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Thread: Slide doesn't lock back on new magazine

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  1. #1
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    Slide doesn't lock back on new magazine

    Hello.

    I just encountered this on a brand new Mec-Gar (.38 Super) magazine. I bought three magazines last week and they all feed fine; the slide locks back on the other two magazines and the OEM magazine when they're empty.

    Visual inspection doesn't show any obvious differences between the three Mec-Gar magazines.

    Can anyone recommend troubleshooting steps, or suggest a reason for the malfunction?

    Thank you,
    mbogo

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Check the front-left corner of the follower.

    Try this: fieldstrip your gun, then re-insert the slide stop in the frame. Then try inserting each of the three magazines, slowly. Just before they lock in place, look at the relationship between the extension on the slidestop that engages the follower, and each of the three followers. All three should push the slidestop upwards. The problem mag either won't at all, or it will just barely contact the slidestop, bumping its way past it during firing.

    If the followers in the magazines are plastic/nylon/polymer/SomethingOtherThanMetal, you may need a new follower. If the followers are metallic, you'll probably be able to bend it back into shape (carefully!) in less time than it took you to read this post.

    Tip: It's easier to bend the bottom-rear of the follower to the right, to force the front of it to the left...
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter

  3. #3
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    This shows how I do the bending:



    Be advised that some followers may break when doing this.
    When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind. [Lord Kelvin]

  4. #4
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    I was hoping you'd post with this picture (or an older one, with a hammer) Niemi, thanks. But we don't actually know if the OP's Metalform magazines have this style of (GI) follower, or Metalform's other, folded steel follower.
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter

  5. #5
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    Well, I tried this magazine again and it works just fine.

    I didn't do anything beyond cycling the slide a few times while depressing the slide release lever. Perhaps it was a burr on the edge of the follower that interfered with lockback.

    The real test will come when I fire the gun at the range.

    Έυχαριστώ, Σπύρο!

    mbogo
    Last edited by mbogo; 24th February 2017 at 19:01.


  6. #6
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    Do not get too excited about locking back while hand cycling. I just installed a 9mm slide stop in a 45 ACP 1911 to see if that finally fixes a similar lock back issue that only happens during live fire. I am confident that if that does fix the lock back in my problem pistol, my solution will bring another problem.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pyrenean View Post
    I am confident that if that does fix the lock back in my problem pistol, my solution will bring another problem.

    Prophetic words, in my experience!

    mbogo

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbogo View Post
    Έυχαριστώ, Σπύρο!

    mbogo
    Παρακαλώ!
    Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
    M. Setter

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbogo View Post
    Prophetic words, in my experience!

    mbogo
    My harebrained idea of using a 9mm/38 slide stop fixed my pistol's lock back issue with no harmful after effects. I took the precaution of checking for the nose of fmj rounds contacting the slide stop first then persuaded the slide stop to avoid such unwanted contact with the slightest of swipes with a pillar file. No failure to lock back. No premature lock back. Pistol didn't break.

    I would not go so far as to suggest this approach as a standard fix nor even as a well-reasoned repair.

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