ima45dv8 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Based on what DP40 wrote here, I decided to try the Grams follower and spring kit with a Dawson +1 basepad on my SV mags. I had been running Arredondo basepads with red SV Comp followers and getting 19 rounds per mag. Like magic, they now hold 20 rounds and still have enough compression left to work for reloads. They fit the mag gauge, too. Way cool! (Thanks, DP) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superman Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Mark, Just out of curiosity, how tight are they when inserting a mag? I have been using the sti spring follower / Dawson +1 basepad and getting 19 rounds. I recently purchased an extra mag with Grams spring/follower and Grams 4mm basepad. It will hold 20 but I have to push a litte harder than normal to seat the mag. I figure when the new spring loosens up a bit it will be better. I agree 20 rounds is way cool in a 140mm mag. Tls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 *perk* You got a mag guage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 Tony, the few test loads I did with it didn't require any extraordinary amount of force to seat the magazine. I tend to be a little sharp with the seating of my mags anyway, and didn't feel like I was having any problems with the new setup. The final answer will come once I have a chance to run them "under the clock". *perk*You got a mag guage? Yessir! It's always in my range bag, so catch me at a match if you have some you want to check (or would you rather do that in private when no one is watching?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 or would you rather do that in private when no one is watching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 or would you rather do that in private when no one is watching? Don't get excited, John. No way am I going anywhere in private with you. After all, you've been known to take your undies off while shooting a stage. My offer was to let you check your mags in private (just don't drop the gauge down the crapper!) in case you've accidentally been running 140mm mags with +Bazillion basepads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 (edited) Guys, not to step on anybody's feet, but my (only) STI 140mm mag, with Grams 4mm basepad, 13 coils Wolff spring and SVI trimmed competition follower, holds 21 rounds of .40" SW. They're forced, and the mag needs lotsa force to be correctly seated, but it works. Squad 9 at Florida Open witnessed it (along with the fact that the mag works, the idiot behind it doesn't... ). Edited March 2, 2006 by Skywalker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superman Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 (edited) I don't own a mag gauge but I probably should. Beven Grams says that his 4mm basepad on a 140mm tube is close and should be checked. I have shot dozens of matches at every level over the past two years. No one has ever shown any interest in checking my equipment in any way other than a visit to a chrono. If an RO or match director saw something that they thought was questionable, I'm sure they would investigate. Based on what I have seen thus far, it would have to be a glaring violation. When my STI mags w/ Dawson +1 mags were new they would only load 19. I got in the habit of simply loading them up until they wouldn't take another round instead of counting. That practice cost me at last years nationals. Without my realizing it, the springs loosened up to the point that they would take 20. Unfortunately, I had a couple of stages where the mag dropped out while I was shooting, because the extra round prevented the magazine from seating properly. Lesson learned? At the end of every stage I empty each mag an reload it with a specified number of rounds. Tony Edited March 2, 2006 by tlshores Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 Guys,not to step on anybody's feet, but my (only) STI 140mm mag, with Grams 4mm basepad, 13 coils Wolff spring and SVI trimmed competition follower, holds 21 rounds of .40" SW. They're forced, and the mag needs lotsa force to be correctly seated, but it works. Squad 9 at Florida Open witnessed it (along with the fact that the mag works, the idiot behind it doesn't... ). I've personally had some bad luck with basepads from Grams, and the Dawson's are easier to remove and reinstall for cleaning. We've got a couple of local matches with a sandy range surface and cleaning mags quickly is a big consideration for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtypool40 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 i've had that combo of 140mm SV tube, Gramms guts, and Dawson +1 for several years, and just recently did it again. So far they have al fit in the gauge easily, and hold 20. They are stiff to reload but you can do it. sxldvnt, I mean 45 deviat, no prob, happy to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Is anyone using Dawson's +2 basepads? I recently got my stuff from Grams (mag bodies tuned, 11 coil springs, and followers) but for some reason the springs don't seem to have enough power to push 20-21 180 grain bullets up. At 06 Florida Open, I had two stages where the gun failed to function because the mag springs didn't push the round up fast enough. I do like the Dawson basepads for the ease of cleaning, but I'd rather have a gun that worked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 (edited) Is anyone using Dawson's +2 basepads? I recently got my stuff from Grams (mag bodies tuned, 11 coil springs, and followers) but for some reason the springs don't seem to have enough power to push 20-21 180 grain bullets up. At 06 Florida Open, I had two stages where the gun failed to function because the mag springs didn't push the round up fast enough. I do like the Dawson basepads for the ease of cleaning, but I'd rather have a gun that worked! Are you talking about 140mm tubes? I'm thinking you are since you mention the 11 coil version of the kit. If so, you might want to guage those mags 'cause I don't think I've seen any 140mm-type tubes that could wear a +2 basepad and still be Limited legal. Too, the extra space allowed by a +2 pad might be why the spring doesn't have enough compressed tension to feed well. If you're using them on 170mm tubes, I believe you want the 13 coil variety. sxldvnt, ......... How'd you guess? Edited March 2, 2006 by ima45dv8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 I'd bet it's not an issue of "power", but an issue of the spring getting caught on the bottom of the tube indent, slowing the feeding. Beven's put a ton of engineering research into his designs. I had an issue with mags jamming up and it turned out to be because there was one less coil on the spring than there should have been, so the spring stack wasn't providing the necessary "size" to keep a round from getting caught under the indent. To fix the problem, he replaced the offending springs with correct length ones, et voila! Get some 4mm pads and I bet the problem vanishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 First, I never realized that Dawson only made one style of basepad for Para mag bodies, so that narrows down what I actually have! The second thing I got wrong was mistaking my STI for Para followers for a new style, and I was trying to make the STI followers work in my Para bodies. OOOPS! That got straightened out with a call to Gram in CA after I e-mailed some photos of my problem to him. I'll get to the range tomorrow and find out if there are any problems left and then work on those. Thanks for all the help so far! Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted March 12, 2006 Author Share Posted March 12, 2006 (edited) I finally had a chance to test the SV tube I set up with a Grams 11 coil kit and Dawson +1 basepad today. I thought before, but now know, I can reload to my new 20-rounder and it feeds great. I'll be converting the rest soon. (Thanks, DP!) Edited March 12, 2006 by ima45dv8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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