45xx ProMags?

[kmk008]

Well years after selling my 4506 I can stop my whining as I prepare to acquire a 4566TSW via the forum.

The gun is supposed to come with 2 factory mags but I generally like to have at least 3. Sadly all my mags were sold with the 4506 because those suckers are getting pricey.

I can find the ProMags for sale around $20-25 but.. they’re ProMag. Part of me says “how can a simple single stack magazine be screwed up” but then I remember it is ProMag and if anyone could it would be them.

Does anyone have any first hand experience with the 4500 series 8rd mags or does anyone have any factory mags they could live without?

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Promags may be ok for the range (don't bet your family's life on one), but I would spend the extra money for OE mags - they are still available online and at gun shows. I admit that I use promags in rifles, but never handguns due to my experience. All the third gen S&W 45's are excellent handguns, don't mate it with a subpar magazine. Many will say they have no issues with Promag, but not for me or my money, I have had too many FTFs. Get the OE mags and enjoy your fine firearm.

 

[ACEd]

SW 4506/4566 mags are out there in the $50 range. Check eBay, Gunbroker, classifieds below. You can set up a search / notify on eBay and Gunbroker.
You want the late mags with the black follower not the earlier 4506 mags with orange or yellow followers.
Plan on checking / probably replacing mag springs in used mags - new SW springs are available in the $10 range.

 

[stansdds]

My experience with ProMag came with my S&W Model 439 and they would not even reliably lock into the mag well. Some have had good luck with single stack ProMag magazines, some have not. I'd rather spend money on good magazines once than to buy bad magazines and have to "rebuild" them or trash them and then buy good magazines.

 

[kmk008]

SW 4506/4566 mags are out there in the $50 range. Check eBay, Gunbroker, classifieds below. You can set up a search / notify on eBay and Gunbroker.
You want the late mags with the black follower not the earlier 4506 mags with orange or yellow followers.
Plan on checking / probably replacing mag springs in used mags - new SW springs are available in the $10 range.

I think I found some available at a reasonable price but they are listed as “Smith & Wesson M4516 Magazine, Black Follower, 8rd, .45 ACP”

It is clearly a factory 8rd magazine, but I am assuming they misinterpreted the model number because I am nearly certain that the factory 4516 mags are only 7rd. Does anyone know different?

 

[kraynky]

My 4516 mags are 7 rounds, but my 8 round mags for my 4566 will work in it. Just not the other way around.

I gave up on Promags across the board years ago. No idea how their current mags are working out. My 4566 and my 745 work just fine with black, yellow and white followers in them (so far).

 

[kmk008]

Perfect, that’s what I was thinking. Oddly they have the black and yellow follower 8rd mags available but the black are significantly cheaper. I’ll go ahead and order a few!

 

[Kenna]

Was there a problem with the orange/ yellow followers?? Thanks Kenna

 

[kraynky]

My understanding is they had some problems they were trying to correct. Similar to the - dash numbers in their handgun lines. However I've never experienced any issues with any no dash number guns or different colored followers in the magazines. Perhaps I just don't abuse them enough.......... ��

 

[gmborkovic]

If you are looking for VSOP Cognac, dont buy the stuff in a plastic bottle!
Buy the original mags, they work.

 

[kmk008]

Was there a problem with the orange/ yellow followers?? Thanks Kenna

The same thing is debated on the 40XX series. Early mags had yellow followers and later mags had blue followers. The blue are more desirable (I guess) but both have been flawless in my experience.

 

[ACEd]

The same thing is debated on the 40XX series. Early mags had yellow followers and later mags had blue followers. The blue are more desirable (I guess) but both have been flawless in my experience.

The 4516 mag is a 7rd mag with 6 holes in a vertical row. The 4506 mag is an 8rd mag with 7 holes in a vertical row. They appear similar except for length and number of holes. As far as I can tell the evolution of followers and the metal lip geometry at the top of the 4506 and 4516 mags are similar. Both of the final evolution have black followers and black plastic bases.

The 4506 and 4516 evolution was in response to feed problems in the no dash pistols. Many of the 4506/4516 mags with yellow followers are factory marked -1 only and I have seen mags with orange followers marked no dash only. The black are supposedly backwards compatible. And yes there are those reports that they all work in all variations of the pistols - but best to get black if you can.

As far as I know the changes in 4006 mags were just improvements, not a response to a problem. Yellow, Blue, Blue with AccuGlide all are interchangeable as far as I can tell.

PS there are also 2 6rd variants for the early 4513TSW and CS45 with 5 holes in a straight vertical row.

 

[olds350rocket]

Promag = Please Remember Our Magazines Are Garbage.

 

[Brian Parrish]

Promag 4506

Mine was fine for maybe fifteen years and then the spring got a little too weak. The spring is not as good as factory. I got a new spring, follower, and baseplate from Numrich and it is now as good as new. I did not need the baseplate. The factory follower is better as it has a little bump which keeps the last case at the back, not a problem really either way. I love gun people. I really do. This is my crowd. But we just repeat things we have heard from each other.

I like the idea of using the Promags for practice and keeping the factory mags for self-defense. They do get beat up dropping them in the dirt. I wish somebody would run a few thousand rounds through a promag and report on their results. The current doctrine holds that quality magazine springs do not weaken or take a set by being kept loaded for a decade or more. Rather it is the repeated flexing which is to blame. Unloading the magazine every night to let the spring "rest" was exactly the opposite of what I should have been doing.

When my ProMag spring was new it would push up the rounds through the mag tube really good, but when it got noticeably weaker it would only push the rounds up, y'know? While I waited on Numrich to send me my new spring, I took the old spring and stretched it way out and then it really pushed up the rounds. When I installed the new spring, it really pushed up the rounds, so I threw that old spring away...I think... I dunno...YMMV I only have one 4506 mag and two for my 3913.

When you drop a mag while doing a running reload and then step on it, the Promag will probably bend and scratch a little worse than the factory mag. When you drop the Promag in the driveway and back over it with the truck, it will definitely break a lot worse than the factory mag which will be useless but look better in the trash.

Seriously, it might help us if people could say exactly when and how these magazines are failing. Are they the wrong size? Are the feed lips bent or are they the wrong geometry? Does the tube have blockages in it to keep the rounds from coming up? Some people with a 1911 say their mags are fine. Some guys with the AR15 say they never had a stoppage until Promag. What happened? Why? I really don't care one way or the other. I just know it ain't magic.

Kind Regards,
BrianD

 

[kmk008]

Update: happened to win a new ProMag for less than $10 shipped so I figured why not. The results are not good.

The first loading ran flawlessly and I haven’t gotten it to work since. About half way through the mag the follower binds up and stops feeding. I’ve also noticed that it doesn’t seem to stay latched in the gun. I’ll try sending it back to PM for warranty and seeing where that gets me.