I can’t seem to find the original thread so I’ll post a new one. I received the new Triple K model 52 magazine today. I thought I’d get one and try it before I order very many of them. I’m glad I did. To be honest I think I can sum it up in one word , Junk !

At first look it looked kinda cheap. But I wouldn’t want to judge it on that alone. I took a 52-2 out of the safe to see how it fit. I thought I’d have to get a rubber mallet to get the magazine inserted. Then I had to practically pry it out. It’s completely unusable.

I guess it was worth a shot. Again, I’m glad I only ordered one !

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S&WHF 483 , S&WCA 1699

I have had VERY SPOTTY luck with Triple K. The older ones, made in the USA, were pretty decent to good. The newer ones, made in Mexico, seem to be stamped out of really old steel beer cans and poorly at that.

Triple K just increased the value of original magazines.

Why is it that too many companies have more money than brain? If this is true for the early buyers and the negativity spreads KKK just wasted a few bucks but maybe they just don't care!🤢🤢

A dealer here said that in order to buy a serviceable magazine from Triple K, you had to be willing to "keep sending it back until you get one that works."

I saw one show up on eBay a couple of weeks ago, $83 plus shipping. Hoping someone else would give them a try and save me $93.

I did. You’re welcome.

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S&WHF 483 , S&WCA 1699

Triple K and ProMag, two brands of magazines that I avoid.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I guess I got lucky. Mine will work. Both insert into the pistol requiring more force than my originals and both require me to pull them out. However, they both feed an empty case from the magazine to the chamber. Will work with them to figure out what is causing the problems. If they save the wear and tear on my originals, I am satisfied.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

AJ, you stated "mine will work". They either work or they dont out of the box. Please clarify "wear and tear"? What wears? The spring is the only part I can see that would have to be replaced.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

I have had 2 very negative experiences with Triple K and I will not have a third! About 48 years ago, I bought a Triple K 1911 magazine and loaded it. Upon inserting it into my 1911, the floorplate broke loose and everything fell out. Then, about 5 years ago, I figured that their quality had to improve, so I purchased a Triple K magazine for my Mauser HSc. I inserted the magazine, which felt a little stiff. Without even seating the magazine completely, the magazine body got stuck in the pistol grip. It took about half an hour to pry it out without damaging the HSc.

Needless to say, Triple K wouldn't stand by their product in either case.

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Judge control not gun control!

Back when I had a 52 and a GCNM Midrange as well, I tried the triple k mags. None of them worked and triple k gave me a hard time about returning them. Lesson learned and those guns are long gone.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

If you have never had a magazine fail for anything other than a spring then count yourself lucky. Have seen bent feed lips, magazine bodies get dented and or buckled, followers bend and other assorted things happen. Granted some of the mags were handled rather roughly.

As of right now, I plan to shoot the Triple K's on Friday. If they work enough to feed properly for 5 shots each, then the S&W mags will be put away.

Mags accidently get dropped, scratched and otherwise marred up. No sense using a $200 magazine for play, when a cheaper one will do. If I was shooting competitively or used the gun for self defense then the Triple K's would be put away.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I took the plunge and got 5 from TPK. One works ok, not
wonderful, but ok.
The other 4 either won't load or won't release when inserted. I am going to mess with them a touch before
deciding to send them back. I have had a few emails back and forth with them, only "sales", no person id.
I did take them to the range, but had way too much trouble to use them. I miked my SW's and the TPK's and
got essentially zero difference. It is small stuff that causes
the problem, and maybe a squeeze in a padded vise might fix that.

AJ. thanks for your points. Since you have a 3K in hand, can you post some pics of it next to a factory mag? A little visual comparison.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Often it’s pretty tough to diagnose small “geometry” problems with simple measuring tools, but there’s no harm in tinkering, if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Triple K stands for Triple Krap!

You forgot USA mags.

Ok, now that all the bashing of Triple K and others is out of the way perhaps we can move on. Obviously some but not all of these aftermarket M52 magazines have problems, but let us not forget the real issue. Not one other magazine company has jumped up to offer their version of a replacement M52 magazine, NOT ONE Company other than Triple K. That fact speaks volumes to me. Meanwhile the price gougers are hard at work on Fleabay and other places selling used and new OEM magazines for outrageous prices and many times getting what they are asking. So at least for the time being cut the **** on Triple K. You sound like a bunch of old women at a knitting convention. Do some of you really think Triple K went thru all this time and effort to make a junk magazine with hopes of selling them?

