HSMITH Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Be careful pinching the bottom coil, too much and the spring will stack coil-on-coil like every other spring out there and the capacity gain it should have will be negated to some extent. Be careful with 30 rounds in an untuned tube, sooner or later you will get a round caught under the rib/transition and it will turn in to a big rattle. Like anything else that ever goes wrong with our equipment, it won't happen until you really need the equipment to perform. If you run these parts in untuned tubes I would recommend you stick with 28 rounds until you have shot a LOT with 29 in practice or club matches and know they are not going to have a problem. 29 will fit easily with these parts in a tube that is anywhere even remotely close to 'right', but 29 in some tubes is dangerously close to getting the rounds stuck in the bottom. 30 will bite you sooner or later in my opinion even if it works in testing. In a mag that was tuned more than a few months ago stick with 29. There is very specific tuning needed to run 30 or more rounds, and these parts were designed to get the absolute most out of tuned magazines. The provide enough capacity to cause problems that otherwise would not have happened if you understand what I mean. Getting 31 in is an ancient chinese secret, 31 usable is even more secret and 31 reloadable is ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireant Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Howard, Can you get 31 usable in an SV tube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoMiE Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 I basically pinch the bottom coil and get it seated in the basepad, then slip basepad/spring into tube. I am not picnhing it sooo much that it is reducing the diamter or anything crazy like that. I hear what your saying and am aware of the rib/transition area and now that you have more room at the bottom, you have to do 'something' about that or the rounds won't stack and slip pass each other. Ancient secret? Where can I get a decoder ring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Fireant, the short answer is 'yes', the long answer is 'it depends though'. There are several factors that play, other parts used, tube length, tuning level, etc. I hear you Mitch, I talked to a guy the other day though that pinched the bottom coil with pliers and that just isn't a good idea without studying the way the spring works. The other thing they can do is use the Bolen pad, the spring fits it easily. There are at least a couple sources of the decoder ring, here and there..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 Well... Fix me up!! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoMiE Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 The only problem Howard is my tuned mags came with Dawson basepads, so just working with with I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 I hear you Mitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgkeller Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 So if I put Bolen base pad, spring and follower on my SV 170, I should get 30? Which base pad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 There is a good chance you will get 30. There is also a good chance it won't run. These parts are designed to get the absolute most out of tuned mags. The basepad depends on the tube, the tubes vary enough in length that you need to have the tube and both pads in hand to put in the gauge to pick the right one. Sometimes the tube wants a 3mm and sometimes a 4mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 I love puzzles... Er.... NOT! Bases and Tubes and Gauges, OH MY!! 30 / 31 rounds that aren't reliable is only good for showing off to your friends. You're better off with 29 one hundred percent reliable than taking a chance on that extra round ruining your match/day. Would I like to have 31 rounds reloadable and 100% reliable.... Darn Right I Would!!! IMO, if you truly want 30 reliable, do what I did... Box a tube up and send it to Howard. It seems that if the stars, planets and moon are in the proper alignment Mr. Smith can even get 31 in some! I love it when the forces of Nature have to come together for my TOYS to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameiza Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 (edited) Would a 4mm Bolen pad add more space than a Dawson S.N.L? I have an untuned SPS tube with Bolen Spring/follower and a SNL. It is a very thight 30 rounder. I wouldn't bet my life (or a Level III) on it. I believe I might use the 4mm pad for a IPSC legal big stick. Or I could get a package deal with tuned mags from Howard/SC, but living overseas, it might be difficult? Thanks, Rune Edited July 17, 2008 by Ameiza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Bolen 4mm and SNL are equal in capacity. They are also the same length in our USPSA gauge. The IPSC measurement is a lot more subjective, I would make sure I have plenty of room in the measurement to account for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoMiE Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Plus don't forget to take into account USPSA is 171.25 and IPSC is 170mm. I have to use some 3mm and some 4mm bolen basepads to fit USPSA gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 Iffn ya happen to get bored and decide to see if you can get 31 rounds in a SPS tube with Bolen guts and basepad and proceed to totally sproing (technical word for ruin) not one but two brand new (less than 24 hours old) mag springs... You might make yourself feel kinda dumb. Don't ask me how I know this!! Now to figure out how to get the followers off the springs without ruining them too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoMiE Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I have no idea what you're talking about? You would think you would learn