E53X5 Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 The search didn't help me find the answer to this, so... I'm planning on buying new 140mm tubes with the intention of sending them to be tuned (most likely to Grams Engineering). My question is, should I go with STI or SV tubes? It seems like SV tubes are a little more popular here, but there are many people that are happy with their tuned STI magazines as well. It looks like I can get STI tubes for about $10 less each than SV, so are SV tubes worth that extra $10? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 For what caliber ? I don't think it makes much difference in 40 / 45 / or 38 super. For 9x19, I'd go with the SV tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E53X5 Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 For what caliber ? .40S&W for Limited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 If I were going to purchase magazine tubes and send them to Bevin to be tuned I would call Bevin and get his advice on which tubes he thought would work best in my caliber in my gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 If I were going to purchase magazine tubes and send them to Bevin to be tuned I would call Bevin and get his advice on which tubes he thought would work best in my caliber in my gun. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E53X5 Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 If I were going to purchase magazine tubes and send them to Bevin to be tuned I would call Bevin and get his advice on which tubes he thought would work best in my caliber in my gun. That thought had crossed my mind, too. I guess I will do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipscbob Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 If I were going to purchase magazine tubes and send them to Bevin to be tuned I would call Bevin and get his advice on which tubes he thought would work best in my caliber in my gun. That thought had crossed my mind, too. I guess I will do that. My experience is that if you purchase the SV tubes and polish the feed lips and inside of the tube and tweek the front to back taper on the lips you will not have to send them to be tuned at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 My experience is that if you purchase the SV tubes and polish the feed lips and inside of the tube and tweek the front to back taper on the lips you will not have to send them to be tuned at all. 3 years ago I would have agreed with you and maybe it's still true in the .40 tubes. But, I bought 5 9mm tubes last year and 2 this year. NONE would come even close to running after a good bit of work. The two this year were horribly racked and wouldn't even fit in the gun. Buy the STI's and put Grams guts and basepads on them and see how they run. You can always send them to be tuned after the fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMH Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 If I were going to purchase magazine tubes and send them to Bevin to be tuned I would call Bevin and get his advice on which tubes he thought would work best in my caliber in my gun. That thought had crossed my mind, too. I guess I will do that. Already did that and Bevin said to get STI. If I got this right he said that the SV tubes have more surface area dragging the rds, (flat indent on the side) where the ST tubes have smaller crimps that touch the rounds with less surface area, so less drag on the rounds. It made sense so I sent him some STI tubes, got them back, and am pleased as punch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E53X5 Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 (edited) Already did that and Bevin said to get STI. If I got this right he said that the SV tubes have more surface area dragging the rds, (flat indent on the side) where the ST tubes have smaller crimps that touch the rounds with less surface area, so less drag on the rounds. It made sense so I sent him some STI tubes, got them back, and am pleased as punch... Thanks. I'm glad to hear that since I like STI magazines better myself, so I'd rather go that route. I sent an email to Beven earlier today but haven't heard back yet. I'll wait for his reply for a couple of days and see what he says; otherwise, I'll just go ahead and order some STI tubes. Edited March 28, 2006 by E53X5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al503 Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I bought some sv tubes for dedicated dry fire mags a few weeks ago. They were terrible. I returned them and got some STI tubes. They look great and they function also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 Already did that and Bevin said to get STI. If I got this right he said that the SV tubes have more surface area dragging the rds, (flat indent on the side) where the ST tubes have smaller crimps that touch the rounds with less surface area, so less drag on the rounds. It made sense so I sent him some STI tubes, got them back, and am pleased as punch... Thanks. I'm glad to hear that since I like STI magazines better myself, so I'd rather go that route. I sent an email to Bevin earlier today but haven't heard back yet. I'll wait for his reply for a couple of days and see what he says; otherwise, I'll just go ahead and order some STI tubes. That's what Beven told me, too... early last year. The other problem with SV tubes is they're like unicorns (though it's sounding more like they're gravelings from the latest quality reports). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuz Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 If I were going to purchase magazine tubes and send them to Bevin to be tuned I would call Bevin and get his advice on which tubes he thought would work best in my caliber in my gun. I went thru this back in October and called Bevin to discuss. He prefers the STI tubes because of the ridges that run down the tube. There is less of the tube in contact with the ammo so there is less friction. The SVI tubes have one big indent so more of the tube contacts the ammo which = more friction. -Cuz. If I were going to purchase magazine tubes and send them to Bevin to be tuned I would call Bevin and get his advice on which tubes he thought would work best in my caliber in my gun. That thought had crossed my mind, too. I guess I will do that. Already did that and Bevin said to get STI. If I got this right he said that the SV tubes have more surface area dragging the rds, (flat indent on the side) where the ST tubes have smaller crimps that touch the rounds with less surface area, so less drag on the rounds. It made sense so I sent him some STI tubes, got them back, and am pleased as punch... If you don't mind my asking, when did you send him the tubes? How long did they take to get sent back? Just curious. -Cuz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E53X5 Posted March 28, 2006 Author Share Posted March 28, 2006 I just heard back from Beven, and he said the same thing about STI tubes. I'll be ordering a few and getting Beven's spring and follower kits. Now I just need to decide on the base pads - right now I'm torn between Dawson's and Grams; both seem to be the best of the best, so it won't be an easy decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I just heard back from Beven, and he said the same thing about STI tubes. I'll be ordering a few and getting Beven's spring and follower kits. Now I just need to decide on the base pads - right now I'm torn between Dawson's and Grams; both seem to be the best of the best, so it won't be an easy decision. Get Beven's pads if for no other reason than his no b.s. replacement policy. Some claim that the Dawson pads are the easiest to take off—simply because there's no tool required—but I disagree completely. The Dawson pads are harder to take off 'cause sometimes the sliding door sticks/gets filled with dirt or your hands are slippery. Also, they're much harder to get aligned on the tube to put them back together. Arredondo makes the perfect tool to take apart the Grams pads, the Comp Cleaning Tool here: http://www.arredondoaccessories.com/A_tools.cfm While you're at it, pick up a mag brush, too... just watch out for the witness holes on the back as the bristles are pretty stiff and they'll let you know where to not put your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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