Boscoe is on the right track I believe and if he is successful in doing a little investigative work he may be able to come up with a solution for some of the problems with these Triple K magazines. I would start off with taking a good long look at dimensions of the Triple K magazine compared to the OEM magazine and go from there. I would also let Triple K know about any problems with these magazines so hopefully they can take corrective action in their manufacturing process. Quite honestly we don't know what their testing process involved. Was it with one pistol, or many. Did things change from their prototype mags to the production mags? If so what changed? Was it in material or dimensions? What are they using for QC testing for the magazines?

I hope Boscoe follows up on this and lets us know what he discovers because I seriously doubt any other magazine manufacturer will spend the time and money to fab up an aftermarket magazine for this pistol.

Rick H.

Triple K should have worked out the problems before going to market. I’m FREEEEEKKKING tired of being quality control for **** these days. Triple K should know if their magazines work or not. Find the problem and fix it before offering it to the public. Just my opinion.
PS, all Triple K had to do was COPY an original magazine, not reinvent the wheel. Oh, I have a 52-2 and three magazines.

The stamping game in objects as small as pistol magazines can be screwed by release agents, lubes or a problem in the uniformity of the coil stock. It can be dimensions or inconsistency in alloy of the material.

FWIW, the situation is much the same with Colt Woodsman mags. TripleK came out with new ones a while back, so I ordered a couple. I couldn't get one into the mag well, couldn't get the other out (without effort). Totally unusable. Tried some tweaking, using measurements from my OEM Woodsman mags - no luck. Thanks to the OP, I won't be ordering any for my Model 52.

Early on, Colt .38 wadcutter conversions from .38 Super used the Super magazine, cut and bent to handle rimmed midrange Specials. I figure the first factory Special magazines were in the Gil Hebard kits.

So, is there another magazine that fits the M52 well? M39, maybe. If so, could one fold, spindle, and mutilate it to hold Specials instead of 9mm?

@DRM50: So very true; also consider that it's entirely possible that the magazines are made (possibly semi-complete) in a progressive tool that might cycle at or around 600 strokes per minute with nothing but sensors programed to stay within (a) pre-programed tolerance. Having said that, an operator can set a 20-40k lbs. coil onto the mandrel, set the feed, line up the catch bins and move onto other jobs while 6000 or however many get pumped out...

I wonder how many fixture checks are done within a shift? I also wonder if the supplier runs to a number or to a "quality" number...

Side note: I detest where we as consumers accept lower quality for a lower purchase price. And for that matter, if they are going to be sourced and manufactured in Asia - demand and pay for high(er) quality. I still hold the belief that no one wakes up and says: "I'm going to work and make some more junk today".

But hey, every workplace has it's own culture, and in a way - the consumer either supports it or ditches it. I'm yet to see a "free lunch" when it comes to quality in manufacturing.

I don't mean to rant, but I'm 52 and grew up in the world of manufacturing, and I don't believe I need to tell/remind anyone on this forum of the Faustian bargain that started in the 1960's, was supercharged after NAFTA was passed, and has left us here.

Where that is, I don't know anymore. Faster and cheaper are just not sustainable when it comes to making a part that passes QC within an industry that has standards.

Back to it: I truly hope that they (Triple K)get their collective heads together, listen to the end user, and produce a quality magazine. Everyone (I thought?) knew that it can be done, and at the price point? I'm not much for excuses, how about you?

I have 3k mags for Hi-STDs, HD Mil & Victor as well as Brn Medalist. They all function fine. I did have some in past for obsolete 32 pocket pistols that were useless.

The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.

Posted on another thread. https://smith-wessonforum.com/141927455-post37.html

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

AJ, thanks for pics. They are unmistakably 3K mags. Just from apperrence and having experience with the product since 1970. Keep us posted on how the bending, banging and tweaking go.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Found the problem on 4: trigger reset screw was interfering with the magazine. I file off maybe 0.005"
from the screw and 4 slid right in. The other won't begin
to enter the mag well.

