Springs for STI 45 ACP 126mm 10-rounders?

[matteekay]

Boy, that's a lot of qualifiers...

 

Hello! Like the title says, I'm assembling some STI 126mm 10-round 45 ACP magazines (gen 1 tubes). I tried using gen 1 followers and 11-coil springs, and they feed very well, but it's literally impossible to get the 10th round in there (to say nothing of being reloadable). Does anyone know if there's a different spring I should be looking at? Do people trim the 11-coil guys? Thanks!

[Postal Bob]

Had the same problem in my 10 rd .40 mags. Use the Dawson followers instead of the stock STI ones. https://dawsonprecision.com/033-001/ I use them in my .40 mags, and they give you the extra room to easily load 10 rounds, and still be able to insert a full mag with the slide closed.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Postal Bob

[matteekay]

That's really good to know!

 

The only downside I can see is that those won't engage the slide lock. For IDPA purposes, having it function is pretty handy. On the other hand, I bet I can count to ten...

[Postal Bob]

Correct, they will not engage the slide lock. But you did not say you were shooting IDPA. And why would you want to shoot a 2011 gun in IDPA. Is it even legal for IDPA?

And besides that, inserting a mag hard into a 2011 gun at slide lock can push the mag in too far and damage the ejector. That's why most 2011 guns set up for competition are set to not lock the slide back.

[matteekay]

20 hours ago, Postal Bob said:

Correct, they will not engage the slide lock. But you did not say you were shooting IDPA. And why would you want to shoot a 2011 gun in IDPA. Is it even legal for IDPA?

 

Why else would I want 10-round mags?! 

 

2011's are legal in CDP and ESP, provided they meet all weight and size requirements. Or, if you're a crazy person like me, you can mill it for an optic and run in Carry Optics.

 

I took your advice on the followers and ordered a set. I can either learn to count or use standard 126's for mags 1 and 2, and then use the 10-rounder for mag 3.

[Postal Bob]

So I'm also guessing your gun is set up to lock the slide back then. But why wouldn't you just use the regular 126's loaded to 10? 

I was lookig at it from my perspective which here in NY, we can only have 10 rd mags. So we make them work, and always count to 10.

[matteekay]

1 hour ago, Postal Bob said:

So I'm also guessing your gun is set up to lock the slide back then. But why wouldn't you just use the regular 126's loaded to 10? 

I was lookig at it from my perspective which here in NY, we can only have 10 rd mags. So we make them work, and always count to 10.

 

Oh, I am! I got a pair of 10-round tubes with some 126's I bought; I figured I can stick guts in them and have them as backup mags, if nothing else. They'd work well as a third mag, too, since there's no reload after that.

 

Thanks for the help!

[Joe4d]

As you arnt in 10 round land, (yet). IIRC Grams pads can be fit to engage the slidelock.. I know in a 40 they engage slide lock wit a couple rounds left in mag. Dont know if they make a 45 follower but theyd give you a bit more room.

[matteekay]

They do! I have them in my big mags and they engage the lock with one round left. I tried swapping them into the 10-round tube and they still don't give quite enough room to fit #10.