Glock magazine issues

[deerslayer]

Have a G24 for limited.  Magazine followers are dragging or binding or something.  Using Arrendondo +5 basepads and the included springs.  Ammo is BBI 180 @ 1.130.  Have used these same basepads/springs before with a 35 and 34 with good results.  Follower is sporadically very slow to move up after a round is stripped.  VERY slow.  The problem is worse when the mag is full or near full.  Gun prefers gen 3 mags; gen 4 mags don’t always drop free.  I got Fast Grip everywhere, so I cleaned everything good and didn’t use Fast Grip today.  Same thing happened again. 

 

WTH?

[dskinsler83]

Follower edges chamfered on the bottom edges to allow ease of transition between mag and extension?

[cjmill87]

Second the above, have you also checked the Arredondo sleeve for any burrs that might cause the follower to hang up?

[Paul49]

Had this problem with new factory 22 round mags for my G35 gen 3. No magazine extensions, but follower failing to move up intermittently and top bullet nose down.  Realized the magazines were very dust sensitive. Since I started field stripping, cleaning and reassembling any magazine that hit the ground on a stage before reloading the problem has disappeared. Could not find any burrs or irregularities on the followers.

[AHI]

Last few mags i have received had a lot of plastic flashing inside removed with the end of a file.

[deerslayer]

Thanks for all replies.  Both matches I shot were a bit dusty.  I've never had issues with dusty Glock mags, but I guess there's a first time for everything.  

 

I think I'll bevel the bottom edges of the followers as suggested.  I probably should have already done this, but like I said, I've used these same tubes with the same base pads before without issues.   

 

Thanks again for the help!

[CTJer]

Had that problem with the TF extensions.  

I sanded down all the hard edges and rounded off the point on the followers.  

 

Did the trick for me. 

[Moloch38]

Anyone having issues with the mags dragging in the last 1/3 of the pistol grip? Happens on almost all mags some worse than others on two G19s and a G34. I'm worries when I'm gripping hard it is going to not let empty mags drop at all. 

[deerslayer]

I sanded a bevel on the bottom of the followers and the top part of the basepad that fits inside the mag tube.  I now do the immediately-disassemble-and-clean-any-2011-mag-that-hits-the-dirt-after-every-stage routine.  So far, so good.  I also started experimenting with ETS mags.  Their 16 round .40 mag held 16 pretty easily.  With the Arredondo, it holds 20 that I would be willing to use as a reload.  They sell a 19 round .40 mag that's Limited legal and since my two Glock mags on the belt are loaded with only 19, I'm gonna give the ETS 19 rounders a try.  Several people I shoot with swear by them, but another guy has one that has cracked.  

 

Moloch,

Do your guns have a magwell?  My 24 with Dawson Ice was dragging until I did some filing on the opening.  The magwell was pinching the grip.  What gen are your guns/mags?  I may be crazy, but I could swear gen 3 mags drop more freely than gen 4 mags.  By gen 3, I mean a mag with the mag catch notch on one side only and the witness holes are not staggered.  

Edited August 2, 2019 by deerslayer

[HCH]

13 hours ago, deerslayer said:

I sanded a bevel on the bottom of the followers and the top part of the basepad that fits inside the mag tube.  I now do the immediately-disassemble-and-clean-any-2011-mag-that-hits-the-dirt-after-every-stage routine.  So far, so good.  I also started experimenting with ETS mags.  Their 16 round .40 mag held 16 pretty easily.  With the Arredondo, it holds 20 that I would be willing to use as a reload.  They sell a 19 round .40 mag that's Limited legal and since my two Glock mags on the belt are loaded with only 19, I'm gonna give the ETS 19 rounders a try.  Several people I shoot with swear by them, but another guy has one that has cracked.  

 

Moloch,

Do your guns have a magwell?  My 24 with Dawson Ice was dragging until I did some filing on the opening.  The magwell was pinching the grip.  What gen are your guns/mags?  I may be crazy, but I could swear gen 3 mags drop more freely than gen 4 mags.  By gen 3, I mean a mag with the mag catch notch on one side only and the witness holes are not staggered.  