[QUOTE=Rick H.;141930973] You sound like a bunch of old women at a knitting convention. Do some of you really think Triple K went thru all this time and effort to make a junk magazine with hopes of selling them?

If the little old ladies at the knitting convention spent 80.00 for something that didn't work, I'd say it would be completely understandable for them to complain to each other and attempt to avoid others making the same mistake.

It's great that Triple K made a 52 magazine but what have been even better is that they made one that worked before they released them to the unsuspecting public.

If you are so thrilled that Triple K brought these out, and you are content to buy non working magazines at 80.00 a pop, no one is stopping you. Buy all you want.

If it annoys you that some feel like they should work and want to warn other potential buyers that Triple K , at the very least, needs to work on quality control, you are free to move along and keep scrolling.

God Bless!

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S&WHF 483 , S&WCA 1699

Took the magazines to the range this morning for a test run. Still tight to insert in my 52-1 and have to use a finger nail to remove when the mag release is depressed. Both feed well in my 52-1 with no hiccups. Will remove the grips to see if I can see any problems that way.

My friend had his 52-2 at the range also, so we tried them in that pistol. The magazines inserted easily and removal was easier. Did have some problems getting them to feed properly. Again we will try to diagnose the problems and fix them.

Odd that two different guns would have two completely different sets of problems. Anybody know of any design changes other than the extractor? Will find out his S/N and check it against mine, may have something to do with the machinery getting older and worn later in the production cycle. One of the mysteries of life!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

AJ, it sure is nice of you to do all this free Beta testing for 3K.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Not doing this for Triple K. I am an old maintenance type that fixes things that don't work properly--from aircraft to my own toys. I can not abide things that do not work as they should. If I can help a forum member with such problems, then I am happy to do so. If that is a problem, I will keep the fixes I discover to myself and not share them.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Most of my hands on stamping experience was from small presses. I wasn’t a die maker, just die setter. Most all the problems were corners on small parts that had to assemble to other stamped parts. It’s similar to setting shoulder back while loading bottleneck cartridge. You get a rolled edge so slight it’s hard to see or feel but it’s enough to foul up the fit.

Now AJ, you are taking my Post the wrong way. Im all for sharing info with the members. I just like the stuff I buy to work. I have had a lot of 52s and S&W mags. Never had a problem. I guess Im just spoiled. I look forward to
your posts and the solutions you come up with.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Keep up the good work, AJ!

It is appreciated.

John

I am of the AJ bent-need to figure out why something that should work doesn't. The head sales mgr at TPK reached out and said he wanted to get my measurements on SW
mags to see if there were differences and that they wanted
to make good on their products. I will send one back that won't fit, but I can live with the others, which will take a bit of massaging to get running well.

I have purchased several Triple K magazines that were for pistols where original factory magazines were hard to find or very expensive. Some worked, some didn't.

For the ones that didn't, the problems were traced to incorrect feed angles. I was able to solve that problem by field stripping the pistol, loading a known good magazine with several rounds of ammo and then inserting it into the frame and observing how the bullet tips were oriented compared to the feed ramps and/or chamber entrance. Then I compared the Triple K mags and tweaked the feed lips and sometimes the follower angles until they presented the rounds the same way a factory mag did.

I come from a manufacturing background and the cost to tool up for a new product can be substantial. For a gun with a limited demand for magazines like a Model 52, the break even point is going to be a long ways out. Having a good percentage of the mags returned and even worse, bad reviews hampering sales is a losing proposition for a manufacturer.

I suspect they didn't have enough examples of production Model 52's and magazines to do proper measurements and testing, and poor tooling and/or set up and quality control checks are what is leading to inconsistent performance. I don't know if the Krasne family is still involved in the Triple K company but whoever is running it had better get a handle on their problems. Some guns, like M1911 pistols seem to be a lot more forgiving of tolerance variations in their magazines and that's why so many makers produce mags that work without problems. But the Model 52 is a whole different animal. I wish them luck and hopefully we'll see reliable products coming out of their factory. Wherever it is located these days. It's not in San Diego anymore.

