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Mag capacity and base pad questions.


ihocky2

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Please forgive the simple question, but I haven’t really found a straight forward answer yet. I am new to CZ’s, just picked up an SP01 for Production and IDPA SSP. I need to pick up some extra mags and want to add base pads. So far I am looking at Shock Bottle, Springer, and ArmoryCraft for the base pads. The biggest thing I have seen is that most pads leave more of a gap with the 17 rd mags than with the 16rd. Springer seems to be the exception.

 

I am looking mostly at Mec-Gar mags. Other than the obvious 17 is one more than 16 (cue Spinal Tap reference), is there any reason to go with one over the other?

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The 17 round mags are more ubiquitous, that's the reason to go with them. It is easier to find basepads, replacement springs and such. You can even get a nickel plated version. I shoot and have shot for years a SP01 Shadow in IDPA in SSP.

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1 hour ago, rowdyb said:

The 17 round mags are more ubiquitous, that's the reason to go with them. It is easier to find basepads, replacement springs and such. You can even get a nickel plated version. I shoot and have shot for years a SP01 Shadow in IDPA in SSP.

What base pads are you running and do they have a gap with the base pad and 17 round mags? Does the gap really matter?

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The Henning Pro basepad is the best for reducing the gap. Doing a slide lock reload sometimes you can over insert the mag and that will lock the gun up. For me it was much more of a problem on the Shadow 2 than on SP01 or other 75 series guns.

 

I currently have both Henning and Springer Precision basepads for idpa guns.

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If you have shot for years, you should just run what you got.  I'm thinking about getting my Shadow milled for a dot, and I am just going to run the stock mags, they hold 17 same as my 40 STI Limited gun, there could be a stage where 22 rounds would make a difference but most not, there is always a place to reload, like on any move.  I'm holding off on buying any new mags till we see what Pandjeo Joe does.  If all divisions go to 10 rd sure would be a waste of money.

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Own and SP01 and have used stock CZ mags and base pads for nearly a decade.  They still work, haven't worn out, and the pistol has ~70k rnds of live fire.  Don't know how many hours of dry fire.  Nothing wrong with Mea-Gar.  I just know really see the need. Base pads for stock SP01 and Mac-Gar mags are different.  So you have to match mag and base pad for proper fit.  Look at https://www.henningshop.com.  Has great products for both Men-Gar, and stock mags as I recall.

 

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On 3/22/2021 at 11:42 PM, ihocky2 said:

Please forgive the simple question, but I haven’t really found a straight forward answer yet. I am new to CZ’s, just picked up an SP01 for Production and IDPA SSP. I need to pick up some extra mags and want to add base pads. So far I am looking at Shock Bottle, Springer, and ArmoryCraft for the base pads. The biggest thing I have seen is that most pads leave more of a gap with the 17 rd mags than with the 16rd. Springer seems to be the exception.

 

I am looking mostly at Mec-Gar mags. Other than the obvious 17 is one more than 16 (cue Spinal Tap reference), is there any reason to go with one over the other?

 

Let me ask the obvious question.  Why do you want (or think you need) to spend money on basepads that do not increase magazine capacity?

 

I shot Production and SSP for several years with bone stock CZ mags and never once saw the need for aftermarket basepads.

 

Is this something you're doing because you think it's the thing to do, or is there a performance gain (a real one, not an imagined one) that I haven't seen?

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5 minutes ago, SGT_Schultz said:

 

Let me ask the obvious question.  Why do you want (or think you need) to spend money on basepads that do not increase magazine capacity?

 

I shot Production and SSP for several years with bone stock CZ mags and never once saw the need for aftermarket basepads.

 

Is this something you're doing because you think it's the thing to do, or is there a performance gain (a real one, not an imagined one) that I haven't seen?

I'll be honest and admit that I want a little bit of cool factor with the color. Beyond that, at least with prior pistols, that added weight (though minimal) did seem to help with magazines dropping free better. It wasn't a common problem but a hung up reload at the wrong time is still lost time. I also have a semi-familiar feel with the basepads that are on other pistols, so I am looking to keep at least a smidgen of consistency and muscle memory. 

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RE reply to SGT_Schultz.  If you want cool, cool.  Not using what everone else is using is cool in and of itself.  There are only two things normally to prevent CZ mags not dropping like a brick regardless of the base pad -- magazine break not install correctly or bent so that it binds on the back of the mag.  The other is the failure to fully depress the mag catch, or punch the catch too quickly, and the mag doesn't have the fraction of second to drop clear of the mag release.  I have smaller hands, so I have to pay special attention to getting my thumb (since I moved it to the right side my index finger more on that later) squarely on the mag release.  The tension applied to the bottom of the slide by the follower on an empty magazine, or the top round in the magazine if not empty effectively "shoots" the magazine out the grip -- assuming the mag release is fully depressed.  

 

Like ihocky2, I've used stock SP01 mags for years with no regrets.  I am still using the first ones I purchased - 70k+ live fire and who knows how much dry fire.  Have new spares I've tested and know work without a hitch when/if I need them.  I did remove the mag catch and spring and bent the mag catch spring to reduce tension and moved it to right slide.  The right side is my preference since smaller hands and right side release mean less movement of pistol to reach the mag catch.  Highly recommend reducing the mag catch spring tension.  It help a ton and hasn't caused a sign problem re function.

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See pics for Shockbottle brass on MecGar 17's, empty, in slide closed SP01 and S2

 

As for them dropping fast, the mag brake from CZC is nice and flat and not much of a brake at all, which is great.

 

For @GeneBray's comment about fully pressing the release... You should check if you fully depress the release does it go too far?  The biggest improvement in mag dropping can be tweaking the mag release spring to limit it's motion in an SP01. During dry fire I never fully pressed the release but during a run I was crushing the release and the inside of the release was catching the side of the mag hanging it up. I bent 1/4" of one leg of the spring inward to stop the motion before the release was pushed too far in. Mags never get stuck now. 

20210329_112446.jpg

20210329_112432.jpg

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