.45 Limited mag follower problems... still.

[cas]

I'm starting to lose faith in my Tanfoglio.

I have a gun that fits me like a glove. It feels so natural, I can point shoot steel plates w-a-a-y out at distances I should even dream of trying. It's super accurate, feeds just about anything if I keep the length right, and jams up so tight I need three hands to make a mag change.

I posted a while back about this problem:

The followers missing the slide lock and getting jammed. I THOUGHT I'd narrowed it down to one magazine which I made my LAMR mag, but now the problem is showing up in others.

If it were just a matter of not getting slide lock I'd learn to live with it. But what happens is the follower misses the lock and doesn't push it up. HOWEVER.. I still get a slide lock, the slide being held back by the follower. This cants it and jams it nice tight.

When this happens it locks it up solid. With the Tanfoglio base pads, sometimes I can get my finger in there and rip them out. With Hennings pads I have to push the mag release, hold the slide back and stick a finger in the action to push the follower down.

Does ANYONE have any suggestions? Are there other follwers out there I can try?

Edited May 7, 2009 by cas

[kgunz11]

You can have the slide stop welded up to get positive engagement on the follower with the slide stop (lengthen the tab, it looks like it has been filed off).

Another thing you might want to do is compare mags that work with those that don't. It could be due to a change in mag or follower dimensions over time which are allowing the follower to ride higher causing it to block the breech face.

[cas]

I did that a while back... there's two distinct types. I have no idea if one is an older style or not, all the mags were purchased at the same time.

I have 2 of the type on the left, 6 of the type on the right. So far the problem is only with the type on the right... but that doesn't HAVE to mean anything. Originally it was just one mag doing it, now it's a couple. The mags and the gun still have a fairly low round count.

Even if I was sure one style follower was the problem, it doesn't mean I could get more of the other style. That's why I'm hoping for some input on if there's anything else that will work.

As far as the slide lock goes, it's unaltered, unless it's short from the factory. Doesn't look abnormal to me though. It just looks short in the photo because the follower is pushed over.

[jodus]

from the pix maybe u should measure the feed lips themselves and compare hope that helps

[cas]

This is crazy. Sitting here playing with the gun/mags, I can't MAKE it do that... make the follower come up enough to hold the slide back. But I'll be damned if it didn't do it to me 6-8 times tonight in about 125 rounds.

EDIT: Scratch that. I figured out how.

Interesting note, and a question. With the slide lock pulled out and turned down (so it's outside the frame but still holding the barrel) it locks back every time. Now I'm really confused. If I were to ditch the factory slide lock and put in a pin instead.. I'd still get slide lock on the follower at the end of every mag? I thought that was the whole idea of the pin, so you DIDN'T get slide lock? I guess the 9 and 40 followers are a different shape?

Henning will the Grams followers work in the .45? (in an effort to try something, anything)

Edited May 7, 2009 by cas

[dirty whiteboy]

If you have been dropping the mags , I would check the mags specs . Think about it, the followers probably won't change much, but the feed lips can take a beating when dropped with bullets still in them.

[kgunz11]

Cas, to make it repeat the malfunction, load the gun with dummy rounds and hand cycle the gun until empty. The force from the spring being compressed might allow the follower to rise.

[cas]

If you have been dropping the mags , I would check the mags specs . Think about it, the followers probably won't change much, but the feed lips can take a beating when dropped with bullets still in them.

I've only got to shoot it in one match, four stages. Otherwise they've never been dropped.

I think it's more an issue of stacking tolerances. The follower has X amount of play in the magazine. The magazine has X amount of play in the mag well. Every now and then they get together at the wrong time. The fact that the follower is high enough to hold the slide open is just bad design.

