Hellcat micro mag spring

[Leon DeGamme]

I’ve owned a Springfield hellcat micro for a year now and I’ve noticed that’s that slide has gradually gotten worse regarding failing to lock the slide back both after shooting and even when manually pulling it back. so on a hunch, I decided to take the springs out of the magazine and stretch them out… They work flawlessly now but I know it’s a temporary fix. One of these magazines was bought recently and only loaded for only about amonth These magazines Worked flawlessly when I bought them and most have been loaded for almost a year. The lack of spring tension has caused them to stop exerting enough pressure to lock the slide back. This is occurring in four out of four of these magazines so I’m assuming the spring in these 10 round magazines is not very well Heat treated. This is disappointing because these are pretty much my only options out here. I have not noticed any spring upgrades for these magazines available. I should mention that other than that, the magazines run flawlessly.

[gunsnrovers]

reach out to springfield. historically, they've had very good customer service.

[turbolarry]

I don't have a Hellcat and have never worked on one. If they come back with, "Sorry, magazines are disposable wear items," would these work?

https://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi/prod/hc0968?srsltid=AfmBOorx6U_JbqDtFCiTGauPj0z76oXU9yLPhYBwRw2Da1kmemYQ7lbY

[Leon DeGamme]

I contacted Springfield and we’ll see what they say. I replacement spring is the next step.

[gunsnrovers]

I don't have a Hellcat and have never worked on one. If they come back with, "Sorry, magazines are disposable wear items," would these work?

https://www.midwestgunworks.com/page...2Da1kmemYQ7lbY

That's a standard length spring. Won't work in a 10 round/compliance mag. At this point, I'm not aware of anyone offering a replacement spring for the 10 round mags.

[Grendel Guy]

I don't know if Wolff springs makes magazine springs but the may be worth a try. Another option (though more labor intensive) would be to get over all lengths for the two sizes and clip the longer one with a good pair of side cutters. Good luck!

[Leon DeGamme]

Here’s Springfield’s response…

Thank you for contacting Springfield Armory. We do not recommend leaving the magazines for our firearms loaded for long periods of time. This will cause the springs to lose tension as the springs are compressed. It is advisable to unload the magazine every few weeks and rotate the magazines to extend the life of the magazine springs.

Apparently “long periods of time” is a couple of months…this goes against what I’ve been led to believe about leaving mags loaded. This is pretty crappy in my opinion and they WONT send me replacement springs.

[gunsnrovers]

Yeah, this part is going to suck. the only saving grace is you can get 10 round mags for $20...

[Leon DeGamme]

That's a standard length spring. Won't work in a 10 round/compliance mag. At this point, I'm not aware of anyone offering a replacement spring for the 10 round mags.

are you sure about that? I kind of think that they are the same springs in the 10, 11 and 13 rounders… But I’m not sure.

[gunsnrovers]

are you sure about that? I kind of think that they are the same springs in the 10, 11 and 13 rounders… But I’m not sure.

the 10 round spring is shorter. using a full length spring in the internally shorter 10 round mag will create binding issues and over compression.

[Leon DeGamme]

Good to know. Thank you for that information

[Mayor McRifle]

Replacement springs are pretty cheap: https://www.midwestgunworks.com/page...I7dgE5NOQ1SiJ2

If you’re not sure they will work with 10-round mags, just call or email them and ask: https://www.midwestgunworks.com/contact-us.html

[Turbinator]

Here’s Springfield’s response…

Thank you for contacting Springfield Armory. We do not recommend leaving the magazines for our firearms loaded for long periods of time. This will cause the springs to lose tension as the springs are compressed. It is advisable to unload the magazine every few weeks and rotate the magazines to extend the life of the magazine springs.

Apparently “long periods of time” is a couple of months…this goes against what I’ve been led to believe about leaving mags loaded. This is pretty crappy in my opinion and they WONT send me replacement springs.

I think this is one of those hotly debated gun topics that surfaces periodically: leaving mags loaded, rotating them, or leaving them unloaded. My take is that it depends on the mag springs in question. Some can take it for months, years on end -- plenty of anecdotal stories of someone finding loaded 1911 mags decades later, and they function 100% fine. And then you've got your personal experience where a couple of months later, you've got a weak mag spring. Me, I've had good luck leaving original Glock 19 mags loaded to 14 rounds (1 less than 15) with no discernable loss of spring power, maybe because I intentionally downloaded to 14 rounds.

One thing you could try is to buy the full capacity, full length springs, then trim close to fit the 10 round mag. Leave 1 or 2 coils on there to account for some level of spring setting. 3 coils maybe even. Might be hard to load 10 rounds, but at least you know you've got that extra spring power going for you.

Turby