Tight Magazine

[Wanderer]

Of the magazines I have 1 of them appears to be welded rather than sanded, but it seems extra tight and it is hard to insert and extract.   It seems to bind up around the 3rd hole down without rounds in it.  Comparing it to the other magazines that move freely  I don't see anything obviously different other than the back of the magazine has a weld mark along the back, versus the others.   It maybe it is less than a hair wider at the weld at the base plate where the weld sticks out a tiny bit more at the back of the magazine.  Has anyone seen this before?    I have to grip it with my fingernails and pull a bit to get it free but the other magazines aren't like this.

Also it seems the magazine release on this one is quite a bit stiffer than the other,   It still functions but it can make it a little more difficult to extract.

The other day I had a few issues with failure to feed so I disassembled and have now cleaned and oiled it up.   I didn't see anything that would indicate any kind of obstruction it the magazine well for the tight magazine issue,  nor anything that impact the magazine release as far as I am aware.   Lack of luberication may have been the issue with the failure to go into battery over the weekend.

The gun likely was rarely if ever fired prior to the range trip the other day,  but it definitely was a little dry.   I did notice there are a couple light scratches at the back of the magazine well.   I don't think they are big enough to impact anything but they are there. 

[Wanderer]

I tested the magazine in the other R9 and it is even tighter to the point I didn't want to force it.  it starts resist by first or second hole,  it seems tight front to back.  Nothing I can detect with the naked eye though on what is causing the binding.

[tracker]

That is unusual. Eric may have a thought for you. Have you tried buffing it?

[Wanderer]

Not yet,   I'm going to get my calipers out and take measurements to see if I can figure out what is going on.   

I did take it apart,  cleaned it used froglube on it and it still binds.  it will slot in the 6K series with pressure,  but the 4k series one still doesn't like it.   I had my wife take a look too since I wasn't seeing anything and nothing stands out between the magazines  I've compared it against. 

If it just a tiny out of spec  maybe lapping it down a little might help.   But definitely would like to have a better idea before I start messing with it.

[Wanderer]

I ran through all of the magazine i have.

Only the one with the welded seam is tight in both guns.   After frog lube it will slow in the 6k serial numbered one,   but is still very tight in the 4k one.   Interestingly all the other magazines slot in the 6k one  easily however 4 of them,  2 of which are brand new, are very tight in the 4k seral numbered one. Those 4 have the sanded seam.

The binding appears to be front to back rather than side to side.

[backupr9]

There have been threads in the past about tight magazines and, if memory serves, the welded ones were at issue.

[Wanderer]

Well if you shove a piece of metal into another piece of metal enough times the scratches show up to tell you where the pressure is.   It is scratching at the back of the magazine well.   There are two scratches at the corners of the mag well approximately at the bottom , and an additional larger wear area right before the cutout at the back of the magazine for the hammer assembly,  right in the middle.   I tried to get a picture.

I have 4 no go magazines.
1 with the welded back,  tight in both guns
3 with what appears to be red or brown coloring in the base plate of the magazine in the etching.

I have 2 tight magazines that bind with about 1 centimeter to full insertion.  They will go in,  however they are pretty difficult to get out but can be done.   (These do not have the coloring in the etching)

and 2 that work easily in and out,  1 with no coloring in the etching,  and the other has an extension and does not have the original base plate.

[Wanderer]

Top down view with partially loaded magazine of where it is getting stuck

[ECR]

Good Evening folks,

I received a message from Wanderer this afternoon about tight magazines.  I'll do my best to address this here. We test-fired every pistol with two magazines using 115 FMJ ammunition before shipping the gun. Those magazines went with the gun they were tested in, so we never encountered the problem described here. 

Being there is a specific plus and minus number in machining, I’m thinking that you have a magazine at the top of the plus measurement and a frame that is at its minimum measurement causing the tightness. I would take some fine grit emery cloth with a little oil on a flat surface, a flat stone preferred, and sand the magazine sides down a little until it fits your pistol. Using the fine emery with oil should produce a desirable finish on the stainless steel. In addition, if necessary, use a flat file with the emery cloth wrapped around it with the cloth impregnated with oil and try lightly sanding the mag well also. It should only take a few thousandths to accomplish the fit. Another thing you may try is using a good vise to compress the mag a bit. Place some rubber between the vise faces and the magazine and snug it up a little. As you release the grip, the magazine will spring back out a little bit, so see if that works for you as an alternate.  Using the rubber matting will preserve the finish of the mag casing while in the vise. 

I hope these tips help with your mag problem.

Regards,

Eric R.

[Wanderer]

I am slowly getting the magazines worked out.   I have done it by hand and what I thought would be fairly quick actually has taken quite a bit of time.  I have 2 left that will almost fall free (they are so close) the get tight at the very end of inserting it.   I still have 2 that I haven't started on.  I've been using 150 grit and some 220. 

Hopefully I didn't remove to much from any of them that compromises the function.  Time will tell on that. 

[ECR]

You will be able to open up that area without any compromise to the safety of the firearm.
As the saying goes:  There's plenty of meat in that area.

Sounds like you're doing a fine job!

ecr