Mark K Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Gun: 40S&W SVI Limited (bought used from a friend) Magazine: SV, 140mm, Dawson Plus One, IMSI spring one month old, follower SV original Problem: When loaded to 17-18 rds. the first 1-3 rounds will shoot fine, then the rounds will nose dive into the bottom of the ramp and/or the front of the magazine. Pull the slide back and the round will pop up and feed fine. Maybe the next round, maybe it doesn't. The last 6-7 rounds will feed fine. This mag has been fine for months the 3 months I have owned the gun. When I compare it to the 4 mags that work fine, it is identical in every aspect, not bends, no burrs, springs look the same, follower the same..... Today at the range, I even added some lubricant to the front and back to the follower to see if maybe the follower is binding. No Go. Thought it screwed up in the first two stages (took me that long to see a pattern - Duh), since I have 5 mags, I can get by and not have to use this one for now. Suggestions? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshidaex Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 grams spring and follower combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 reading into your post I see, "Magazine has worked fine for months" Spring is one month old. Put the old spring back in or go with Grams or Wolff springs. The way the top coil fits the follower or the way the coils lay under compression could be what is screwing you up. Another thought which will take some range time. Take a magazine that works perfectly and your bad mag. Making sure everything is labled swap everything but the tube and see if the problem stays with the tube or moves with the spring and follower. If problem moves with the spring/follower swap just the spring, then just the follower. That way you'll be pretty sure what the problem is. Just be sure to label everything and only change one part at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Focus Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 My insight. I want to shoot the thing and enjoy it. I fought with mags for ever, swearing never to spend $120 on a single magazine yet spending thousands on guns only to have them jam all the time. If I were you save a few hundred bucks, call grams and have him work you over a few mags and use those. I have a set I bought from him for my open gun years ago and have NEVER had ONE jam. I can't count how many times I've beat people simply because my equipment works and theirs dosen't. People say replace springs evey so often, I have the same springs in my big sticks that came with them years ago. Beyond that if you want to save a few bucks try just replacing the spring, If that dosen't work then try replacing the follower possible the base pad also. Another thing to watch out for is used mags. I have bought and sold so many I can tell you some people try and "alter" their own mags and end up doing more harm than good. So watch out for that. Another crutial error would be leaving your mags loaded for weeks on end while waiting for the next match, I leave mine loaded between stages but ALWAYS unload them after the match.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Probably the spring. Replace it - or, as others suggested, put the old one back in. Sometimes, you just get a spring that's wonky, and takes a weird set and never really works. Rare, but... As far as using mags (any mags, even Grams tuned) without ever replacing springs, well.... your gun setup will determine at least in part how much you can get away with (if the gun cycles relatively slowly, a weaker spring still has time to do its job). I have a Grams tuned STI big stick that needs a new spring every so often, or it starts nosediving. I make a habit of replacing all my springs once a year, just to insure that I have the most possible margin for error - if anything nasty finds its way into a mag, or whatever, I want to be certain that I've got enough spring to overcome it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Can it be that, by chance, you're loading your bullets a bit longer, so that they drag onto the mag internal walls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusher Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Check the OAL of your rounds (too long), Feed lip dimensions out of spec (bashed from reloads, dropping). If both are fine then replace internals, I find the Grams sprig/follower combos last the longest before requirng relacement (I have some that are 2 years old and still work fine, 11 coils) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebg3 Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I would make sure the mag is very clean on the inside and that the follower is clean and in good shape. It sounds like the spring is showing its a$$. Replace it and the mag should start working. If these easy fixes don't work, send it to someone that tunes mags and they'll make it work. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 As everyone has mentioned, it's likely a spring issue. An easy test is to take the spring and simply stretch it out a little by hand, put the mag back together and see how it works. If it works, it's time for a new spring. Honestly, when I was a broke college student I kept mag springs going like that for ages. Every couple of times I'd take them apart to clean them I'd just slightly stretch the spring and they worked perfectly like that for a long, long time. That's not an ideal solution, but it should isolate the problem pretty quickly. Springs are weird and even the spring experts can't tell you why they do what they do sometimes. It usually is a matter of the heat treating not being perfect and it's more art than science from what I've been told. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamGE Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi Mark K, If a mag worked for one month, and then fails the next month, then something changed with this mag. It is probably the spring, but it could be a change in the mag tube (surface of inside walls damaged by running a dirty mag, or shape of walls and feed lips are out of spec from being dropped or stepped on). If you have a mag that runs reliable, then swap the spring and follower from that mag to the mag in question. See if the problem follows the spring or the tube. If it is the spring, and it is relatively new, then it is a bad spring (bad heat treat) and should be replaced by the manufacture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Thank you ALL for your advice. The swap spring and follower from another mag did not hit me until I was driving away from the range. I will do that today or tomorrow. I have ordered new Gram's Spring/Follower kits just in case. They won't go stale in the bag if I don't need then for a while. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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