after the first time, but what the heck, it's just a spring right. I use my arredondo comp cleaner to get the springs off the followers. Works good and the rolled edge doesnt scratch or dig in like a screwdriver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 18, 2008 Author Share Posted July 18, 2008 I have no idea what you're talking about? You would think you would learn after the first time, but what the heck, it's just a spring right. I use my arredondo comp cleaner to get the springs off the followers. Works good and the rolled edge doesnt scratch or dig in like a screwdriver. Thanks for the tip. Yea, well somebody loaded both mags up then decided to see if they would feed. The next time I see "that guy" I'll be sure to tell him to only mess with one at a time until he finds out if it works or not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 20, 2008 Author Share Posted July 20, 2008 Ok, has anybody else tried the Bolen spring/follower in a SPS tube and had success? The SPS's that I have with the Grams guts run 29 rounds just fine. I took one of those tubes, put a brand new Bolen spring/follower in it and it won't run 27 rounds. The rounds run straight into the feed ramp. No nose up on them at all, none, nadda. Put the Grams stuff back in and right back to 29 without problems. What am I missing? It seems like the spring is either too weak to keep the nose of the follower up or it dragging in the tube. Hum... Why didn't I think of that before. Maybe the followers are too long and need trimmed a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoMiE Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 (edited) Ok, has anybody else tried the Bolen spring/follower in a SPS tube and had success? The SPS's that I have with the Grams guts run 29 rounds just fine. I took one of those tubes, put a brand new Bolen spring/follower in it and it won't run 27 rounds. The rounds run straight into the feed ramp. No nose up on them at all, none, nadda. Put the Grams stuff back in and right back to 29 without problems.What am I missing? It seems like the spring is either too weak to keep the nose of the follower up or it dragging in the tube. Hum... Why didn't I think of that before. Maybe the followers are too long and need trimmed a bit? When you tried to stuff 30+ rounds you may have made the mag body swell a little and now the rounds may be stacking side-by-side and the spring can't push up. Don't ask how I know. Edited July 20, 2008 by HoMiE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 Well, I measured the tubes and the ones I "played" with are actually narrower than the ones that work by about .010". The Bolen follower is longer than the Grams by about .090". I'm leaning toward the follower binding in the tube but I'm no mag tuner! Grams guts work in all the tubes. I have four more springs ordered that I'm highly thinking about canceling. They seem to want to twist pretty badly. I'm definitely open to suggestions. I don't mind junking out the occasional part or two in the name of experimentation but not another $50.00 bucks worth of springs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I'll trade you even up, Grams springs for the Bolen springs if you don't like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLM Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 Howard, you have PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameiza Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 (edited) I've measured my IPSC legal 30-rounder (SPS,SNL) to the spec, and I have about 1mm to play with. I won't go any longer though, to be on the safe side. No need to go for a Bolen pad, then. Another thing, I've tried to put the Bolen Spring-follower combo in a couple of .40 mags, one SPS and one RHT (K-mag), to be specific. It doesn't seem to fit very well, though. The follower is on its way out of the mag at the top, and is twisted to one of the sides. I havn't test fired it yet, but i doesn't look promising. Edited July 22, 2008 by Ameiza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameiza Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) I've now shot quite a bit with my 30-rounder IPSC legal mag, and havn't had any malfunctions. It works flawlessly! No tuning of the body, I've only put together the candy parts, just making sure that the last coil sets nicely into the S.N.L. Starting with 30+1 is definitely an advantage on certain stages... My 19-round Rescomp mag in .40 does not work, though. Last round won't feed due to the follower. It sits to high in the mag when empty, and keeps the gun from locking up. Actually I'm not able to put the mag into the gun when its empty. I don't see an obvious sollution on this problem. Any ideas? Or is the Bolen follower ment for .38 super/nine only? Thanks, Rune Edited August 6, 2008 by Ameiza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 They are not caliber specific. I have run them in Rescomp mags without issue. I cut off the pad on the front left of the follower so that it cannot contact the slide stop, other than that it should be plug and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ameiza Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 (edited) They are not caliber specific. I have run them in Rescomp mags without issue. I cut off the pad on the front left of the follower so that it cannot contact the slide stop, other than that it should be plug and play. Thanks Howard, I'll look into it. Have you had any issues with the follower in the Recomp mag? Mine have a tendency to twist towards the left side. The lips/upper part of the tube doesn't guide the follower enough for it to stay horizontal. The same happens in a SPS tube (even worse). I haven't tried it in a STI tube yet, because it won't give me 19 rounds. Rune Edited August 6, 2008 by Ameiza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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