[joeyb]

a friend of mine trimmed off a half inch coil from the spring of one of my magazines and turned it into a 14rd magazine from a 13rd magazine. However, it's a bit more difficult to load the 14th round and it's a lot more difficult to put in as well as release a magazine loaded with 14rounds. He says if we trim the follower a bit and trim off a bit more from the spring, it might just accept 16rds. What do you guys think?

this is the portion that was trimmed off:

 

[lewisburg]

I have to think that what you did, might not have been the right thing to do. You took something that was designed to work when it should, and turned into something that might not work when you need it, just to get another round. I guess if you don't intend on using it in a CC then what you intend on doing sounds reasonable. I am not sure of the legality of the mod, but let us know how it goes.

 

[Joeywhat]

If Springfield knew that you could get the ACP mags to hold 16 with a shorter spring and shaved follower, don't you think we'd all be seeing 16 round factory mags right now?

The 14 round version might work...go any further and I guarantee you'll end up with a destroyed mag.

Hope you're not carrying that mag, either.

 

[dirty magazine]

Just shoot the last few rounds upside down!

 

[SoLasVegas]

Just shoot the last few rounds upside down!

Or you could remove the spring completely and shoot all the rounds that way! Maybe you'd get 18 rounds then!

 

[ORD]

14th round in the mag...$0.31

Cutting +1 coil off a factory mag spring...$6.00 (cost of a new spring)

Destroying the reliability of an otherwise 100% functional magazine...worthless.



I know people do things like this all the time to various magazines for various firearms, but I have never understood it. You have taken a perfectly good mag that was functional and reliable and chopped it up for the sake of getting ONE MORE round in it, but in doing so, you have seriously compromised the reliability of the mag. Would you honestly trust your life or anyone else's life to that mag now?

Do yourself a favor...spend some time on mag change/reload drills and quit hacking up your mags. If you want extra rounds and reliability, buy an AGP or Arredondo extension with some extra power mag springs. That'll get you 16+1 in case you miss with the first 16 instead of the first 14 rounds.

 

[GlockConvert]

one round more at the cost of reduced reliability. Does not sound like a bargain for me.

 

[coldsolderjoint]

Geez Guys.. Jump on the n00b why don't you?

He never said he was going to use it for ccw.

 

[Mercmar]

Geez Guys.. Jump on the n00b why don't you?

He never said he was going to use it for ccw.

And your point is????

 

[Tard]

Experimentation is the mark of an open mind.

 

[ichy_trigger]

Maybe if someone came out with a heavier sping utilizing less coils, they could market the idea. When I was hot and heavy into USPSA, it was not uncommon to clip a spring here or there to tune a mag for an extra round. Not something I would do for a CCW gun though.

Welcome aboard.

 

[Ride the Lightning]

Less coils already equals a stiffer spring. The problem is that when you do that the free length of the spring is reduced, and the force pushing the rounds up is reduced for the last few rounds even though it is much stiffer for the first few rounds. The thing to do would be to make a lighter spring that was longer and had a decreasing diameter towards the top. That would give you a variable rate spring that collapsed inside itself when compressed and gave you the extra room you needed.

 

[scottk]

Not worth the risk of a jam or FTF in my opinion...

13/1 rounds + trained shooter = ready for just about any situation

13/1 rounds + 13 round spare + well practiced tactical reload = much better option

Experimenting within reason at the range is fine, but I wouldn't carry with a home brewed mag...

 

[TheGreatDane]

let us know how it turns out

 

[joeyb]

thanks guys!

 

[Fish609]

I bent the lips on a few .40 cal mags so they could hold 13 rounds of 9mm in my XD9SC without extending the handle. I have put hundreds of rounds through it in IDPA and range practices with no problems to date.

 

[joeyb]

could you show us how you bent the lips on those mags?

 

[kodiakZ71]

Now how does that line go.......If it ain't broke,don't fix it. Or the Government version....If it ain't broke,fix it till it is.

Honestly,I would never mess with a mag just to get an extra round in.The probability being in a firefight the first mag will be dropped out & a new one inserted before the first one runs dry anyway.

 

[lowspeedhighdrag]

I can "kinda" understand the clipped spring; but messing with the lips of the mag? 'specially in IDPA, which is 10 round max...huh....

 

[Bellevue_Dude]

If you really want the extra rounds, get the AGP+3 magazine extension with the +10% spring. You'll get reliable 16+1 in 45 ACP. To me, clipping the spring and/or bending the magazine lips, isn't sound in a gun used for self defense, but that's just me. Since it's your gun and your life riding on it, it's your choice to do as you will. I personally wouldn't.