# Damaged magazine follower?



## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

I went shooting yesterday with my father, and when I got home I field-stripped and cleaned the pistol. That went fine, until I started working on the magazines and noticed that there is a huge gouge going across the short side of the follower of my older West German "zigzag" magazine (when rounds are loaded, the edge of the casing would be sitting right at where the gouge and corrosion are). My first thought was to take varying grits of sandpaper and try to make that spot sit flush with the rest of the follower (I'm a big DIY hobbyist, so I do this kind of thing quite frequently with things that aren't weapons), but I am also immensely wary of using sandpaper on any part of a gun, whether or not it's directly related to the firing mechanisms for safety reasons. Would it be smart to try and save this follower, or should I just replace it with a more modern one (or am I just being paranoid and there isn't actually anything to worry about)?


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## dosborn (Apr 17, 2009)

I would just buy a new one, but hold on to the old one as a backup/spare. Sometimes this stuff just wears out.


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

Well, I guess I can throw that on the list of parts I'm planning on buying. Good thing this is less than $10, and I have an extra magazine (and I'm planning to purchase quite a few more) that I can use in the meantime.


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## SigDoubleTap (Feb 28, 2010)

*Mags*

Anything mechanical eventually fails, and a firearm is olny as good as the mags, meaning a nice new 226 is a paperweight without a good mag. Rifles and handgun mags wear out over time with the pressure of ammo on the springs. Before I bought new high capacity mags I purchased several used mags and my gun became a one shot wonder, jamming almost every shot. It is always a good idea to sell or refurbish old mags at regular intervals to ensure proper feeding. Time varies for different people, but if I have a fully loaded mag that is always topped off, I will get a new spring/replacement mag every year. Taking no chances.
It's a problem a lot of people overlook, but very real one, and it can cost you a match or your life.


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

Good advice. 

The magazine in question hasn't caused any problems (in fact, I haven't had a single failure of any kind to date with that gun) even though it's 20+ years old (really, the problem I am having with the magazine isn't that it's causing any feeding problems or anything; it just makes me concerned as it looks like its starting to corrode); I was just worried that smoothing the follower out with some sandpaper might "brick" the gun by means of the Goldberg effect (I mess something up, which causes a chain reaction of parts breaking/jamming throughout the gun). I am planning on replacing the follower for this magazine with one off of Top Gun Supply (I have to order a bunch of parts from them anyway, so I'm just going to make one big order) and smooth this one out and keep it as a backup. I also have a Mecgar 18rd magazine in the range bag that stays full unless I empty it at the range, and another one just like it coming in the mail.


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## Growler67 (Sep 8, 2008)

Just DO NOT buy ProMags. They are only reliable for one thing.......Malfunction Drills. There is a reason they are inexpensive.......they are cheap crap.

Stick with OEM from SiG or MecGar - who is the current vendor producing OEM mags for SiG. They also market them under their own brand name.


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

That's what I've read. I also read that Mecgar (the brand that I am buying) is the OEM for Sig Sauer, so at the price that I'm picking these up for (Cheaper Than Dirt has the 18 rounders for $20 a piece), I'm saving a ton of money and still getting the same/similar performance as if I bought factory magazines.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

A question: Do you ever release the slide using the slide release lever, and let it close with an empty magazine in place?

Many, MANY years ago, I saw a magazine follower with similar damage. The owner was also rather upset, and we set out to find the source of the problem. Turned out the gouge was being caused by the little rib on the bottom of the slide, that pushes the rounds out of the mag and up the feed ramp. When he was done shooting, he would leave the empty magazine in the weapon, release the slide to snap closed with the slide release, then dry-fire and case the weapon.

When the slide would close, the bottom/leading edge of the rib on the slide would scrape a narrow groove/gouge in the follower. As some powder fouling was usually present at this time, the freshly-scraped metal was ripe for rusting.

This doesn't happen more often because most folks simply do not accomplish the series of events needed to make it possible. Most folks remove the magazine prior to releasing the slide; or, they drop the mag out just a little bit, close the slide, and slap the mag back up into place (sometimes the pressure of the mag follower on the slide release is too hard to overcome with the tiny slide release lever). I suppose it might also happen if a person was "riding" the slide release with their thumb when the last shot was fired; that would prevent the slide from locking back, and it would close on the empty chamber.

Well, that's my two cents. If you ease the slide partially closed with the magazine in place, you can look in through the ejection port and see if the gouge lines-up with the edge of the rib on the bottom of the slide. If it does, then you might have found the problem, even if you don't know how/when it's happening.



dosborn said:


> I would just buy a new one, but hold on to the old one as a backup/spare. Sometimes this stuff just wears out.


This is good advice, in my opinion. A handful of spare parts, even used ones, can be pretty useful on occasion. I've given them to friends, or even strangers at the range (if the parts were still laying in the bottom of my shooting bag). Random good deeds/acts of kindness, etc.


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## vulrath (Jun 10, 2010)

Y'know, it's entirely possible that's what happened. When I first got the gun, I released the slide primarily by hitting the slide release (now I prefer to drop the mag by a little bit and then pull the slide back and ease it forward), but I'm probably only just noticing the damage now for some reason (either that or the other people I've been going shooting with are doing it and I'm not noticing if it isn't me causing it). I'll definitely check to find out if that's the cause, though.


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