Competition base plates and springs (lifespan)

[bootcamp]

So i have a pair of Team AC Design g17 base plate, spring and follower kit.  We are new to the sport (USPSA) but not new to shooting. 
 

The spring in one of my mags basically failed in our second match this past weekend.  It basically wouldn’t decompress and feed ammo.  Are these springs pretty much dead at this point?

 

I’ve seen other shooters disassemble their MBX mags to clean them and stretch their springs.  I’ve owned Glocks for 25 years and have never had to do this to my factory mags.

 

should i toss the spring and replace and if so what are the best springs in the aftermarket Glock mag business?

 

These baseplates are +7 and turn a factory 17 into a 24 rounder and stay within the 140mm gauge.  One occasion I’ve been able to feed 25 but it wouldn’t chamber correctly.

 

thanks in advance.

[DeepFried]

I have 3 of those basepads. They suckered me with marketing, not overly impressed. But anyways..

 

you should have extra springs they come with? Compare length to the bad one. Had the spring collapsed? Or did it get hung up in mag tube? 
 

I assume it must be shorter, especially of you did the fill it up and let it sit the days method. Not sure how much shorter it ‘should’ be. 
 

if I were buying just springs MBX seems like a good bet. But who knows if they fit the follower.

[bootcamp]

4 hours ago, DeepFried said:

I have 3 of those basepads. They suckered me with marketing, not overly impressed. But anyways..

 

you should have extra springs they come with? Compare length to the bad one. Had the spring collapsed? Or did it get hung up in mag tube? 
 

I assume it must be shorter, especially of you did the fill it up and let it sit the days method. Not sure how much shorter it ‘should’ be. 
 

if I were buying just springs MBX seems like a good bet. But who knows if they fit the follower.

yes they came with a second spring which I’ll use for the next match.  What specifically aren’t you impressed with on these base pads?
 

For the new spring i think i may forego loading a full mag for 24 hours in the interest of keeping the spring power and memory.

[HesedTech]

13 hours ago, bootcamp said:

The spring in one of my mags basically failed in our second match this past weekend.  It basically wouldn’t decompress and feed ammo.  Are these springs pretty much dead at this point?

All springs will become softer and shorter over time and use (you knew that). If these springs failed after a couple of uses they are not properly tempered, too small a diameter or just plain poor alloy.

 

Send them back.

 

How long should they last? At least thousands of rounds. But it will vary.

 

One note, pre-loading them isn't the issue. Springs soften by use as the metal is worked. The more often they cycle the softer they get.

Edited April 30 by HesedTech

[bootcamp]

7 minutes ago, HesedTech said:

All springs will become softer and shorter over time and use (you knew that). If these springs failed after a couple of uses they are not properly tempered, too small a diameter or just plain poor alloy.

 

Send them back.

 

How long should they last? At least thousands of rounds. But it will vary.

 

One note, pre-loading them isn't the issue. Springs soften by use as the metal is worked. The more often they cycle the softer they get.

That makes sense.  I never thought about sending them back.  I’ll reach out to them this week!  Thanks

[DeepFried]

2 hours ago, bootcamp said:

What specifically aren’t you impressed with on these base pads?

The extensions themselves are fine. The spring and follower are my complaints. The spring is very weak, I assume smaller diameter so that you can cram more capacity in there.

 

I’ve never been able to fit 25, as they are advertised for. Customer service was not very helpful. Says you need some kind of special diameter ammo and offered no real support.

[bootcamp]

2 hours ago, DeepFried said:

The extensions themselves are fine. The spring and follower are my complaints. The spring is very weak, I assume smaller diameter so that you can cram more capacity in there.

 

I’ve never been able to fit 25, as they are advertised for. Customer service was not very helpful. Says you need some kind of special diameter ammo and offered no real support.

gotcha.  Ya i can get between 23-24 in there.  And even if i can get the 24th in, if I Barney load at make ready, its so tight the slide can’t rack that first round properly.

 

what other basepad/springs do you have good experience with?  I might just make it a dedicated +6 and change the spring and follower over to an MBX if i can.

[DeepFried]

3 hours ago, bootcamp said:

what other basepad/springs do you have good experience with?  I might just make it a dedicated +6 and change the spring and follower over to an MBX if i can.

TTI has worked well. I’ve picked up a handful during sales. For a while I used oem followers in CO. I hate the 140mm and trying to jam extra rounds..but that’s another topic. 
 

all my training mags are TTI with oem followers now. Fits 22 and is 100% reliable. 24+1 has its perks in matches though 

[bootcamp]

15 hours ago, DeepFried said:

TTI has worked well. I’ve picked up a handful during sales. For a while I used oem followers in CO. I hate the 140mm and trying to jam extra rounds..but that’s another topic. 
 

all my training mags are TTI with oem followers now. Fits 22 and is 100% reliable. 24+1 has its perks in matches though 

Thanks bud.  I’m gonna run the next match with the comp springs and see how long they last.  The website says to check the spring after 1000 rounds so we’ll see

[Matt1911]

I’ve had mags with extensions work well for 5 or so years of repeated use with the same spring before they start to get weak enough to have to stretch and need replaced. 
 

I try to stay in the habit of changing them all out every 2 years though just for added insurance. 

[bootcamp]

2 minutes ago, Matt1911 said:

I’ve had mags with extensions work well for 5 or so years of repeated use with the same spring before they start to get weak enough to have to stretch and need replaced. 
 

I try to stay in the habit of changing them all out every 2 years though just for added insurance. 

See that’s more realistic.  But a match and a half seems a bit short.

[Matt1911]

1 hour ago, bootcamp said:

See that’s more realistic.  But a match and a half seems a bit short.

Yeah there’s gotta be a defect somewhere. 

[sandflea316]

I change springs once a year. 

Mags springs, recoil springs

I use MBX ultra max spring and followers. 

TTI, MBX and Taylor Freelance extensions with the ultra max springs get me 24+1

[Aar0n_K]

Just my anecdotal input-

These AC ones do require you to stretch the spring once in a while if you want to run 24+1 reliably. 

For me, since they're easy to disassemble, I will stretch the spring before I load them for a stage that requires them. Otherwise I usually run my other mags/extensions(22+1).