surfmaster Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 Hi Everyone: I would like to ask everyone's experience with STI and SV magazines in an STI-frame 38 supercomp open gun. My gunsmith recently ordered STI magazines and they have to be returned because the feed lips would not hold a round; the 38 supercomp rounds would fly out of the magazines. In fact, the feed lips are so wide that you can almost put a 40 S&W round into the magazines. My gunsmith returned them and we got a "corrected" batch of STI magazines. However, the followers needed to be modified and now the magazines are very unreliable. The last round cannot chamber and the slide "drags" and is slow during firing. I tried a buddy's SV magazines and they had no problems. Has anyone experience this problem with STI magazines that were recently purchased? Feedback is appreciated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eerw Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 Haven't purchased any STI mags recently.. but have sets of both SV and STI mags...that work fine... at one time..I had two open guns..one like STI mags, the other liked SV mags.. you might give Bob Londrigan or Beven Grams a call and have them tune a set up for you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 Ask your buddy if his magazines have been tuned by anyone. Chances are, someone had to do something to them to get them to work. What works and what doesn't is on a mag by mag basis. Send them out for tuning and you won't be sorry, the'll work great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistral404 Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I had a bunch of STI mags. Sold them all. I now used nothing but SV tubes with Grams followers, springs, and base pads. Beven did some work on the STI mags but my SV worked perfectly. Well I still have some of Dawson's pads but mostly I stick with Grams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuildSF4 Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 I mostly have SV mags, and they work great without tuning just added Grams basepads. Only have 2 ST mags and they are both tuned mags they work great also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 The may be asking the obvious but are you sure they were super mags? STI super and 40 mags are almost identical except that the 40 mags have one side with deep ribs and shallow ribs on the other side, the supers have deep ribs on both sides. I once got a super tube in a 40 package. Just a though. All of the super mags I have will hold rimless supers with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuildSF4 Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 The may be asking the obvious but are you sure they were super mags? STI super and 40 mags are almost identical except that the 40 mags have one side with deep ribs and shallow ribs on the other side, the supers have deep ribs on both sides. I once got a super tube in a 40 package. Just a though.All of the super mags I have will hold rimless supers with no problems. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> From checking my mags the feed lips on the 40 are wider apart than the lips on the 38 super. Some guns seem to prefer SVI mags some seem to prefer STI mags, some don't seem to care. I you can try some of both and see what your gun prefers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R112mercer Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 I went with SVI tubes for my STI framed .38 Super Open Gun and had to tune the heck out of them to get them to work. Mostly shaping of the mag lips to get the mags to feed reliably, but also some squeezing to get them to drop free. When I bought my STI Edge in .40 I went with STI tubes after a recommendation from a friend and because it couldn't be any worse than the SVI mags were (not that the SVI tubes were "bad" but I figured how much more work would I have to do other than bend and weld the tubes myself). The STI tubes worked flawlessly right from the start, with no work needed. I should mention that the SVI tubes have Arredondo springs, SVI followers, and Dawson +1 pads, while the STI tubes have ISMI springs, STI followers, and Dawson +1 pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newguy Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Which mag is better may be a moot point. I don't know any dealer that has .38s 170mm SVI mags in stock. Even Brownells has dropped most SVI hi-caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansy Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I used STI exclusively since the dristributors is in my area...they work flalessly in both my 40SW Edge and my Stinger 9mm (using 38 Super mag/follower) I'm sure that SVI would do the same... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I am one of the many who uses stock / unmoded SV tubes with Grams guts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bret Heidkamp Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 STI tubes all the way. They have less bearing area on the cases. Double stack mags make the cases roll as they ascend, and the SV mags have a wide flat area (more rolling resistance) whereas the ST ones have two thin areas. This, IMO, means they will run better with any "accidental debris" in them. Regardless, clean both brands religiously if you drop them in the dirt and always use mag-slick to prevent magazine drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWLAZS Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Which mag is better may be a moot point. I don't know any dealer that has .38s 170mm SVI mags in stock. Even Brownells has dropped most SVI hi-caps. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> SPEEDSHOOTERS has them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Balko Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 I've got STI's, both 140's and 170's for my 9x23. Did some self tweaking on them, and they weren't bad, but not 100%. Sent them to Grams for guts and tuning, and they have been literally flawless for 2 years running. I also agree with Bret that the smaller contact patch between ammo and tube is a better solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 its sad when you pay 100 dollars for a magazine that doesnt work and you can get a glock high cap that works from day one. i guess its like a corvette vs a ferrari, both are fast, one just needs alot more tuning to keep running everyday....they other will go "get the groceries" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 I have some Glock mags that don't run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Olhasso Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 I always ran SV mags in my STIs -- both 40 & 38. 5+ years ago, it seemed the SV tubes were more consistent. I also like the way a SV mag feels in the hand -- ie smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 its sad when you pay 100 dollars for a magazine that doesnt work and you can get a glock high cap that works from day one.i guess its like a corvette vs a ferrari, both are fast, one just needs alot more tuning to keep running everyday....they other will go "get the groceries" <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree. I bought 6 hi-cap (17 rd) mags for my sig for less than $120 and every single one is 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HI5-O Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 The three STI guns I have runs with both SVI & STI mags that are untuned Got some new STI bodies in .40 and .38 before the Nationals and installed Grams format follower & spring, no feeding problems in both guns. Guess I got lucky barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincent Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 The inconsistencies in the S*I mags are just poor quality control. If Beven can come up with a process and the fixtures required to make the mags work on his own, then the manufacturer can do it too. They choose not to and the customers suck it up since there currently is no real competition. My hope is that with the sunset of the AWB there will eventually be some competition. Also, most people shooting Glock, Sig, Beretta, etc. mags don't try to run a wide variety of mag parts like just about everyone does in the S*I magazines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 my 170mm magazine sucked when i got it...the damned feed lips held the round too high up. the rim of the ejecting brass would hit the next round before the ejector would causing a nasty malfucntion...some feed lip tweaking ad it was good as new....it is(or was) a tuned STI tube...looks like one of bob londrigans numbers on the back of the tube... In any event, i dont think the tube when i got it was in the same shape that it was when it left the tuner... all that being said, i like the SV tubes, with dawson pads and grams guts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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