MBX mags

[window2time]

Thanks for the info.  Your pistol looks great.  I think the gold mags will look good with my blaster too.

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by window2time
typo

[RayUSPSA81]

I am in the same dilemma for mags. I am just going with Brazos tuned mags. They are expensive but work!

[BallisticianX]

This thread is reminiscent of listening to a Ford vs. Chevy argument....LOL. My recent experience with MBX is mixed. All 5 of my 140 tubes would not drop free on my Bedell 38SC. They were binding on both sides in the tapered area of the tube body into the frame (contact point was just below the feed lips). I fixed that with a small nylon faced hammer and precision strikes! Next I found the followers would get drug forward after chambering the last round. It was forward enough that the nose of the follower would protrude beyond the mag body and hook the feed ramp not allowing it to drop free.  Also the "non-lock back" followers would still rub the slide stop tab enough to also cause some resistance, Bedell grinds that tab on the slide stop back some too. And finally I found the mags were hard to load with or without an uplula, lots of drag and the spring stacked up bad after 17 rounds. So I decided to ditch the MBX spring/follower and replace them with grams guts. They load easier, follower does not shift forward at all, and minor spring stack up. So far Grams appears to be a better option for a spring/follower to me. I had the opportunity to fire one mags worth and no issues with the grams guts. Need to spend some more time putting rounds through them to make sure no reliability issues exist, if the weather will ever allow it! The MBX 140 tubes load the same at 23 with both the MBX and grams guts. Despite being tight with 23 over the grams guts they are re-loadable and seat easily in my Bedell blaster. I think the MBX tubes and base pads are a good product but I am not a fan of the followers. My $.02      

[echotango]

I had the same plus some other issues.  I did the same but with Taran springs & followers.  

[BallisticianX]

Despite today's balmy Temps in the teens I sucked it up and went to the range to test the grams guts in the MBX tubes. I fired each mag loaded to capacity as fast as I could and not a single issue. All mags would drop free without follower interference on the feed ramp also. I will stick with grams from here on out....only drawback is the grams spring is not profiled on the bottom coil the same as the MBX and it makes for a more difficult removal of the base bads. But it can be done and overall advantages is worth one inconvenience so Ill deal with it. 

[Chutist]

I bought .40 140mm MBX mags for my STI DVC... Ran great out of the bag.  

My stock STI mags required some tuning to be 100%.  -> I had to polish the inside of the tube and the follower.  Then set the feed lips per the Dawson instructions in his mag tuning kit. Polished the feed lips.  

So if buy stock mags, then followers, then base pads...assemble them, tune them...I can maybe save a few bucks? But it's on me to get them to run, right?

Mags that run out of the bag are worth more to me, plus the owner of MBX has answered questions and been available by email for support.  I had a mag stepped on at a match and he "repaired" it and sent it back - no charge.    It looked like a NEW mag...draw your own conclusion. 

Hard to find companies that have this level of customer service and support.  Dillon is the only other that springs to mind.

I invest a lot of time and money to shoot a match.  I'm not worried about spending a few bucks premium for a premium product.

I'll be buying more MBX mags.

 

[teros135]

That's really the bottom line for me, too.  I have STIS that run fine in my 2011 Limited gun, once I tuned them.  I have STIs for Open, for both 38sc and 9major, that need spacers and tuning (and TLC).  I have 6 MBX mags for Open that run fine in both guns.  I've become an MBX fan.

[BallisticianX]

No doubt that the MBX tubes are far superior to STI. Thicker, stiffer and no sharp edges to deal with. They don't deform from abuse easily. Unless stepped on they just stay where they need to be. Not to mention I've never had to tune the lips on any MBX, always where they needed to be. The single drawback to the tubes is the upper geometry. They are a hair larger than STI and you have to either precision hammer them in certain spots or radius the inside shelf of the frame to eliminate sticking on some guns. No big deal really. As I previously mentioned the followers protruding forward and hard loading loading characteristics were my only gripe. Fixed with Grams.

[nikdanja]

Love mbx