I'm having a little trouble with my full size .40S&W M&P. When the mag is empty, or not, and I press the mag release, the mags do not drop free. They tend to stick a little and have to be pulled out.

This is not a big issue for me because the gun is just a range gun. Even so, the mags should just drop out.

I thought I had heard of this before and read about a fix. I tried a search, but came up empty. Does anyone know of a fix for this?

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Did they drop free before? And does it have a magazine safety?--Bob

I would imagine that switching out the base plate with a metal one would change that. My M&P has always done that but it really doesn't bother me

No, they have never dropped free. What's a magazine safety? Do you mean a magazine disconnect? Yes, the gun has a magazine disconnect. I don't think that's a factor because the mag falls about 1" before sticking. That's past the mag disconnect.


Yes, that would add some weight and may help. But, those base plates cost about $20/plate. I have 7 magazines and don't want to spend $140 plus shipping to fix something that shouldn't be a problem.

If you use your gun for self defense, it should bother you. This will dramatically affect the speed of an emergency or tactical reload.

But, like I said earlier, I don't use the gun for that so, this is not high on my list of things to fix. I was just hoping someone knew of a simple fix for it.

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I've never had that problem with any of my 9mm's but I've also always lubed the outside (and inside) of my mags with One Shot case lube. I clean my mags every 5K rounds or so (or if I drop them in the dirt). Maybe this is a .40 problem.

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Minimize the variables

I have both a full size & compact M&P in .40 cal & all my mags drop out easily. It's possible the little piece of metal that holds the mag in place might be a tad too long & not going all the way in when the release is pushed or the button isn't traveling the full distance. You can check by clearing the pistol, look into the mag well & watch how far it goes in when pushing the release button. Upon inspecting my pistols I noticed that the piece of metal goes all the way into the grip when the mag release is pushed.

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I'm pretty sure it's not the mag release. I do have one or two mags that drop freely. I think it's due to the mag well being too tight or the mags being oversize a tiny bit.

I think I'm running into a "stacking tolerances" issue. The mag well is probably on the small size of the tolerance and the mags are on the large size of the tolerance.

I put some Frog Lube in the mag well and that seems to have helped a little. I may take some fine sand paper and adjust the mag well a little, but not now.

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In the old days Glocks used to have magazines that would stick in the pistol. We sanded them down. Is there any way you can make those magazines a tad smaller? Sand them or use c clamps on them without affecting their function?
I have never had this problem with any of my S&W M&P. I can ask the gunsmith at the local guns store, which is quite large and handles all typed of problems.
I will try and do so tomorrow and report back.

You shouldn't be depending on gravity when performing an emergency or tactical reload. You should use your off-hand to depress the mag release button then PULL the mag out with the same hand and drop it on the ground. You then use your off hand to retrieve and install the replacement mag. Your dominant hand should remain in control of the pistol at all times without changing the way it is gripping the gun. Learned this from a Marine firearm instructor with way more "real life" experience than any of us!

Well, I guess you could do it that way, but it's slow. You won't find any school, including the military, teaching that method today.

The preferred method, when doing an emergency reload, is to use your support hand to retrieve the new mag, press the mag release with your firing hand and insert the new mag as quickly as possible.

Even so, that doesn't negate my problem. The mag should drop free. That's the way the gun is designed.

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You are sure it is not the mag release? If I put my hand under my S&W M&P, hit the mag release allowing the mag to drop only part way out of the pistol by stopping it with my hand, I can cause the mag to stick in the mag well. If I hit the mag release again, the mag will then fall out.
What happens when you hit the mag release the second time with the mag stuck in the pistol?

Maybe stating the obvious, but did you try cleaning the mags real well? When trying out a new 9 MM conversion barrel for my M&P 40, had a brand new 17rd 9 mm mag that didn't drop out freely. Took it out, wiped it down real good and she worked fine ever since. Worth a try?

Magazines should drop free to the ground!

This is a defect in the mag or pistol, or both.

I have over 70 1911 mags in service. Whenever I get new ones, this is always a function test for me. If they won't drop clear from all my 1911's, I through them out.

This is a real problem in my opinion, of course.

I have the same problem with my .40. Contacted S&W, said they were having problems with some followers. Shipped mine to them 11/12/13. Will let you know what happens.

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Aim Small-Miss Small

I had a 9mm that did that and it came down to the grips being too tight..............maybe a screw was too long or to much stress ?

Backed off the screw in the grip plate and the mags slid all the way out w/o hanging up.