[hardluk1]

I did see some differences in your followers and i went up and broke mine down to look at mine should be the same according to there info but mine are different but work just fine so i have a call in for Eaa's gunsmith to have him look at some to. Look at your followers and you willsee that the one that works for you would seem to be the one i also have in my 40 and the one that does looks like my 9mm follower. Differences ,,,In the left photo there is a square notch behind where the holdopen would rest in a vertical line and and on the left isde where the bullet would rest there is square edge on the top of the follower with it would rest against the mag wall just like my 40 follower, on the right photo there is a rolled vertical area where the hold open would rest and on the right side there is a beleveled edge on the right side of the right photo like my 9mm has. Basic hieghts and sizes are the same overwise and my 9mm follower would jamb tight in the 40 mag if i just let it pop closed. I am going to find out for me cause there info catolog shows both should be the same but are not . I would say you have some 9mm or maybe 9/40 followers and i also my have a mix but it does not hurt me. I will get back when i find out what the right follower is But would say if you have not ajust your mag bodies try'n to fix your problem that the followers you have that work is the type you need in your other mag bodies...

[sinnsyk]

I'm working with Grams to get 45 followers made up.

Personally I don't use the slide lock just because it's something that will typically need to be tuned on each gun for 100% reliability. If you draw reference to the 1911 world you'll see that almost all top competitors have their slide lock disengaged. I just came back from the Single Stack Nationals shooting a Springfield 40 S&W that Canyon Creek built for me. Without me even saying anything about it, Rich built the gun with the slide function disengaged. He knows as does most shooters.. that they are not reliable.

The problem you are seeing on the 45 is because of a poorly designed 45 follower. They pop through and I'm not in any way impressed by how little effort Tanfoglio put into designing their 45 followers. I've put in 40 followers in the 45 mags which doesn't come through as bad. I don't own a Tanfo 45 any more so I don't know how they would work for slide lock.

If you can live without the slide lock... if that is an option... put my TiteFit slidepin in your gun. It's a much tougher steel which can handle a punch. Factory slidestops don't typically break, but they can bend which isn't a good thing either. I don't know what kind of steel the factory uses, but they sure haven't found the trick. EGW uses a 4140 steel I believe and harden it. I have and others with me have broke those. It's a very common metal to use in 1911 slide stops as well.

When I made mine, I consulted GunCrafter Industries which are two Danish friends of mine. They built the .50GI on the 1911 single stack platform. Their message was clear; S7 tool steel, hardened to 45. So that's what I went with and so far my slidepin has been a tough little thing. It's also 0.003" thicker which makes it sit tighter in the frame and puts the barrel in a tighter lock as well. IF you have a loosly fitted barrel, this pin will help mend that and improve accuracy.

Off topic, but on new stuff in the works is a hardened sear pin which does a similar thing for the sear. It creates a more consistent trigger pull and doesn't wear like the factory one. Torx grip screws coming soon as well as the newest extra long, ultra light firing pin for large frame. All top notch stuff. Stay tuned.

Edited May 7, 2009 by sinnsyk

[cas]

The slide catching on the follower problem is fairly obvious.

The type on the left are flush at the back. The follower is about the same height as the mag body. The type on the right, the follower sticks up.

Well and good, but since I don't know which is which, right or wrong, new or old... or where to get what I need, I'm still lost.

(Edited to add after seeing the reply above)

If I put in just the pin instead of the lock, I'll have a tied up gun every time I run dry. If you say the 40 followers will work (even if they don't lock) I'll buy a few and try them.

Edited May 7, 2009 by cas

[cas]

On even closer inspection. it looks like the issue is with the followers rear "legs". On the good one they bow out in the middle, kind of bowlegged. On the bad ones they're concave, bowed in.

Edited May 7, 2009 by cas

[vous]

For what it's worth, I changed all my 45 followers to the 40 followers and also use Hennings slide stop pin rather than the factory one. Did this as was having problems with feeding jams but with the changes all is running smooth, just not locking open on the last round, which is not an issue as I have done this on all my Tanfogs.

[hardluk1]

I think i am going to concact tanfoglio directly for what thats worth just to tell them how helpfull the girl at eaa is and how much of and ass there gunsmith is. Just got off the phone with the guy and was told that if given the serial number that they could send the right followers, CAS you should fax the pictures you have to them So the dummies there can see the difference. 800-536-4442 ex. 205 or ex. 206. All i learned is that the pictures in there nice coloored flier they have is worthless for knowing what is soppose to work with what.

[Vlakvark]

Where can i buy the std 45.acp follower i need to replace the grams followers i have in the mags at the moment