Sig mag tube variations

[boudreux]

So I've recently moved to the legion platform and have noticed that the magazine and/or base pad sizes are off. 

I bought 3 Henning base pads for the 17 round legion mags. I am getting 23 in them with factory springs but they barely fit the mag gauge. I have to give them a good squeeze to get them in there. I also bought 4 - 21 round sig mags. 2 of them have Henning base pads which fit the gauge easily. The other 2 - 21 rounders have tti base pads and they aren't even close to fitting the gauge. I've spent a fortune on mags and base pads and I hate that I now have a couple $70+ mags that can only be used in practice. Anybody have issues like this? 

[Rich406]

1 hour ago, boudreux said:

So I've recently moved to the legion platform and have noticed that the magazine and/or base pad sizes are off. 

I bought 3 Henning base pads for the 17 round legion mags. I am getting 23 in them with factory springs but they barely fit the mag gauge. I have to give them a good squeeze to get them in there. I also bought 4 - 21 round sig mags. 2 of them have Henning base pads which fit the gauge easily. The other 2 - 21 rounders have tti base pads and they aren't even close to fitting the gauge. I've spent a fortune on mags and base pads and I hate that I now have a couple $70+ mags that can only be used in practice. Anybody have issues like this? 

I recently bought some new mag tubes and taran base pads. They didn’t fit. I had to file the mag lips to get them legal. 

[echotango]

Flatten the wings where the base pad slide on. Tap that with a brass hammer they will then fit the gauge. 

 

17 and 21 rnd. I've done about 25 this way. 

Edited January 7, 2023 by echotango

[terrydoc]

So are you blaming the magazine or the AM bases?

[ddc]

Sig tubes have a bit of a reputation for length issues.

I've had to adjust multiple 21 rounders with TTI base pads to fit the gauge.

It sucks but it's a known problem.

 

[X5SigChris]

This whole thread makes me remember that I have a bunch of new mags I have to gauge and inspect before majors start to kick off  

 

it’s definitely a known problem though. I believe it was here somewhere that I saw a post about the foreign made tubes fit and the us doesn’t or vise versa. I honestly just expect them all to “fail” per my liking. “Slight pressure” to fit the gauge is so vague. 

[RangerTrace]

Maybe don't worry too much about the gauge?  Someone told me at Nationals a lot of folks used the stock Sig 21 rounders.  They didn't fit the gauge, but since they weren't an advantage they allowed them.  

[X5SigChris]

@RangerTrace I’m with you on this. Common sense can determine if there’s a competitive advantage or not. A 142mm mag isn’t an advantage. But I also understand that the line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere. 

[ddc]

36 minutes ago, RangerTrace said:

Maybe don't worry too much about the gauge?  Someone told me at Nationals a lot of folks used the stock Sig 21 rounders.  They didn't fit the gauge, but since they weren't an advantage they allowed them.  

 

So I'm going to pay several hundred dollars in entry fees and more in transportation and hotel/motel and not worry about whether my mags gauge ok?

 

Not in a million years.

[RangerTrace]

36 minutes ago, ddc said:

 

So I'm going to pay several hundred dollars in entry fees and more in transportation and hotel/motel and not worry about whether my mags gauge ok?

 

Not in a million years.

I used to spend a lot of money/time/trouble trying to get extra rounds in 140mm mags when I shot a lot of limited.  I'm not going to do that with the P320 platform.  For me, one of the selling points of shooting a pistol like this is not having to worry about magazine issues.  

[Rich406]

29 minutes ago, RangerTrace said:

I used to spend a lot of money/time/trouble trying to get extra rounds in 140mm mags when I shot a lot of limited.  I'm not going to do that with the P320 platform.  For me, one of the selling points of shooting a pistol like this is not having to worry about magazine issues.  

That has zero to do with if your mags will fit the gauge. It’s a well known fact that OEM 21 round sig mags may not pass the gauge. To ignore this before going to a major is pretty foolish. 

[Rich406]

1 hour ago, RangerTrace said:

Maybe don't worry too much about the gauge?  Someone told me at Nationals a lot of folks used the stock Sig 21 rounders.  They didn't fit the gauge, but since they weren't an advantage they allowed them.  

So you would rely on the RM at a random level 2, to ignore the rule book?

[RangerTrace]

25 minutes ago, Rich406 said:

That has zero to do with if your mags will fit the gauge. It’s a well known fact that OEM 21 round sig mags may not pass the gauge. To ignore this before going to a major is pretty foolish. 

