hyena
Well-known member
I hope somebody will be kind enough to explain what might be (or might have been) wrong with a Shield .45 6 round magazine.
I took the gun to the range yesterday, and put a couple dozen rounds through it. All was well. I only used one 6 round magazine. When I went to clean the gun today, the slide would not stay open when I racked it back with the empty magazine inserted. (Note - the slide stayed open yesterday after each final round.) I tried my other 6 round magazine, and it held the slide open as it should. I tried two 7 round mags, and they too worked as intended. (Note - all the magazines are factory S&W.) The "bad" mag was fully inserted.
For the life of me, I cannot see any difference between the two 6 round mags. Spring tension on the followers feels the same, although both felt lighter than the 7 round mags. The little steel piece in the left front corner of the orange follower looked the same, I put them each in the gun slowly a half dozen times, and could not see or feel any difference.
I disassembled the "bad" mag, and very lightly lubed the inner side walls, and the sides of the follower. Didn't make any difference. EDIT - I have never lubed the internals of a magazine in 50 years of shooting semi-autos. When the tiny bit of lube made no difference, I cleaned it off.
Now here's the kicker. I decided to switch the internals (springs and followers) from the "good" and "bad" 6 round mags. Now they both work as intended, holding the slide back when it's racked with an empty mag.
I'm not patting myself on the back because I have no idea why switching the internals resulted in both magazines now working as intended.
Any thoughts? Exactly what part on the magazine is responsible for holding open the slide? I figured it's the little piece of steel in the left front corner of the orange follower, pushing up on a corresponding piece in the gun.
If you have been kind enough to read this far, here's a little probably totally extraneous information. I bought the gun new in 2018. Right out of the gate, the slide would sometimes lock open at random times part way through a mag. S&W had me return all four mags, and replaced them. The problem persisted. I sent the gun back, and they replaced the barrel. Problem persisted. Sent the gun back again, and they replaced the barrel locking block and the slide stop. Problem fixed, no issues since, until this afternoon.
I took the gun to the range yesterday, and put a couple dozen rounds through it. All was well. I only used one 6 round magazine. When I went to clean the gun today, the slide would not stay open when I racked it back with the empty magazine inserted. (Note - the slide stayed open yesterday after each final round.) I tried my other 6 round magazine, and it held the slide open as it should. I tried two 7 round mags, and they too worked as intended. (Note - all the magazines are factory S&W.) The "bad" mag was fully inserted.
For the life of me, I cannot see any difference between the two 6 round mags. Spring tension on the followers feels the same, although both felt lighter than the 7 round mags. The little steel piece in the left front corner of the orange follower looked the same, I put them each in the gun slowly a half dozen times, and could not see or feel any difference.
I disassembled the "bad" mag, and very lightly lubed the inner side walls, and the sides of the follower. Didn't make any difference. EDIT - I have never lubed the internals of a magazine in 50 years of shooting semi-autos. When the tiny bit of lube made no difference, I cleaned it off.
Now here's the kicker. I decided to switch the internals (springs and followers) from the "good" and "bad" 6 round mags. Now they both work as intended, holding the slide back when it's racked with an empty mag.
I'm not patting myself on the back because I have no idea why switching the internals resulted in both magazines now working as intended.
Any thoughts? Exactly what part on the magazine is responsible for holding open the slide? I figured it's the little piece of steel in the left front corner of the orange follower, pushing up on a corresponding piece in the gun.
If you have been kind enough to read this far, here's a little probably totally extraneous information. I bought the gun new in 2018. Right out of the gate, the slide would sometimes lock open at random times part way through a mag. S&W had me return all four mags, and replaced them. The problem persisted. I sent the gun back, and they replaced the barrel. Problem persisted. Sent the gun back again, and they replaced the barrel locking block and the slide stop. Problem fixed, no issues since, until this afternoon.
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