4506 mag follower question

[gcw16]

I recently got some older mags with the yellow followers and of course the mag bodies are marked "This magazine must have a yellow follower". I know you cant use the older orange followers in these but can I replace the yellow followers with the newer black ones?

 

[k22fan]

Yes. When that writing was put on your magazine the black followers were not a consideration because they did not exist. The warning was to discourage you from installing the obsolete orange/red followers.

 

[gcw16]

That's what I thought. Thank you!

 

[N4KVE]

What about the steel followers that were before the orange followers. Are they GTG? GARY

 

[k22fan]

I've never heard of anyone trying to move the 645's steel followers into newer magazines. Where would you even get them?

 

[N4KVE]

I've never heard of anyone trying to move the 645's steel followers into newer magazines. Where would even get them?

What I was leading up to is, are the steel followers so bad that they were upgraded to orange, then yellow, & then to black. Were any of the earlier followers bad? I've had no trouble with the metal ones, so I'm wondering what problems the various colored ones solved? GARY

 

[smith17]

Sorry to hijack but what guns are the orange followers for? I looked at a 4505 last night and the gun had 3 with yellow and the warning imprinted and one orange. The mag fit ok but the gun hasn't been shot so we didn't check function.
Ed

 

[k22fan]

I really should bow out and let fast bolt take over but I'll write what I remember. 645s started out with all metal magazines. I'm not sure but I think the orange follower magazines were first made for the introduction of 3rd Generation pistols. 45XX followers were yellow by the time I bought my first one about 1991. The followers changed to black in the late 1990s. With each change in follower color the more significant change was the detents near the top rear of the magazines' sides. My 645s and 45XX pistols have all been reliable with all vintages of magazines. The only little problem I ever had was while removing the magazine to top it off after leaving a cartridge in the chamber. With the yellow follower magazines in a 4506 sometimes the 2nd cartridge that had risen to the top was so far forward that it popped out when the magazine was withdrawn. Perhaps that is what the changes in the side indentations were engineered to stop.

Incidentally, my guess is that the followers and base plates changed to plastic to save money.

That is all I know. Fast bolt or one of the other career armorers have to take over from here.

 

[18DAI]

The metal followers were from the 2nd gen 645 mags. The Orange came with the 4506 no dash mags and the early 4500 series pistols. Yellow was next, then black. Regards 18DAI

 

[N4KVE]

I recently bought a very early 645, ser # TAK06xx. It came with 2 steel follower mags. The original owner then bought a 3rd mag which has an orange follower. On my 1st trip to the range, I used 1 of the all metal mags, & the gun was perfect. Being in the auto parts business for 30 years has taught me that an upgrade isn't always to improve a product. Many times it's to save $. GARY

 

[handgunner356]

When the yellow follower mags came out they had indents at the rear of the feedlips to help hold back the top round. The medal and orange followers would not clear them, hence the change. The newest tubes have a larger indent on the feedlips and came with the black follower that was designed to replace all the earlier versions.

 

[Sevens]

I have a couple of the all metal 645 mags including metal followers. One of them doesn't want to reliably lock the slide open upon last shot -- not a big deal to me. Where can I purchase newer plastic followers?

On this subject, my 1006 shipped with yellow followers and I also have newer mags with (much different!) white followers -- but have never had even a hiccup with either. What needed improvement?

 

[KSDeputy]

I seem to have a lot of magazines with various followers and don't use them. In fact I have more .45 magazines than I need. I have two with yellow followers, two with orange ones, & two steel 645 mags.

 

[Ethang]

I seem to have a lot of magazines with yellow followers and don't use them. In fact I have more .45 magazines than I need.

Huh? I don't understand the last sentence..

 

[fuzzymcnab]

Too many magazines? Not possible. That's like saying "darn, there is too much money in my bank account right now".
All in fun, fuzzy

 

[jughed440]

Too many magazines? Not possible. That's like saying "darn, there is too much money in my bank account right now".
All in fun, fuzzy

haha...or "there's too much bacon on my plate"


just adding a few comparison pics....

 

[Aquarik]

I have several "Yellow Follower" mags for my 4506-1 that I wouldn't mind upgrading. Can anyone advise a good source and possibly a part number for the newer "Black Followers"?

 

[gcw16]

Midway and Brownells both had them in stock as of last week.

 

[Fastbolt]

S&W part numbers for 3rd gen .45 parts:

#236740000 - $3.29 - MAGAZINE FOLLOWER - BLACK

#262600000 - $5.40 - MAGAZINE SPRING

Prices may have increased, as those are 2013 retail prices.

 

[Aquarik]

Thank you very much. the "Yellow Followers" work fine, but I'm going to replace them anyway, springs too. Guess I'm going to fix something that ain't broke.