I didn't say I would.  I'm just repeating what I heard.  I can honestly say I've never put any of my mags in a gauge and I don't remember them ever being checked at a major since 2008.  I did buy all the IDPA boxes, so maybe I will buy the USPSA ones as well.

[Boomstick303]

2 hours ago, X5SigChris said:

@RangerTrace I’m with you on this. Common sense can determine if there’s a competitive advantage or not. A 142mm mag isn’t an advantage. But I also understand that the line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere. 

 

That is not the attitude to have unless you don't mind getting bumped to open once you have spent all of that money to travel to a Level II or above match.  The gage is the gage if your mag fails you will get bumped to open.  If you to not care about getting bumped to open then don't worry about it.

 

I have never seen anyone measure a mag at a Level I match, so you most likely would always get away will an out of spec mag.   They have measured my mags at every Nationals I have been to.  

 

To be honest if you are spending any money to travel it makes zero sense to not have a set up "Match" magazines which will pass the gage before you travel.  You should be able to manipulate the mags in some manner to get them to fit.  I had so just ever so slightly file the feed lips and they fit fine.  I like the Idea that @echotangosuggested as this prevents messing with the feed lips.  I will be trying that first moving forward.  This is most likely the cause of most mag gage failures is due to those flaps at the bottom of the mag.  

[RangerTrace]

EGW should thank you guys.  I just ordered a gauge.

[R.Elliott]

On the 21 round factory mag, four or five strokes with a file on the back edge of the base pad and they all easily fit the guage. Took me about five minutes to do six mags. 

[boudreux]

1 hour ago, R.Elliott said:

On the 21 round factory mag, four or five strokes with a file on the back edge of the base pad and they all easily fit the guage. Took me about five minutes to do six mags. 

It's going to take quite a bit more on the mags with the TTI base pads. I mean they are not even close to fitting. I would have to shave half of the base pad off to get them to fit. But the Henning +2 fit with room to spare. 

[Boomstick303]

2 hours ago, RangerTrace said:

EGW should thank you guys.  I just ordered a gauge.

 

Cheap insurance.  

 

 

[ddc]

45 minutes ago, boudreux said:

It's going to take quite a bit more on the mags with the TTI base pads. I mean they are not even close to fitting. I would have to shave half of the base pad off to get them to fit. But the Henning +2 fit with room to spare. 

 

All my mags have TTI base pads. Both 17's and 21's.

Just took a kiss with a dremel and the rear of the feed lips.

 

 

[Boomstick303]

49 minutes ago, boudreux said:

It's going to take quite a bit more on the mags with the TTI base pads.

 

Interesting.  I wonder if something changed with the TTI base pads.  I have never had any issues with them.  They always pass once a little tuning on the tube is completed.  I did not have to tune many mags either.  

 

 

[ddc]

Just now, Boomstick303 said:

 

Interesting.  I wonder if something changed with the TTI base pads.  I have never had any issues with them.  They always pass once a little tuning on the tube is completed.  I did not have to tune many mags either.  

 

 

 

could be , all my TTI pads are at least 5 years old at this point

[Rich406]

All my older mags with tti had no issues.

[X5SigChris]

6 hours ago, Boomstick303 said:

That is not the attitude to have unless you don't mind getting bumped to open once you have spent all of that money to travel to a Level II or above match.  The gage is the gage if your mag fails you will get bumped to open.  If you to not care about getting bumped to open then don't worry about it.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t gauge my mags. Just saying if I were the end all be all at a match and someone had a mag that fell out of tolerance by a fraction of an inch and provided no possible way of an advantage, I’d want to help that person out. But like I said too, I understand that the line has to be drawn somewhere. 
 

even if they said 141.25-142.25 passes, companies would make base pads that push it right to the max, possibly knocking people into open. It’s a lose lose. More just stating, I’d like to let people by but that brings issues of its own too, so couldn’t. 

[Boomstick303]

2 hours ago, ddc said:

could be , all my TTI pads are at least 5 years old at this point

 

I bought some a year ago.  The rest of them are over 3 years old.  I have not used the newer ones yet as I have not had a need. 

 

Seems strange they are that far off.  

 

With that said I have not purchased any 21 round mags in over three years.  Maybe the variance is with the mags.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by Boomstick303

[X5SigChris]

Now that y’all are talking about when they were bought and how old they are. Just checked my three new ones. 3 21 rounders and 3 TTI base pads bought on Black Friday, two failed and one passed. 
 

will say the gauge is super cold. Just dug it out of the garage. I doubt it would have that much effect on it but I’ll try again in the morning if I remember