M&P 9mm Magazine Issue

[McTerry]

UPDATE: For those who saw the Title and wandered in. The issue had nothing to do with the magazines and everything to do with just needing a little break in...


So I was all excited to go try out the new Storm Lake Conversion Barrel on my Full Size .40S&W M&P today only to be met with heartache.
With the very first round the Slide stopped about halfway for a split second and then fell into battery. This immediately gave me pause and instead of firing the round I dropped the mag and went to clear the gun but the Slide was stuck in battery.
I screamed and cursed the Gods while I grabbed it, stuck my tongue out to the left, and ripped back on the slide with enough power that He-Man himself would have been impressed. The slide came back and the round was kicked out.
I checked the pistol, gave a once over on the magazine and then tried it again.
This time the Slide stopped about halfway home and I looked down at what looked like a round nose dived into the feeding ramp on the barrel. I was all ready to curse Storm Lake when I realized, it wasn't the barrel...

Apparently on both 9mm magazines I got from MidwayUSA, there seems to be a small problem. The follower does not come all the way up and sit flush with the side of the magazine. Also the rounds were getting caught on the lip of the magazine by the top of the casing...

Ammo: PMC 9mm Luger 115 Gra. FMJ





Any ideas?

[NapaCountyShooter]

Are they factory S&W mags?

[McTerry]

Yes

[9mmepiphany]

I don't see the factory markings on the mag body...shouldn't their logo be above the mag release notches?

[McTerry]

[NapaCountyShooter]

Have you tried disassembling the mags and seeing if there's something like a sharp edge stopping the follower from coming all the way up?

[McTerry]

Yea I didn't see or feel anything in there. I shot a email off to S&W but I also had someone tell me theirs looks just the same so it might either be a problem with the feed ramp or even just the cheap ammo. I'll probably stop stressing over it until I can try some different ammo in it and then if it keeps acting up I'll start to swear more...

[Shenaniguns]

Another reason to return this one is the crack at 4:00

[smarter]

Another reason to return this one is the crack at 4:00

Probably not a crack, but the finish may be worn off from the mag catch.

[McTerry]

Yea it's not a crack. I saw that in the picture too and snatched it up to have a look. I thought for sure i could see copper through it in the pic but it turned out to be a little wear mark and a play of the flash.

[Shenaniguns]

That's a relief haha

[ruchik]

Have you tried taking the mag apart? On 2 brand new, still-in-the-packaging M&P mags I bought, the spring plate, follower, and spring were put in backwards. In other words, the factory assembled the entire thing the other way around except for the baseplate.

[checkenbach]

I have 7 mags for my M&P 9mm, 6 followers look different, the one that looks like yours is marked XX for feeding issues and is my Barney mag.
S&W has been through at least 3 different follower revisions, those look like older ones.
Mine (the good ones) have a sharp ramp going from the bottom of the curve to the left of the mag lip when viewed from behind(as it goes into the magwell).
The XX one has a small flat plateau on the left side by the mag lip like yours. I bought the XX one online for cheap, this may be why.

[Ksmash01]

I don't think there is a problem with you magazine. If you got the storm lake semi drop in barrel, it may need some minor fitting.

Does the slide get stuck when its unloaded? Do the parts move freely when you manually manipulate the slide? Is there any wear on the barrel suggesting that its hanging up some where?

[McTerry]

The gun works fine with the Storm Lake Conversion Barrel (unloaded). Slide behaves normally and nothing sticks or gets hung up.
I haven't ran any ammo through it in the traditional sense of firing any rounds yet so there is no wear on the barrel or feed ramp. Like I said, I am fairly convinced it is an ammo issue and not a mechanical one so until I can try some different ammo I think I'll worry not.