16 rounds in a mod 59 mag?

[Illuminaughty]

Okay, admittedly I'm new to Smiths in general, I'm a Glock fanboy myself but my friend managed to get me interested in Smiths enough to pick up a used model 59 I found, and the magazine that came with it is made for 15 rounds (last witness hole shows a round at 15 rounds) but it'll hold 16. Just curious if this is okay to do? I assume it's not an only keep 15 in it currently since I respect manufacturer limits as such, but I'm interested in feedback as to if it might be okay to do so.

Also, I'm pretty sure the 15 rounder isn't original to the 59, I'm assuming it's a mag from a later model as I was told 59's hold 14 rounds with the original magazine.

Also, this is my first post, nice forum you have here! Lots of information floating around!

[Illuminaughty]

Okay, admittedly I'm new to Smiths in general, I'm a Glock fanboy myself but my friend managed to get me interested in Smiths enough to pick up a used model 59 I found, and the magazine that came with it is made for 15 rounds (last witness hole shows a round at 15 rounds) but it'll hold 16. Just curious if this is okay to do? I assume it's not an only keep 15 in it currently since I respect manufacturer limits as such, but I'm interested in feedback as to if it might be okay to do so.

Also, I'm pretty sure the 15 rounder isn't original to the 59, I'm assuming it's a mag from a later model as I was told 59's hold 14 rounds with the original magazine.

Also, this is my first post, nice forum you have here! Lots of information floating around!

[pennyjd]

I would venture to say that if you put 16 rounds into the mag, the first shell will hang upon racking the slide. I tried this with a CZ 10 round which I could put 11 in, and it did in fact hang up. You can always get a snap cap, put 14 rounds in the mag followed by the snap cap and see if it will load.

[Illuminaughty]

Originally posted by pennyjd:
I would venture to say that if you put 16 rounds into the mag, the first shell will hang upon racking the slide. I tried this with a CZ 10 round which I could put 11 in, and it did in fact hang up. You can always get a snap cap, put 14 rounds in the mag followed by the snap cap and see if it will load.

Just for clarification, it loads fine with 15 rounds in the mag, but 16 seems a bit tight, which is why I don't keep it loaded that way. Just figured it out by loading the mag and not keeping count tonight.

[pennyjd]

Pardon my misprint. That is what I was thinking but my finger typed something different. Try it again. Load 15 and a snap cap. You get the idea.

[handgunner356]

If your mag has a 15th witness hole then it is a later third generation mag. I would suspect a cut down follower and/or weak/cut spring in order to get the 16th round in. Just to be on the safe side I'd replace both the follower(orange) and mag spring. You cab get them from S&W, Brownells or Midway for about $10.

[sasu]

I think Meg-Car makes 590x magazines that are designed to take 17 rounds while being normal length on the outside.

[586L-Frame]

IF you are L/E there are factory 16rd mags
for the 59/5900 series.
My local L/E Sales Dealer had a few that he
showed me.

586L-Frame

[shawn mccarver]

Originally posted by Illuminaughty:
Okay, admittedly I'm new to Smiths in general, I'm a Glock fanboy myself but my friend managed to get me interested in Smiths enough to pick up a used model 59 I found, and the magazine that came with it is made for 15 rounds (last witness hole shows a round at 15 rounds) but it'll hold 16. Just curious if this is okay to do? I assume it's not an only keep 15 in it currently since I respect manufacturer limits as such, but I'm interested in feedback as to if it might be okay to do so.

Also, I'm pretty sure the 15 rounder isn't original to the 59, I'm assuming it's a mag from a later model as I was told 59's hold 14 rounds with the original magazine.

Also, this is my first post, nice forum you have here! Lots of information floating around!

ABSOLUTELY NOT. It is not safe to overload any magazine. It will cause unnecessary pressure on the floorplate and could cause the floorplate to separate from the magazine tube, leaving your rounds on the ground.

It can also cause the magazine body to bulge, creating other problems.

If you want higher capacity for your 59 series, then get the 20 round factory or MecGar magazines.

[Illuminaughty]

Originally posted by shawn mccarver:

ABSOLUTELY NOT. It is not safe to overload any magazine. It will cause unnecessary pressure on the floorplate and could cause the floorplate to separate from the magazine tube, leaving your rounds on the ground.

It can also cause the magazine body to bulge, creating other problems.

If you want higher capacity for your 59 series, then get the 20 round factory or MecGar magazines.

That's what I figured, I've heard good things about them, I'm just naturally wary of non-OEM mags, but are Mec-Gar good quality mags for Smiths (and other guns?)?

[shawn mccarver]

Originally posted by Illuminaughty:

That's what I figured, I've heard good things about them, I'm just naturally wary of non-OEM mags, but are Mec-Gar good quality mags for Smiths (and other guns?)?

Use factory if you can, and as far as after market, MecGar only. I believe MecGar might actually supply some original equipment magazines to S&W.

[ColbyBruce]

Back in the day when the S&W #59 was in production there was a aftermarket kit to make the mags hold 17 rounds. I do not recall who made the kits though.