promtcy Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Yep, I said ejecting magazines. At my 2nd ever USPSA match last month my factory mags started coming out of the gun on my 2nd stage while shooting. It doesn't fly out, it just drops. There isn't a round in the chamber after it does this. I assume that means it's kicking the mag out as it's ejecting the brass. It did it all day. It didn't happen on any particular number of rounds. Sometimes it would happen on the 1st shot, sometimes after a few shots. I thought I was hitting the mag release, but I can't physically touch it when I'm gripping the gun. The mags were seated solid, I couldn't pull them out. I cleaned the mag catch when I got home because it felt gritty. It isn't worn or broken. I hand cycled the gun with a full mag and it doesn't seem to move the bullets too far forward when it strips one off. It ran fine during my 1st match the month before and I'm using my same reloads. I got to practice with it today and one of the mags did it again. This time there was a round sort of jammed down into the mag with the nose sticking up. I used my other mags the rest of the day but I probably should have tried it at least once more to see if it did it again. The wear on the mag followers looks to be exactly the same. I've had the gun for a couple years and put about 1100 rounds through it and it's never done this before. I haven't made any changes to the gun other than a Cheely mag well. I do have the plastic extensions on the mags with the stock springs and follower. It's been setup that way for well over a year. I have one SPS 140mm mag and it didn't drop out. I have two more of those on the way. I also have a P18.9 and it doesn't do this at all. Obviously something has changed, I just can't seem to find what. Any ideas as to what's causing this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 check the edge of the mag catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promtcy Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Thanks, Brilliant idea taking a picture. Easy to blow it up and see detail my eyes can't. I did that with both mag catches and can't see any wear or difference between the two edges or on any part of the catch that engages the mag. The one from the 40 is different in some way though. It felt stiff again. If I swap them the one from the 40 doesn't push as smoothly in either gun. I think for now I'll just use the one from the 9mm for this weekend and hope it works. They have an Irish plate rack on one of the stages and I really want to make the squad laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogtired Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Do you have the plastic mag catch still? If so thats the culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promtcy Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Both of them came with metal ones. I can't find anything wrong with them. All the edges are nice, not worn at all. I measured the mags and the factory mags are identical in size. The SPS mag is slightly larger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimberacp Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 IF...the magazine can wiggle in the frame and there is not enough of the ledge from the magazine catch fully engaged into the magazine body notch, along with the downward pressure from the bullets hitting up against the slide, this will push the magazine to fall out. I would test this by inserting a full magazine into the frame, wiggle it by grasping the bottom. Try to pull it out. With the slide on the gun and try it without the slide on. One last thought would be to try a stiffer magazine catch spring. It could be the recoil of the gun with a light spring, is not staying in place, combine with not enough engagement from the magazine catch ledge into the magazine body notch, will let the magazine to drop out. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promtcy Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 I put the mag catch from my 9mm in the 40 and was going to try it last Saturday. Then I decided to wait because I wasn't 100% sure it was going to work and I didn't want to go to all the effort of going to a match and having something screw up. I ordered a Guncraft mag catch from Dawson and I should get that in Friday. I got my 2 SPS mags in today. So I think I'll just take everything to the range next week and see how it goes. I did try pulling the mags out of the gun, I can't. It just seems odd that it started doing it all of a sudden, yet I can't seem to find anything that's changed or looks worn or broken. There is something different about the mag catch from the 40 though because it does not press smoothly in either frame. I took it apart and polished it and it still feels like it's grinding. So hopefully the new mag catch will solve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HCH Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I bet you’re bumping the mag release with your left hand under recoil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promtcy Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 Thanks HCH, I assumed I was doing that. My hand isn't close enough because the release button is recessed. I tried moving the gun around and I could not physically touch it with my left hand. I finally got to the range with the new Guncraft part today and ran it with no problems at all. The Guncraft protrudes into the mag farther. It does not make the mags sit any higher than the one that came with the gun. SPS mags ran flawless so far as well. I know they don't always work for other guns, but they are great in my two Para's. $158 shipped from Spain for two mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 1 minute ago, promtcy said: Thanks HCH, I assumed I was doing that. My hand isn't close enough because the release button is recessed. I tried moving the gun around and I could not physically touch it with my left hand. I finally got to the range with the new Guncraft part today and ran it with no problems at all. The Guncraft protrudes into the mag farther. It does not make the mags sit any higher than the one that came with the gun. SPS mags ran flawless so far as well. I know they don't always work for other guns, but they are great in my two Para's. $158 shipped from Spain for two mags. I had a similar issue with a P-16 and STI for Para mags. The taper on the STI mags was steeper so the mag catch did not extend all that far into the body. You could grab the bottom of the mag and twist it and it would fall. The fix was to turn the mag catch down a little to allow deeper insertion: It's just too bad you can't get STI for Para mags or the Ed Brown Extended mag release anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promtcy Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 Interesting. That never occurred to me. Although in this particular case I think something happened to the inside of the stock part. As I mentioned it felt like something was gritty but it wasn't on the outside. The one from my P18 feels fine but the P16 one developed an issue. I didn't realize the mag catch from Dawson didn't come with the spring or the release lock so I used the ones I had and it works fine. Although I think I'm going to order one for my P18 and when I do I'll order new springs and release locks as well. I like the SPS mags. I tried someone's STI mag in my gun and it was kind of sloppy. They also held one less round than the SPS mags. The nice thing about the SPS mags is I haven't had to change anything. They've run 100% in both guns just the way they came. I am going to order TTI base pads for them eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 15 minutes ago, promtcy said: Interesting. That never occurred to me. Although in this particular case I think something happened to the inside of the stock part. As I mentioned it felt like something was gritty but it wasn't on the outside. The one from my P18 feels fine but the P16 one developed an issue. I didn't realize the mag catch from Dawson didn't come with the spring or the release lock so I used the ones I had and it works fine. Although I think I'm going to order one for my P18 and when I do I'll order new springs and release locks as well. I like the SPS mags. I tried someone's STI mag in my gun and it was kind of sloppy. They also held one less round than the SPS mags. The nice thing about the SPS mags is I haven't had to change anything. They've run 100% in both guns just the way they came. I am going to order TTI base pads for them eventually. The STI mags (for STI) will sit about 1/8" lower than the Para mags. And yes, they hold one less round than the Para but they are easier to reload because of the narrower taper on the tube. SPS mags are fine. I use them for my STI open gun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFoley001 Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 I had the exact same issue. Swapped my mag catch, problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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