Magazine question

[WWGunslinger]

OK, internet gun repairs, you got 'a love 'um! If I understand you correctly: The magazines that came with the pistol work OK; it's your replacement Mec-Gar magazines that seem to be the problem.

Mec-Gar, an Israeli company, is one of the largest magazine manufacturers in the world. Still, while their top-of-the-line magazines are always superlative, there is a wide variation in the quality of their lower-end stuff. Some of their cheaper magazines work well, but not all of them. Some have problems with the mag bodies; (Think, US Army!) and others need the springs replaced with something better like Wolff Gunsprings.

The first thing you need to do is SHOOT the pistol. Under the stresses of normal recoil these magazines may be fine. If everything else checks out then you might need to slightly tighten the magazine lips. (This is a job for someone who has a mandrel and knows what he's doing.) Once, while I was in a situation similar to your own, I called Mec-Gar and sent them the magazines. They are an excellent company to deal with.

Sometimes the type of ammunition you are using will allow the top round to slip forward more easily; or, a weak magazine spring will do exactly the same thing. (For whatever it's worth, ALL of my semiautomatic pistol magazines are fitted with Wolff Gunsprings.)

The final thing I'll offer is that nothing means nothing until you actually fire the gun - OK. Good luck to you.

the thing is they seemed to work perfectly fine before I replaced the base pads.

[WWGunslinger]

Just took the gun out and ran a full mag through with each mag and had no failures in feeding at all. seemed to operate normally in that aspect. I did drop the mags about halfway through and all but 1 (the one I didn't take apart) had pushed the top round forward a bit.

Is that normal? i don't recall that happening before. am i worrying too much about this part? if the gun operates fine under normal firing conditions, should i not worry?

I'll most likely see my uncle over labor day and he's a gunsmith so maybe I'll ask him about it then too, just to make sure.

[G21.45]

Yes, you're worrying too much!

Knowing what I do, now, my only suggestion is to use those magazines and allow the springs to take a, 'set'. Why not leave them loaded for a week, or two? I really don't think that you need to do anything else.

The top round is catching the pickup rail and sliding slightly forward because the magazine spring is holding it tightly in place during recoil. (Which can be a good thing!) Slightly increasing the angle of the top coil in the magazine spring might help to alleviate this condition; but, personally, I'd leave it alone and just use those mags for awhile.

(My own Glocks have a tendency to do this, too; and they are, otherwise, flawless through thousands and thousands of rounds!)