Yes, that's why I'm pretty sure. If I press the mag release again or harder, the mag doesn't move any more. Thus, I believe it to be in the mag well.

You're a man after my own heart Duster. Thanks for mentioning it. Many a gun problem has been fixed by a simple cleaning. Unfortunately, that is not my problem. It was the first thing I tried, even though my gun and mags looked clean. Still, I disassembled them and the gun and gave both a thorough cleaning. The problem remains.

Are we talking about the same gun? There are no screws in the M&P guns.

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This gun is my range gun, my XDm compact isy defense gun

I've had two duty m&p40's. My old one didn't do that at all. My current one does. My 9c doesn't have any problems spitting mags out; empty or otherwise. As the original post states; the mags would drop apprx 1" upon pressing the mag release. I'm all about fast, accurate shooting. This includes combat reloads. Having to physically pull the mag out did not work for me. Also the mags don't seat very easily. They require I nice slap on the base to drive them home. Not sure what that's all about. My guess is a different mag release would fix these issues.

How I mitigated the issue:

I used Mother's metal polish on my mags. They polished up to a nice glossy black finish; as apposed to flat black. Empty mags now fall freely from the magwell. A loaded mag still sticks. A little annoying, but I'm again able to have a fresh mag in and I'm back on target by the time the empty hits the dirt.

Folks:

There is no excuse for a magazine not dropping freely to the ground ( gravity only) !

You may tolerate this defect on a target pistol, but never on a pistol designed for anything but bullseye competition.

I can't imagine fiddling with this: polish, sanding etc.

This is a defect that needs to be corrected by the maker.

It is not a home gun smithing problem.

I'm alarmed that so many S&W customers think they should fix this.

Just my opinion, of course.

I agree Rpg. This is not high on my list because this is just a fun gun and an example to use for students. But, I do think it's a problem.

I will call S&W on Monday and see what they say.

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I'm thinking an easy and cheap way to get around this is to use a few strips of weighted lead tape

Probably the way you're holding the gun.


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Aim small miss small

Or maybe the way you're holding your mouth.

Are you serious? How can my grip affect this?

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My M&P40c pops the mag out like a baby momma in her 10th month. My gun is 4 years old. GARY

I have never had this problem with any of my M&P's so not talking from experience, but, have you closely inspected the magazine to see if there are rub marks from a burr or dragging on the mag well? I would also inspect the mag well to see if you can see any rub spots that may be jamming up the mag.

You have probably already done this, but just in case.....

I have a full size 9mm. I also have a 40 slide and barrel. 9mm mags drop freely but the 40 mags stick. Go figure. The 40 mags are new only 200 rounds thru the 40


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I'm having the same problem with full size M&P 40 and 4 out of the 10 round magazines not wanting to drop all the way out, most of the time they only drop about 1/4 inch and have to be pulled out by hand, the more rounds in the magazine the worse the problem is, It happens to empty magazines too. If you see the M&P photos on S&W website home page it shows the magazine dropping right out, on the 40 cal with no problem. The sides of the magazine seem to bulge from trying to load the 10th round, which is hard to get in. Either the spring in the magazine is too long or the length of the follower is too long. Not sure if the 12 round magazine has the same problem or not. The fix as I see it is to use the 12 round magazine with a different follower that only allows 10 rounds to be loaded in to it as they did on the M&P 22 pistol.

I sent the gun and all 4 magazines back to S&W after waiting over 3 weeks for pickup label to be emailed to me and now after them having the gun for about a week they say that it will take up to 4 weeks for them to finish the gun and return it. I see this as poor service and am truly disappointed in S&W service. I waited for 3 weeks for pickup label as I was advise by S&W employee would take several days to get pickup label emailed to me, I waited and it never showed. I called them again and this time the service department employee sent me an email pickup label and instructions while I was on the phone to him. Why couldn't the first person done that when I called.

This gun was purchased new in February of 2013 at local gun shop. The magazine well is clean as are the magazines except for the wear on the sides from too tight of fit in the magazine well. Also the white dot fell out of the front sight post. The gun has about 800 rounds through it and is cleaned and wiped down regularly to include the magazine well as well as the magazines. I understand that it is manmade and will have problems but the service expected should be higher in MHO. Hope to get it back sooner but not holding my breath.

