Picked up several mags for my 4506-1 that are marked differently and are slightly different.Some are marked "this magazine must have a yellow follower -D- And some have a black follower with no markings.Anýone know why theÿ made them that way?
I bought a 4566 when they came out (same mags as the 4506).
There have been a number of iterations of magazines for these guns over the years. I even have some with steel base plates. I have a number of these various magazines. And in the three guns that I have that take them 4506,4566, and 645. They all perform well in all three guns. So I do not really sweat it.
The 4506-1 I was issued came with a magazine with a black follower. The two extra ones we carried on our belt have the yellow followers. I have two brand new ones with orange followers. As the gun came with two magazines, I have no need for the yellow or orange ones. I always wondered about the followers, too.
Last couple of times I asked the company about the 3rd gen .45 followers, I was told the current black followers were the proper replacement parts for all 3rd gen .45 mags that originally came with plastic followers, regardless of original color.
Someday, maybe someone with a lot of time on their hands will research and write an article on the great history of S&W magazine follower colors and what they all meant including the problem(s) each iteration was supposed to solve. I know a lot of it has already been covered on the forum but questions remain. As pointed out, the .45 magazines seem to have the most colorful (literally!!!) and confusing history of all.
I think I've mentioned it before but a while back I found and purchased a large number of used "4516-1 only" designated magazines with orange followers. I got them cheap enough so that I wasn't all that worried if they weren't super-ultra-reliable.
Since I have not come across any others of that exact combination (marked "4516-1 only" and orange followers), I had started at one point to wonder if they had all been recalled. But I could not find a specific recall notice for the 4516-1 orange follower magazines.
The magazines that came with my 4516-1 pistol have yellow followers and are also marked for "4516-1 only." It appears they are later magazines than the orange follower magazines I purchased more recently. Someday, I will try to figure out if I should replace all the followers in all my 4506 and 4516-1 magazines with the latest and greatest black ones... but it will look a little silly with the writing on the sides of the 4516-1 tubes that say either "Must have a yellow follower" or "Must have an orange follower"!
This only covers the 4506 magazines with the plastic followers, I do not have info on the all metal 645 magazines which are compatible with the 4506.
The first incarnation of the 4506 magazine was the style with the orange followers, these magazines sometimes had feeding issues with the round at the top getting vibrated into a bad position with the nose of the round pointing up and causing a failure to feed. My orange magazine has done this from time to time and is now retired.
S&W modified the magazines with an indent near the top rear of the feed lips to help hold the cartridge in place and keep it from tipping nose up, these were adorned with yellow followers that had a cut out to slide past the indent. The magazines were marked to use only yellow followers as the orange ones bind at the cartridge retaining indent. I have heard that these magazines would sometimes deform at the feed lips causing failures to feed. My yellow magazine has never had any issues.
Sometime later S&W again redesigned the magazines with large gusset with multiple bends to give the feed lips added strength due to reports of deformation and feeding failures, these magazines use the black follower. The black followers have a large cutout on the sides to accommodate the gusset in the feedlips. Neither the orange or yellow followers work in these magazines, but the black followers are 100% backwards compatible with the older style magazine bodies.
This only covers the 4506 magazines with the plastic followers, I do not have info on the all metal 645 magazines which are compatible with the 4506.
The first incarnation of the 4506 magazine was the style with the orange followers, these magazines sometimes had feeding issues with the round at the top getting vibrated into a bad position with the nose of the round pointing up and causing a failure to feed. My orange magazine has done this from time to time and is now retired.
S&W modified the magazines with an indent near the top rear of the feed lips to help hold the cartridge in place and keep it from tipping nose up, these were adorned with yellow followers that had a cut out to slide past the indent. The magazines were marked to use only yellow followers as the orange ones bind at the cartridge retaining indent. I have heard that these magazines would sometimes deform at the feed lips causing failures to feed. My yellow magazine has never had any issues.
Sometime later S&W again redesigned the magazines with large gusset with multiple bends to give the feed lips added strength due to reports of deformation and feeding failures, these magazines use the black follower. The black followers have a large cutout on the sides to accommodate the gusset in the feedlips. Neither the orange or yellow followers work in these magazines, but the black followers are 100% backwards compatible with the older style magazine bodies.
I just had another member ask me a question about 4506 mags.
He is looking for early mags with the metal base plate and a stainless butplate catch, I looked at my collection and although I have a handful of metal base plates I do not have any with a stainless butplate catch.
Have any of you seen a 4506 mag with a stainless butplate catch?
Thanks
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Last edited by 85V65Sabre; 05-20-2017 at 08:59 AM.
OK, now this begs the question....any info out there on the original 645 magazines with stainless steel body, baseplate and follower.
I recall many comments regarding how the 645's would feed empty brass with no problem...was this with the aforementioned all stainless mags?
Were there different combinations for the 645 as there apparently were with the 4506's?
See my post right above this one. I think that's what you're talking about. Those came with my Model 645. I can't vouch for the legend of the empty brass since I never tried feeding any empty brass.
I believe there was some variation in Model 645 magazines, at a minimum with the switch from metal followers to orange plastic followers. A lot was apparently happening in the late-80's with 2nd & 3rd Gen .45 magazines (while I was sound asleep, collecting-wise) so it's hard for me to say exactly when certain changes took place... late 645 pistols, transitional models or early 4506 pistols. My early-4506 (no dash) came with a variety of magazines. I can only guess that the rubber pad magazines were the originals.
No sir, I have a couple of the "all metal" mags.
I'm referring to mags with the hole in the base plate, did any of them come with stainless butplate catches (the button that pokes through the hole in the base plate and attaches to the spring)?
No sir, I have a couple of the "all metal" mags.
I'm referring to mags with the hole in the base plate, did any of them come with stainless butplate catches (the button that pokes through the hole in the base plate and attaches to the spring)?
Would the stainless steel catch (as you've described it) have been on plain metal baseplate mags only? Or would they have been on the 4506 magazines with the rubber pads added too?
Would the stainless steel catch (as you've described it) have been on plain metal baseplate mags only? Or would they have been on the 4506 magazines with the rubber pads added too?
I have a few of the latter that I could check.
IDK, I have a couple of both the plane baseplate and the rubber padded baseplate mags and both have blue baseplate catches.
Another member told me he seen a picture of a metal baseplate mag with a stainless butplate catch, I think he is mistaken as I have not seen any.
Just wondering if anyone else has seen a stainless butplate catch?
4506-1 mags
I know a lot of it has already been covered on the forum but questions remain. As pointed out, the .45 magazines seem to have the most colorful (literally!!!) and confusing history of all. 
But I could not find a specific recall notice for the 4516-1 orange follower magazines. 
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