads 18 just fine. Can get 19 and 20 in but in both cases the follower is turning and causing the salt shaker effect. So in short, 20 bucks for mecgar mag, 35 for Dawson base pad and say 18ish for ext spring and follower for 20rd reloadable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762rocstarr Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 That's legit info skeeter. Thank you. This is the route I'll be going. I'd love to get to 20 reloadable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter190 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I think 20 is very possible. The above combo will load 20 but if you tap the mag a few times in your hand the follower rolls and you have a mess lol. The followers in the mec gar mags seem cheep so i am hoping some grams followers and springs will cure that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Does Grams make a Para follower? I tried the STI Grams in my Para tubes; it don't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter190 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) Does Grams make a Para follower? I tried the STI Grams in my Para tubes; it don't work. Ive not seen any. The capacity is there if we can figure out the follower. I wonder if you added the arredondo insert if it would allow you to use the factory follower and not roll over. Can you explain what didnt work with the grams follower? Was it a fit issue or something else? Thanks! Edited January 1, 2015 by Skeeter190 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Alright, not sure why I thought the STI Grams would not work in the Para tube. I just tried a Grams 40 spring/follower combo with Dawson basepad, Para factory nickel plated tubes & got 21 reloadable! Tried it several tines to see if I could get it to fail, & it worked every time! I think we have a winner winner chicken dinner! Just need to gauge this mag, but it appears to be the same length as my STI & SVs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter190 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 FANTASTIC! We get this nailed down and these are going to be fantastic pistols for limited. I am going to order some grams spring and followers and see what we get in the mec gar para mags. Thank you for all the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I tried it with the Mecgar factory mag, & got the same results, 21 reloadable. I've heard mixed answers on whether the Para Mecgar mags are the same mag supplied with the guns. Tommy told me the Mecgars he tried were tight in the gun probably need to try several to get ones that fit. Or start with RIA Pro Match mags & build them up with Grams & Dawson parts. If the Pro Match mags ever become available. Who here has bought Para Mecgar P16 mags for the Pro Match 40, & did they lock in & drop free? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter190 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I have 3 of the mec gar built p16 mags and there is a small difference in the cut of the mags at the top of the mag compared to the RIA supplied mag. Thats the only difference i can find, they are the same size body and fit and drop free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 We'll, if they work, I think we found the combo for 21 rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeti Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I have 3 of the mec gar built p16 mags and there is a small difference in the cut of the mags at the top of the mag compared to the RIA supplied mag. Thats the only difference i can find, they are the same size body and fit and drop free. On the MecGar P16 mags I have, the tubes are shorter (~2mm) than the Armscor/RIA supplied mag. The concern I had was that some +capacity bases may not lock in. Glad to hear that the Dawsons locked in, functioned, & dropped free properly in conjunction with the OEM magwell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeti Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Who here has bought Para Mecgar P16 mags for the Pro Match 40, & did they lock in & drop free? The very front portion of the the flat metal Mec Gar P16 base pad interfered with the magwell. After removing some of the radius on the front of the metal base, they lock in, function, and drop free. Base pad replacement is mandatory for extension below the magwell on the Pro Match 40 anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Who here has bought Para Mecgar P16 mags for the Pro Match 40, & did they lock in & drop free? The very front portion of the the flat metal Mec Gar P16 base pad interfered with the magwell. After removing some of the radius on the front of the metal base, they lock in, function, and drop free. Base pad replacement is mandatory for extension below the magwell on the Pro Match 40 anyway. I was going to use Dawson pads, so no big deal. Really just want the tubes, going to replace the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762rocstarr Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 So what is the general thought on the arrendondo basepads? I was thinking of using the springs, followers, and basepads from arrendondo. Good move or should I use arrendondo guts and the Dawson basepads? I'm already sold on the mec-gar mags for the tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Get the Grams followers & springs. With the Arredondo extended base, I only got 19 for some reason. The Dawson is a lot more expensive, but with the Grams guts you will get 21. Or you could build one 21rd. mag & several Arredondo mags for 19-20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter190 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Get the Grams followers & springs. With the Arredondo extended base, I only got 19 for some reason. The Dawson is a lot more expensive, but with the Grams guts you will get 21. Or you could build one 21rd. mag & several Arredondo mags for 19-20. I agree, i am going with the Dawsons and the Grams springs and followers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
762rocstarr Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 It didn't look like the grams guts were available on their site. Where are you sourcing these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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