Does anybody have this same problem with their magazines? And if so, has there been any fix for it?
OK, let's talk mechanics of magazines.
ALL new SIGMA magazines, with 16 rounds inserted, are hard to load on a closed slide. If you think those are bad, try the 10 rounders, which are purposely blocked so it is impossible to put 11 rounds in the magazine, under penalty of law in the state. There is NO extra room left in the magazine.
As said above, the smart fix is DON'T try to load 16 on a closed slide with the new magazine. All springs take a set about 10% less than when new, and the springs will also settle in against itself with use, to make loading 16 easier. I don't let students load the magazine full, because I don't want them struggling with loading and forgetting safety practices.
Until high-capacity magazines became the rage, magazines were designed to leave a little room at the bottom so the spring did not tend to bottom out. But now, the new practice is to shorten the follower legs and put in more rounds, which leads to 2 things: more advertised capacity, and more spring problems. A 7 round 1911 mag becomes an 8 rounder, and a 13 round Hi Power mag becomes a 15 rounder: same magazine, different follower, more spring problems.
I have been using SW/SDs as loaners and trainers since they first came out, and you are better off NOT trying to load 16+1, especially with new magazines.
Want a quick mechanical fix to your magazines? Cut off the bottom coil of your magazine spring. You'll have plenty of room to load 16, and loading on a closed slide will be easier. DOWNSIDE: the spring will need replacing sooner, because of feeding problems with the last round.