I love the gun except for the above listed problems. It never has a FTF or FTE and my wife enjoys shooting it as well. She has a M&P 22 with problems as well but I am afraid to send it in as they said the turn around on that model is longer. I purchased 3 M&P series guns this year and I'm now looking to purchase a couple more and I am looking to other brands. Sorry, but, quality fast service is what we should all expect.

Yeah, that is really slow. I wonder if your first label just got forgotten about?

I have tried a few things, but I honestly believe we're running into a "stacking tolerances" issue. I'll bet the magazine well is on the small side of its tolerance and the mags are on the large side of their tolerances. This seems likely.

I may resort to sanding the inside of the mag well. I don't know, but I don't want to send it to S&W for this issue.

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If I can find my weighted lead tape, I am going to add several small strips to the magazine plate so I can add weight for the magazine to drop our freely.

OK, getting on this a little late but I'll put my thoughts and advice in. I have a M&P Pro in .40, I needed easy release and quick drop for IPSC competition and 3-gun. Here are the steps I took to ensure it.

1. Remove the mag release butt from the lower, there is a small metal tab formed into the plastic, you can trim a little off this with a file (dont recommend a drem for this as it may get away from you) once you have taken off what you feel is enough, use a drem and jeweler's rouge and glass it up nice and pretty. if you think you didnt take off enough you can always go back and repeat steps at your will. a replacement is not that much

Take a file and LIGHTLY smooth out any rough spot in the mag well, recommend taking all the guts out of the lower to avoid any unintentional hits, check it often to ensure you have not made any uneven areas.

And lastly I bought the Taylor Freelance brass base pads, they leave little craters in the ground when I hit the release button.

Other than buying the base pads this is a free and easy way to reduce drag within the mag well and increase mag drop efficiency.

I think you are correct. I have three full-size M&P9's...One from around 2011, one from late 2012, and one from mid 2013. I also have an older 9Pro and a 9C.

Up through the pistol from 2012, I never...ever had an issue with magazines getting stuck in the pistol. I had 12 magazines. I never really noticed anyone else having an issue either. Now I'm seeing it more often. I was issued my most recent pistol a few weeks ago with three magazines (so now I have 15 total). Using those (new) magazines, at least one sticks in the mag well of the 2012 gun that always worked great. I haven't tried the mags in the 2011 gun or the 2013 gun yet.

It seems the problem is more in the magazines than the pistol itself, but tolerance stacking may have a part as well.

The problem I'm having is definitely not the mag release. It's working perfectly. I don't see a need to alter it, but I will keep this in mind as I work on this issue.

I have sanded the inside of the mag well a little. There is a casting line in there and I will sand that smooth.

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I've noticed this with my 9C also. I have 10 mags and feel it is the mag. One can stick, while another drops free. I have been looking at the follower on the magazine and think it may be just a hair to wide, but have not shaved anything from it to test the theory.

Rastoff, I seen one video on Youtube that had the same problem, and it turned out to be the magazine release. I know you said you others that worked perfectly, but if it's not that difficult, maybe give that a try?

Here's the video :
M&P 9 Magazine Release Problem - YouTube

I seen another solution to take the magazine apart, put the magazine into a vise and just squeeze it a little to make it narrower. You might want to use a venier caliper to check it, before and after, you may even want to check it against the good vs bad magazines and see if there is a size difference?

Good Luck!

I had a similar issue once upon a time when I reversed the mag release. It turns out I did not properly install the spring and it was rubbing on the magazine, causing it to bind. I reinstalled the spring properly and no issues since.

To make sure it's not defective or poorly installed release or spring, why not remove the magazine release and spring and see if the magazines insert and fall freely?

Don't know if this will help or not but I've attached a couple of pictures of some of my older mags. You can see the wear points on them which might lead you to tight areas in your pistol. I have no idea how many mag drops these have done (I tried to calculate it but it gave me a headache) Hope this might help.
Ignore the silver in the long creases, that's silver sharpie marking so i can see them in the dark. (or at least that was the plan, doesn't really work)

Attached Images

	mags 1.JPG (151.7 KB, 123 views)
	mags 2.JPG (147.5 KB, 104 views)

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Minimize the variables

DanTana,
The video you posted was just 6 minutes of him complaining about his mags. There was no fix offered.

OK, why not?

First I started with just checking the mags. All were working OK. I could feel that they were sticking a tiny bit, but they still fell free. I could hear them laughing at me saying, "Watch, we'll work now, but when he gets to the range we'll all stick. HAHAHA!" I took the mag catch out(the spring is captured and cannot come out) and the mags fell freely. I wiped it down just to be sure. I put it back in and they fell freely.