 

I’ve had decent luck with the ets 9mm mags—no experience with the .40. I had one of their 170’s crack, and some mag spring problems with their 140’s. They replaced the 170 and sent me parts for the 140’s free of charge. 

[obsessiveshooter]

Dumb question, but are you running a brush through every mag that touches the ground?  If not, I really suggest making that a habit, every time.  We sink a whole day into 60 seconds of shooting in a match, so it's definitely worth your time to make sure you don't have any malfs.  

[Moloch38]

13 hours ago, deerslayer said:

I sanded a bevel on the bottom of the followers and the top part of the basepad that fits inside the mag tube.  I now do the immediately-disassemble-and-clean-any-2011-mag-that-hits-the-dirt-after-every-stage routine.  So far, so good.  I also started experimenting with ETS mags.  Their 16 round .40 mag held 16 pretty easily.  With the Arredondo, it holds 20 that I would be willing to use as a reload.  They sell a 19 round .40 mag that's Limited legal and since my two Glock mags on the belt are loaded with only 19, I'm gonna give the ETS 19 rounders a try.  Several people I shoot with swear by them, but another guy has one that has cracked.  

 

Moloch,

Do your guns have a magwell?  My 24 with Dawson Ice was dragging until I did some filing on the opening.  The magwell was pinching the grip.  What gen are your guns/mags?  I may be crazy, but I could swear gen 3 mags drop more freely than gen 4 mags.  By gen 3, I mean a mag with the mag catch notch on one side only and the witness holes are not staggered.  

One glock does, the others do not, I get dragging on them all. G19, G19MOS, G34

[Paul49]

1 hour ago, obsessiveshooter said:

Dumb question, but are you running a brush through every mag that touches the ground?  If not, I really suggest making that a habit, every time.  We sink a whole day into 60 seconds of shooting in a match, so it's definitely worth your time to make sure you don't have any malfs.  

 

This was my solution also. After a couple magazine jams ruined a match for me, I settled on the following protocol.

 

 My magazines are numbered and rotated each stage. The one that was #2 and still in my gun at the end of the stage gets carefully removed, returned to the magazine pouch #1, reloaded between stages and put back into pouch #1. The magazine that was #3 and not used at all gets moved up to #2 spot. At end of stage, pick up magazine that fell on ground, unload it, disassemble it, rub the outside with a clean cloth, run a brush through the inside multiple times. Wipe off the spring, follower and  inner base plate, then reassemble and reload. If that magazine was not empty when dropped then the remaining bullets are also wiped before it gets loaded.The magazine that was #1, used on the stage and dropped on the ground gets put into position #3 for the next stage once cleaned and reloaded. This way all get about equal use and the malfunctions have ceased.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Paul49

[deerslayer]

12 hours ago, obsessiveshooter said:

Dumb question, but are you running a brush through every mag that touches the ground?  

 

I am now.  

[MemphisMechanic]

On 8/1/2019 at 7:52 PM, deerslayer said:

Several people I shoot with swear by them, but another guy has one that has cracked.  

 

Seth loves them and has great luck with them.

 

I asked two nationally competitive PCC GMs for their thoughts before buying... Long story short, I didn’t buy any more ETS tubes.

 

If they land wrong on a rock or get stomped on after falling to the ground, you’ll get a crack.

[deerslayer]

2 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

Seth loves them and has great luck with them.

 

I asked two nationally competitive PCC GMs for their thoughts before buying... Long story short, I didn’t buy any more ETS tubes.

 

If they land wrong on a rock or get stomped on after falling to the ground, you’ll get a crack.

 

Jerry cracked one on his PCC.  They do seem a little flimsy, but I'm happy so far.  Less overall drama (unless they start cracking).  You gotta shoot this 24 next time.  It's definitely not ".40 snappy."