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Thread: ? About CheckMates proprietary .45 cal. mag follower.

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  1. #1
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    ? About CheckMates proprietary .45 cal. mag follower.

    How has this been preforming?(I believe they put it in service around 2008-2009). Is it a noticeable improvement over the original dimpled follower.....health reasons have kept me out of the game and out of touch for a couple of years and I am trying to play catch up on a few items. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks......Jim
    JIM

  2. #2
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    I have a few mags with the CheckMate Patented Follower (CMF). I like it. It is basically a modification of the Devel follower primarily used in Chip McCormick mags. The CMF adds a front leg the the Devel style follower to keep the follower from tipping out of the tube, a known problem with the Devel follower in McCormick's mags. It does a good job of doing that. I think the CMF design is also theoretically stronger than the GI style follower since you're not splitting the follower and bending half of the split in two 90 degree bends. I've never broken a GI follower leg, but I can see how it could happen easier than breaking the front leg of the CMF.

    A down side is it adds some inside the tube contact surface area to the follower. If you get some grit in the tube you could get the follower to hang up. I haven't had the problem, but theoretically it could be a problem. They are also a little more difficult to get out of the tube for cleaning and servicing. The GI and Devel followers are quite a bit easier to get out of the tube.

    CheckMate uses this follower in their flush fit 8 rounders, but I don't think they work quite as well as the Devel follower works in this application. Getting 8 rounds in the tube, and inserting them with the slide forward, with this follower, is not as easy as with mags with the Devel follower, at least in the few examples I have. The 7 rounders I have with the CMF work just fine. I suspect CheckMate's extended tube 8 round mags work just fine too, but I don't have any of them.
    Last edited by JTQ; 8th September 2016 at 16:33.


  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by JTQ View Post
    I have a few mags with the CheckMate Patented Follower (CMF). I like it. It is basically a modification of the Devel follower primarily used in Chip McCormick mags. The CMF adds a front leg the the Devel style follower to keep the follower from tipping out of the tube, a known problem with the Devel follower in McCormick's mags. It does a good job of doing that. I think the CMF design is also theoretically stronger than the GI style follower since you're not splitting the follower and bending half of the split in two 90 degree bends. I've never broken a GI follower leg, but I can see how it could happen easier than breaking the front leg of the CMF.

    A down side is it adds some inside the tube contact surface area to the follower. If you get some grit in the tube you could get the follower to hang up. I haven't had the problem, but theoretically it could be a problem. They are also a little more difficult to get out of the tube for cleaning and servicing. The GI and Devel followers are quite a bit easier to get out of the tube.

    CheckMate uses this follower in their flush fit 8 rounders, but I don't think they work quite as well as the Devel follower works in this application. Getting 8 rounds in the tube, and inserting them with the slide forward, with this follower, is not as easy as with mags with the Devel follower, at least in the few examples I have. The 7 rounders I have with the CMF work just fine. I suspect CheckMate's extended tube 8 round mags work just fine too, but I don't have any of them.
    JTQ.......in the 7 round mags does there appear to be any benefit(performance wise)...... to the CMF over the dimpled follower(which I have no problem with) but if there is a definite performance advantage to the CMF I would like to take advantage of it. Note....I'm old school and use only 7 rnd. mags.
    JIM

  4. #4
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    I have at least a dozen mags with the Check-Mate follower. As mentioned above, it's necessary in a +1 capacity mag, but if you don't want or need the extra round, it has no advantage over a G.I. follower.
    I've never really had any performance issues. I did have a problem with lock-back, years ago, but it was addressed by tightening the tube specs, and no issues since.
    "A grip safety is just another excess moving part. I have never known one to prevent an accident, and moreover, it is difficult to postulate a circumstance in which it might." Jeff Cooper

  5. #5
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    I haven't noticed a performance advantage, other than the theoretical "stronger design" comment I made above.

    RickB may know for sure, but I've heard the CMF requires a different spring than the typical GI follower. I haven't replaced any of the springs in my CMF follower mags, so I don't know for sure.

    I'm primarily a 7 round guy myself, and while I have more Wilson 7 round 47's with the polymer follower than anything else, I'm beginning to prefer the GI and Devel follower simply because they are easier to get out of the tube for maintenance than most of the other designs.

    The dimple/pimple on follower's has not made any difference to me. I know it's a big favorite on this forum, but I personally think it is an over rated feature.

  6. #6
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    CMI currently has two different patented bull-nose followers. One has the dimple and the other (earlier version) does not have a dimple. Both of these CMI followers require a proprietary spring made and sold only by CMI. CMI produces an 8 round flush fit spring as well as a seven round spring for these followers. Hope this helps.
    "Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you." --Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by 11 Bravo View Post
    Both of these CMI followers require a proprietary spring made and sold only by CMI. CMI produces an 8 round flush fit spring as well as a seven round spring for these followers. Hope this helps.
    I see this as a problem. While the follower design seems like a good one, if you have to get the springs from CheckMate only, and there are a couple of threads here and elsewhere complaining about problems ordering directly from CheckMate, it seems your options are limited.

    If Wolff offered them (or Brownell's, Top Gun Supply, etc.), and I don't know if they do or not, that would be OK. Springs for the GI follower are a lot easier to come by.

  8. #8
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    Last round push feeds due to weak 8 round springs and no dimple in CMI's flush-fit mags is what brought me to this forum in 2010. "CMI Joe" replaced those springs with the seven round version and those mags are still running well today. There was a long period recently when the springs and followers were listed on their website as "unavailable'" but the site appears to be up and all products once again "available."
    "Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you." --Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

  9. #9
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    The dimpled version of the Check-Mate follower seems to work well and to be reliable. But ... the Check-Mate follower was developed to fix a problem with the Devel style follower: the follower nose-diving into the feed ramp as the last round feeds. This is primarily a problem with alloy receivers, because the follower can gouge the feed ramp. The same problem can occur using 8-round "GI style" magazines, because to fit the extra round the vertical rear leg of the follower has to be cut shorter -- allowing the follower to tip.

    For those of use who are satisfied to carry 7 rounds (or 6 in an Officers ACP or Defender) I don't see any advantage over the original Browning-designed GI follower.
    Hawkmoon
    On a good day, can hit the broad side of a barn ... from the inside

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hawkmoon View Post
    ... the Check-Mate follower was developed to fix a problem with the Devel style follower: the follower nose-diving into the feed ramp as the last round feeds. This is primarily a problem with alloy receivers, because the follower can gouge the feed ramp.
    I think you're right about the reason for the development of the CMF.

    The same problem can occur using 8-round "GI style" magazines, because to fit the extra round the vertical rear leg of the follower has to be cut shorter -- allowing the follower to tip.
    Is there an 8 round mag that uses the GI follower? I can't think of any off the top of my head.

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