Standard Cap Glock Mags

[The Cable Guy]

I've got a G19 and a few Standard cap mags. I've been noticing that on a fully loaded mag, it has some resistance when inserting the magazine into the pistol. On the same note, the magazines will not drop free when the magazine is loaded full. Do any your mags do this, or do I need to get some rebuild kits?

[Baconator]

Are you talking about you already have one in the pipe and you have trouble inserting it in with 10 rounds? There is not as much clearance for the full mag to seat if you already have one in the chamber. I haven't had issues with full mags not dropping free, then again I can't say I've ever tried to just drop a full mag.

GL.

[ChrisTKHarris]

I've got a G19 and a few Standard cap mags. I've been noticing that on a fully loaded mag, it has some resistance when inserting the magazine into the pistol. On the same note, the magazines will not drop free when the magazine is loaded full. Do any your mags do this, or do I need to get some rebuild kits?

Are you inserting the mag with the slide locked back? If not you are inserting the mag and having to deal with the resistance of the spring.

Are you talking about you already have one in the pipe and you have trouble inserting it in with 10 rounds? There is not as much clearance for the full mag to seat if you already have one in the chamber. I haven't had issues with full mags not dropping free, then again I can't say I've ever tried to just drop a full mag.

GL.

Don't you drop a full mag when you're going to clean or fiddle with your gun?

[Ron-Solo]

A fully loaded mag will have some resistance when inserting on a gun with a closed slide. This is common for many brands of guns because the top round doesn't give much because the spring is fully compressed. I have a couple of Beretta 15 round mags that will actually hold 16 rounds, but they go in a little harder.

Don't be bashful when inserting them and they should be fine. Some of the older Glock mags didn't drop freely as most people would want. My understanding that this was corrected with newer mags. Unless you are in a situation where stripping the mag quickly for a combat reload was vital, I wouldn't stress over it too much. 15 rounds go a long ways. If it concerns you, the rebuild option should give you piece of mind.

[The Cable Guy]

Sorry for the confusion, the resistance is coming from the sides of the magazines, not the tops. These mags are probably at least 15 years old now. My brand new 10 rounders are fine. Go in smooth, come out smooth, loaded or not. My guess is that over time the walls and feed lips of the mags began expanding, causing it to rub against the inside of the magwell.



Dropping a loaded, or partially loaded mag is important. If you have a malfunction halfway through a mag, you don't want to be sitting there yanking at the bottom of the magwell to get a new mag in there.

[Falstaff]

Are you talking about you already have one in the pipe and you have trouble inserting it in with 10 rounds? There is not as much clearance for the full mag to seat if you already have one in the chamber. I haven't had issues with full mags not dropping free, then again I can't say I've ever tried to just drop a full mag.

GL.

How would having a round in the chamber change the clearance between the slide and the top of the magazine??? I thought that distance would remain pretty much constant- a fully loaded mag might push up harder against the bottom of the slide, but I don't think a round in the chamber changes the relationship of the slide and the frame... But mebbe I'm missing something???

[Sam]

I believe the older mags were not made with metal sides while the newer ones are. The older ones will thus bend and push into the magwell when inserted. Buy some rebuild kits and they will be smooth to insert and drop.

[SVRider]

The first few generations of Glock magazines were "NFML" (not fully metal lined). These mags swell slightly when fully loaded. The Austrians didn't want the mags to drop free when fully loaded in case of accidental mag release...and couldn't figure out why the Americans would want to drop a full mag.

Later generations are "FML" (fully metal lined). These like the 10 round mags are much stiffer in construction and will not swell.

I am assuming the notch at the top rear of the magazine is either cut out like a "U" or square notch. The FML mag notch are flat bottomed with tapering sides.

Look a little online and you will find more information. There is a good pic that someone posted of the mags (they are on something like 8th or 9th Gen now)....but you will have to search to find the pic.

[The Cable Guy]

The first few generations of Glock magazines were "NFML" (not fully metal lined). These mags swell slightly when fully loaded. The Austrians didn't want the mags to drop free when fully loaded in case of accidental mag release...and couldn't figure out why the Americans would want to drop a full mag.

