.40AET Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 (edited) I have an STI and all of my tuned SV mags work great. However, I picked up a STI 140mm mag with a Dawson basepad and it won't drop unless it has a couple of rounds in it. I put it in the tumbler to polish it and it works better, but still not great. It runs well so I hoped not to have to send it off for tuning. Thanks for the help. I searched and all I could find was Glocks and drop free mags. This is a 9major gun that has 5 Grams tuned SV mags that work great. I have one STI mag that I just bought that is giving me a fit. Edited April 22, 2005 by .40AET Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 Sometimes this can be the grip. Check the screws to make sure the escucheons have not backed out into the gun a little. Also look for burrs around and on the mag catch. Another test would be to hold the gun by the slide and press the mag release without gripping the gun. Sometimes the plastic grips can flex, especially if they have been textured. A well known GM on this forum told me to put my mags in a vise front to back and tighten it to slightly shorten them. After doing this, it solved the problem. I also had the grip screw escucheons loosen and keep my mag in during a classifier once too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Check the screws to make sure the escucheons have not backed out into the gun a little. Damn! I thought that you nailed it. One side had backed out. But the mag still sticks. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 paint it up with a sharpie and insert it a few times...look for the drag marks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 You may already know this, but sometimes those escutcheons can tighten, but still not be firmly square in the hole. If you remove the slide, you will get a better inside view. Sorry if I am overstating the obvious, but I happened on all of this the hard way too. Flex's idea is a good ole tool maker's trick. If you have Dykem, it will work best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 I have a couple of tuned mags that won't drop unless the mag release button is pushed further than normal. They seem not to drop, but in slow tests, they drop fine, quick pushes - like the others - nope. You might check it that way.. And hopefully - it's a clue... (I haven't bothered to look more closely yet) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Don't be afraid of overstating the obvious. I've had a SV for 3 years and never had any mag related problems. (Never took the grip off either) I would have thought that the STI mags in a STI gun would have worked better than the SV mags. Flex-I put the marker on the tube and saw some rub spots near the catch and that was all. Tomorrow at the PSA I'll be the idiot with black magic marker all over one mag. OK, I managed to get it off. Polished the tube with 600 grit paper and the little f*cker still sticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 With the slide off, slowly insert the mag to see if there is more front to rear tension or side to side tension. You may want to try the squeeze in the vice trick. I now it sounds really barbaric, but it worked for me and my mags have run flawlessly since I built them, both before and after the sticking. Just a little squeeze, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdgun Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 The follower might be hanging up on the slide stop. (empty Mag) with a couple of rounds still in the mag it is ok. My Caspian was doing the same thing. Trimmed the follower a little and it went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Simpson Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 The follower might be hanging up on the slide stop. (empty Mag) with a couple of rounds still in the mag it is ok. My Caspian was doing the same thing. Trimmed the follower a little and it went away. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree -- try taking the spring and follower out of the mag and then see if it drops free. I had to trim the follower on one of my STI mags so it would drop free when empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 The follower might be hanging up on the slide stop. (empty Mag) with a couple of rounds still in the mag it is ok. My Caspian was doing the same thing. Trimmed the follower a little and it went away. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree -- try taking the spring and follower out of the mag and then see if it drops free. I had to trim the follower on one of my STI mags so it would drop free when empty. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yep. Also, check if it drops fine with a single round in it... might not be worth doinking with if it drops with rounds in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Thanks guys! I took out the follower and put the basepad back on the mag. I also took out the mag catch. The mag is still sticking. It may be the eustations, one doesn't look like it's seated. Also, one side of the bottom of the frame looks like it has more meat on it than the other. Unfortunatly, I'm going to have to live with this for today. I have to jump in my truck and head up to Penn. for the PSA steel match. That mag will just have to be my last one of the stage. If I do my part knocking them down, I'll never need to put it in the gun. It would be my luck to get it apart, get it fixed, and then not have it go back together right. Thanks again for all of the good ideas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Oh...it is jsut the one mag? All the others work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Take the slide off and look down from the top to see where it is dragging. (sound familiar BE?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted April 22, 2005 Author Share Posted April 22, 2005 Oh...it is jsut the one mag? All the others work? Yes. I have 6 total. 5 of them were tuned by Beven and have his springs and followers and they work great! I wanted to pick up another one for the steel match since you can only load 10. I actually didn't need it today. On the two 30+ stages, I was able to clean them with 4 magazines. This weekend I'm going to tear it down and see if the magazine works in the grip when it's not on the gun. It looks like the mag is hitting the bottom of the frame. There is a little sharp horizontal line on the mag tube that only metal could have cut into it. I'm going to try all of the suggestions now that I can heat up the locktite and take the scope off. Thanks again guys, I appreciate all of the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted April 23, 2005 Author Share Posted April 23, 2005 Saturday update. I tore it completely down. When I had the frame in my hand without the grip, I found a burr on one side. I slightly beveled the sides of the opening in the bottom of the frame. Then I polished up the insides of the frame in the area where the mag sits. I paid real close attention to getting the grip bushings back into the holes nice and straight and then bolted the grip back onto the frame. This all took a couple of hours, but was well worth the time. At the match I discovered that the big stick would not drop free on occasion too. Now, both of the problem mags are dropping out nice and smooooth!! Life is good again! Thanks a lot for all of the great ideas. Not to mention how fast they came in. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNsTeR Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 Enough about the dropping, how well does that STI tube feed 9mm without spacers? Enquiring minds want to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted April 24, 2005 Share Posted April 24, 2005 You will want to check those grip screws occasionally, or loctite them and check them a little less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted April 24, 2005 Author Share Posted April 24, 2005 or loctite them and check them a little less. I should buy stock in loctite. Blue goes on everything. Enough about the dropping, how well does that STI tube feed 9mm without spacers? You're crackin' me up. So far it runs well. I havn't used it much since it was sticking. This week I'll torture test it. Just for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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