I did measure the width. Some were .003" thicker than the others. I doubt that .003" would cause this, but when talking about stacking tolerances...

I feel foolish now because it's working and I've done nothing since the last time I looked at this. Maybe it's a temperature thing?

One good thing did come out of this. I'm definitely having an issue with the followers of a couple of them. They are not catching the slide stop as they should. They are catching the follower on the side rather than the top like they should. I'll be calling S&W on Monday to see if I can get that fixed.

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Rastoff, Glad you got it worked out. Maybe just removing the magazine release and re-installing it helped? Who knows? Good luck on the magazine followers.

Great point.

I changed the mag release on my new M&P Friday from right-handed to left-handed. The first couple times I went to check the mechanism the mag would not fall out.

I took out the mags and gave them a quick wipe down with Froglube CLP. Two were new with the pistol, and two were new from Midway. After this they were ok.

I think the mag release spring might have gotten dislodged slightly, so you might be onto something here.

Or it's another thing to check. Just a thought.

Rastoff,
I went through this with a CZ PCR, where the problem wasn't consistent. It turned out to be the rubber grips binding the magazines. That's not relevant to your M&P, of course, but the diagnostic might be.

I coated both the magazine well and a magazine pretty heavily with smoke from a candle. Gently inserted the magazine and then released it. The marks in the soot show where the magazine makes contact with the frame.

(You can get water-soluble "spotting ink" that will do a better job, but I already had a candle....)

I had to repeat a few times to figure out what was supposed to rub and what wasn't, but it did show me where I needed to file & fiddle.


Doc

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Doc,
That technique is actually called a "lamp black" process. Gun smiths have been using it for centuries when hand fitting parts together. They us an oil lamp and set the flame to produce a really sooty flame. Then they coat the parts with soot, put them together and take them apart. They they sand down the shiny spots. Repeat process until everything fits perfectly.

It's more difficult to do inside a mag well, but it can work. It's not a bad idea.

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Augh, thanks! I kept thinking it's "candle black" and I knew that's not it....


Doc

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Has it met Mr Dremel yet?

I am having issues with my M&P 9 not dropping mags. Sent it back in November. Came back just before Christmas and same problem. Threw it in the safe and came back a few days later and they were dropping fine. Went to the range a week later and all mags sticking again? I finally realized what was going on. My frame is contracting in the cold. When it's in the house and above 70 they drop fine, take it outside for 5 minutes in 40 degree weather and the mag well tightens up and they won't drop. I proved in several times by taking it outside of throwing it in the freezer for a couple minutes. Every time it's say below 50's the mags start getting stuck.

I have the Cabela's FDE model and have heard that this tan version of the frame may be "softer" then the black one. I can actually squeeze the grip with a mild amount of force and cause the mags to stick as well.

I previously had 2 magazines, one stuck and the other dropped freely, I bought a new one today and it also drops freely. It doesn't matter if I have a full magazine, that specific magazine that I have still sticks, it might be worth it for me to send it back to S&W to see if they replace it. I believe in my case it's an isolated magazine issue and nothing with the firearm itself

Here is a video that shows the follower slipping off the tab on the mag stop/release. This might not be the whole problem but it looks like mine does the same thing, most of the time.
How to fix the magazine drop free for M&P 9 - YouTube

DO NOT FOLLOW THE ADVICE GIVEN IN THAT VIDEO!!!

Here is the problem he's having:


This is what it's supposed to look like:


That corner of the mag follower is what locks the slide back after the last round. If you grind it off, all you're doing it ensuring the slide won't lock back.

Yes, it's a problem and the slide stop should not ride on the side like I showed in the first picture. The fix for this is not grinding on the follower, but getting the new, redesigned one. Call S&W and they will send you a new one for free. They sent me two.

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I know one of the shooters at S&W. He told me that the new guns they are making for California, that the mags only drop a little,then you have to pull the mags out of the gun. He said that's the only state that makes them do that. I don't know if it's some new regulation or what.
I guess California thinks it will take longer to reload and a bad guy can't do as much damage or something.
I'm not sure if that's what is going on with your gun or not.

Thanks Rastoff. I wasn't going to start cutting my followers. But, they only stick when the follower slips off the slide stop lever.

Well, either your friend doesn't work for S&W or he is just ignorant in general. There is no requirement, in any state, for such a design. S&W does not make guns that only drop the mag a little intentionally.

If the mags do that it's a design or manufacturing flaw.

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