Later generations are "FML" (fully metal lined). These like the 10 round mags are much stiffer in construction and will not swell.

I am assuming the notch at the top rear of the magazine is either cut out like a "U" or square notch. The FML mag notch are flat bottomed with tapering sides.

Look a little online and you will find more information. There is a good pic that someone posted of the mags (they are on something like 8th or 9th Gen now)....but you will have to search to find the pic.

You're right about the "U" on my older mags. New mags are flat bottom as stated. I guess I'll need to get some rebuild kits then!

[Baconator]

How would having a round in the chamber change the clearance between the slide and the top of the magazine??? I thought that distance would remain pretty much constant- a fully loaded mag might push up harder against the bottom of the slide, but I don't think a round in the chamber changes the relationship of the slide and the frame... But mebbe I'm missing something???

The bullets come out of the top of the magazine into the chamber above. If there is already something there, the bullet that is in the top of the magazine will hit it. The top bullet in the magazine extends further than the magazine itself because it is tilted.

[Steyr_223]

Time to replace them? Get a rebuild kit and replace body.. http://www.44mag.com/category/glock

[Corbin Dallas]

I've got a G19 and a few Standard cap mags. I've been noticing that on a fully loaded mag, it has some resistance when inserting the magazine into the pistol. On the same note, the magazines will not drop free when the magazine is loaded full. Do any your mags do this, or do I need to get some rebuild kits?

Depending on WHICH version of mags you have and which followers you have, inserting and dropping full mags can be difficult.

Inserting: With the standard cap mags (15rounds, G19) the follower is at the very bottom and the spring is fully compressed. If the slide is forward, you will have some difficulty seating the mag. If the slide is locked back and you're having problems inserting the mag, there is either a problem with the mag or you have the very old non drop free mags.


Removing: Drop free mags are only designed to drop free when empty. When the magazine is full, it swells a little bit and causes friction against the inside of the grip of the pistol so that way the mag is not rattling around inside the magwell. Once the mag is empty and the mag release button is pushed, the magazine should drop out of the magwell without any assistance.

Now, if you're having trouble getting the empty mag out, then you either have a bad magazine or a non drop free mag.

ETA: If you have the newer mags and you're having issues with them dropping free when empty, try cleaning out the magwell and applying a light film of CLP to the magwell. Then insert an empty mag, remove the mag and inspect where the mag has touched the magwell by looking for the missing or smeared CLP. This can help you figure out where the issue is occuring.

HTH.

[DaveFJ80]

You're right about the "U" on my older mags. New mags are flat bottom as stated. I guess I'll need to get some rebuild kits then!

Yup. I put some rebuild FML into my "U" mags and that kept them from flexing the sides when fully loaded.

I also have some "U" mags there came FML from the factory, and they perform the same way as the earlier ones with new FML inserts.

[Falstaff]

The bullets come out of the top of the magazine into the chamber above. If there is already something there, the bullet that is in the top of the magazine will hit it. The top bullet in the magazine extends further than the magazine itself because it is tilted.

There is NOT "something in there" The slide actually pushes the bottom round outta the way as it comes back. So it doesnt matter if the mag is loaded or not. I think issue was solved, it's apparent that he's using the old non-dropfree mags which are designed to stay in the magwell until pulled out.

I think you need to watch this animation cut-away of Glock operation to help you understand Glock operation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e_3Ihpq9T4

[Baconator]

There is NOT "something in there" The slide actually pushes the bottom round outta the way as it comes back. So it doesnt matter if the mag is loaded or not. I think issue was solved, it's apparent that he's using the old non-dropfree mags which are designed to stay in the magwell until pulled out.

I think you need to watch this animation cut-away of Glock operation to help you understand Glock operation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e_3Ihpq9T4

makes sense. I always had a harder time loading a full mag into the gun when there is already a round in the chamber. i figured it was because of what I had described, but I guess I was wrong.