The problem may be the variance in the model 52. The model 52 is hand fitted by a number of smiths, each with their own techniques. Tk may not yet understand the amount and location of the differences and copying a factory mag may not be enough.

Concerning the reasons for the quality issues I believe Jaco1234 has a very good point. Others have described potential reasons that are valid also. For a company that has been in existence for 77 years it seems unlikely that SOPs in quality assurance could have gone unattended or sporadically followed for such a long time. I did not see anywhere on the website that states they are ISO 9000 certified.
Granted, the wonderful world of employee commitment to quality assurance has been a major challenge for manufacturers for like forever, has only gotten tougher lately.
I have a 52-1 model number 55533, so one made in the early to mid 60s. I have 3 original mags, box, tool, extra extractor, blah, blah, blah, so yes, I appreciate the firearm. I should be receiving 2 mags from Triple K on Monday or Tuesday. I am a little concerned about these issues mostly with the possibility of them getting stuck in the gun now that I have had time think more about it lol..
I can let you know how they work with a gun made back when the tooling was in original condition if that would help.

Interesting discussion here, and the hands-on data that we add is REAL, although it is small. I would like to add something that it seems has not yet been said:

I have hands-on experience with nine distinct examples of the Model 52. Oldest from the late 1960’s (52-1) and the latest was literally amongst the very, very, very last built in 1993. (TZT-prefix.)

Across these 9 examples spanning many years, never had even one single OEM magazine stick or show evidence of out-of-spec physical size or dimension. This includes a few magazines altered for 6 round capacity as some folks did many years ago.

FEEDING issues from aftermarket magazines are certainly an issue much of the time and perhaps we could argue that’s the most difficult part to get right.

DIMENSIONAL problems that won’t allow proper insertion and removal from the pistol? —WHO— thinks that is acceptable? I’m not even talking about pleasing the customer base, I’m talking about making a sane and rational business decision to rubber stamp this new product and actually ship them for customer purchase?

I think it is ludicrous to question S&W variances over decades or even suggest this problem is somehow related to the production of the iconic pistol that for all intents and purposes works perfectly from 1961 to 1993 and every S&W manufactured magazine slides in clean and drops free under it’s own weight.

Seems like the obvious fact is that Triple-K got the maximum outside dimensions wrong. They blew it. They screwed the pooch. And their obvious failure was sending these out in to the world to tarnish further whatever their reputation was.

Sevens,
Just to clarify, my comments on sporadic quality were questioning possibilities of quality issues related to the problems with functioning concerning TK, not S&W.
TK, by just reading the thread, has been successful in making mags for other guns that perform well to the point they are still in business. The fact that the 52 is hand fitted and was not just mass produced raised the possibly to me that this could be a potential reason for all the issues with the failure to make a reliable one for the 52, maybe it has nothing at all to do with it.
The comment about getting stuck in the gun was somewhat tongue in cheek and just based on the bad experiences listed from others. BUT, if it is going to happen, it will probably happen to me lol!
On the other hand, maybe the two I ordered will be fine, I am now more curious than ever to see how they perform.

I would also be curious myself… at $35 each. Not at $83.

If they dont work at $83, what does $35 get you?

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Simple, if it doesn’t work,you are only out $35.

Im trying to follow that logic. I dont want to be out $35 or $83. Im buying a product that is new from a reputable American company. Or am I?

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Never had much luck with Triple K Mag's and got rid of the all. I no longer consider purchasing one of them and always use original Factory Mag's. Yes, they are more costly but I never experienced any problems with one.

The only exception is with 1911 Mag's. I have other quality Mag's that are also great! I use Wilson Combat, Sooting Star, Colt and unmarked USGI Mag's that never fail me.

Same here-two guns, same results.
Bought three mags-one works, feeding and in/out. The other two feed but are dragging on the drawbar.
Keep us posted.

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Good shooting.

Will let some know when I get time to work on the problem.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

For what it's worth last year I bought a 52-1 and it came with one magazine, the gun functioned fine. I bought 5 more mags 4 on E-bay (two NOS in their original packaging and two used ones as well as a used one from a dealer. Of the 5 I bought 3 had issues including the NOS ones. Mostly the issues where the Feed lips where to tight. My point is that these beasts are fussy and require tuning to make run right. At least in my limited experience.