XD-45: Magazines fail to drop free

[Lonewolf]

I recently placed the following comments on the Range Report section of this site. I'm posting it here because as LEO's we rely on our equipment to not only get the job done but at times to even save our lives.

"I've always been impressed with how quickly the magazines "fly" out of the pistol when you hit the magazine release button. Mine worked fine until I'd fired about 100 rounds through one of my magazines...then they'd drop about 1" when I hit the mag release button and stop there. This was an empty mag and I had to strip it out. Full mags would drop free but at a much slower speed.

Has anyone else noticed the same thing? Is there anything that can be done...besides upgrading my training to include stripping the magazine out each time I hit the mag release?

Thanks - Wayne."

PART 2.

"The saga continues...today I'm at my favorite gun store and I see a blued XD-45 with Trijicon Night Sights. So I'm thinking "Hmmm...lightning never strikes twice so if I buy this XD-45 theres no way it could have the same magazine problems.

So with that I bought this pistol. I took it to the range and fired about 250 rounds with it. Several brands of 230 gr. FMJ and the gun ran flawlessly! Unfortunately by the time I'd hit about 100 rounds the magazine would only drop about an inch when empty and had to be manually "stripped!"

I did notice at the back of the magazine (top) that a small buldge had developed. I pressed it in and then the magazine would drop free intermittently.

I really like the XD-45 but I'm very disappointed with the magazine issue. Is there any solution in sight?


Good shooting - Wayne."

So there you have it. Two new XD-45 pistols and 4 magazines that seem to have swollen and are no longer able to drop freely.

Perhaps someone in your department has found a fix for the same problem...or there may be an SA qualified armorer who can shed some light on this issue.

Any help would be appreciated.

Stay Tactical - Wayne.

[xdfan80]

I wish I knew the answer because my mags for my .45 does the same thing. I have two brand new mags that I havent tried yet.

[danp]

All of my mags but one did this and the one that didn't wasn't used much. Check the top of the mag, right at the back where the casehead of the number one round sits. On all of mine a bulge developed there.

I went through two sets of mags (four each) with this problem. I finally gave up and bought a Springfield Operator and made the switch back to a 1911.

BTW, my XD-9 never had this problem, just the XD-45. When I get the time, my XD-45 and all my mags are going back to SA for sme doctoring.

[ArmyGuy45]

have you tried to see whats stopping it..
is there something in your magwell that holding it up..
or is the mag bent or have something thats stopping it?

[astral]

I have no idea what the problem might be

However, I was trained to manually strip an empty mag out every time in case this happens (on pistols). On AR15s I was trained to let it drop free.

[danp]

It is my uneducated guess that there is too much friction between the slide and the top round in the mag as the slide travels to the rear in recoil. This pushes the top round backwards against the back of the mag, causing the bulge.

A fix could be as simple as polishing the offending part of the slide better or a weaker magazine spring, although the latter may have a negative effect on reliability.

[The Tengu]

Originally Posted by danp

A fix could be as simple as polishing the offending part of the slide better or a weaker magazine spring, although the latter may have a negative effect on reliability.

Sounds like there's already a negative effect on reliability somewhere in the design.

[dannyg0811]

There are a few posts on this regarding the 45 mags. I had the same problem as well as several other Deputies in my Department that switched to the XD .45. We are issued the Federal HST +p for the 45. Reloads and non +p rounds don't cause this in my mags. The mags develop a bulge at the top of the mag, where the top round sits roughly where the primer would be. As far as a fix, take a ball pen hammer and tap the area a few times to flatten out the area. They should work fine after that. Also contact Springfield, they should be able to replace the mags for you.

[Ed Ely]

Gents, to my knowledge, we have never
had a magazine problem with other calibers
of the XD, such as 9mm, .40S&W. .45GAP
or the .357SIG.

It appears that several forum members who
own the XD45 are having a 'drop free' mag
problem which all refer to as a bludge in the
upper portion to the mag.

This would appear to me to be some type of
defect, either the machine or the mag or
both.

For sure, and I own an XD45 (have not had
a problem yet), I would certainly address the
issue to SA through their customer service.
That info is in a sticky giving names and contacts
with emails and telephone numbers.

When you spend good money and lay your a*s
on the line expecting your machine to back you
up, I feel that it should do just that and be 100%
reliable.

Ed

[murphyslaw]

I use the same 3 mags for shooting IDPA. I have over 4k rds threw these three mags and none of them show this type or bulge and all three of them pop out so hard that some times they skip away from where I reloaded on the course.