TS .40 S&W magazine issue - work in progress, it appears

[M1A4ME]

I mentioned having an issue with one of the older (by appearance anyway) magazines for my Tactical Sport .40 during the last range trip.

Nice bright sunny day today so the bench in front of the garage was calling to me.

Got out the Tactical Sport, the magazine and the hobby sander (1" Harbor Freight belt sander - bench top model).

I got the slide off the frame, hoping it might help me see where the magazine was rubbing.  No dice.  Grabbed the nice bright little flashlight by the garage door and it was broke (first of the heavy duty two AA Rayovacs I've had go bad on me in 6 years or more).  Just dead.  New batteries didn't help (I hate it when I get side tracked) so I popped a brand new one out of the package (keep 2 or 3 new ones on the shelf to give to people that need them) and swapped tail caps and it was a bad switch on the old light.  Took it apart, as much as I could, but couldn't see anything wrong with it.  Clicked on/off fine, no juice going through it, must have burnt inside.

Still no luck with the new light.

Finally decided to sand on the highly worn areas and the corners where the ugly welds (not sure they're welds but they are rough and bumpy/ragged as can be seen by the alternating blue/bare steel spots on the corners.  Even after sanding off the rough corners on the upper part of the magazine you can still see the rough areas on the lower corners.



Then I got out the G96 cold blue paste (couldn't find the Oxpho Blue from Brownells), degreased the magazine and put a couple coats of cold blue on it.  Wiped it off and then wiped with an oily cloth, put the magazine back together and tried it.  SUCCESS!!

Popped it in/out several times.  Went in smooth, locked in right, ejected slick enough when the mag. release was pushed I almost didn't catch it.  Carried it inside and laid it on the table to show my wife when she got back from taking her mom to the doctor.

Not pretty as new, but not bad looking.



The wife got home, I put the magazine in, felt a little funny....would not eject.  Pulled it out.  Inserted it again.   Draggy going in, would not eject.

What the heck!!!  Oh, then it hit me (still not sure that's it, but probably), 50 F outside in the sun.  It had set in the house for a couple hours at 72 F.  Darn.  Needs a tad more clearance to work in all conditions.  I'll hit it again tomorrow.  And get out the calipers to do a little comparing to the magazines that do work.

It is a CZ magazine, too.  Just one with a well used history that seems a little rough on the edges.

[M1A4ME]

Got back at it today (about 45 f unless you were in the wind then it felt much colder - but it's a north wind so out in front of the garage was pretty decent - got some .45 acp brass resized/belled and some .40 S&W brass resized.)

I forgot to do the measuring before I hit it with the hobby sander again.  It was very stiff and would not pop loose on its own, till it sat out there in the cold temps for a bit.  It was so close.  I ran it in/out, in/out, over and over till I could start to see some wear spots in the finish again, then I sanded those spots (and around them some, too - 1" wide belt).

Degreased it, disassembled it and hit it whe the G96 cold blue paste again (two passes).  Wiped it off again and oiled it up in/out and reassembled it. 

Then I measured it.  After the second pass on the sander I was getting side to side and front to back measurements equal to or as much as 0.020 to 0.025" lower measurements.  Popped in and locked up and popped out with a press of the mag. release just like "normal."

I brought it in the house to let it warm up.  I gave it about 4 hours and tested it and IT WORKS!!!  Pop in, lock up, pop out when the mag. release is pressed.  Ran it in/out several times.  Knocked a little bit of the finish off right above the mag. release slot in the magazine where it slides againt the mag. release before locking in place.

Gotta put it back up now, till the next .40 S&W range day.

I saw a thread, on another forum, where a guy with a gunsmith working in his store's shop was making a point that anyone who has not been through an armorer's school and been certified to work on a gun (by brand) cannot make repairs/alterations without creating an unsafe and unreliable gun.  Drumming up business for his shop/gun smith I figure.  Even though I wont' argue with him on his forum, I grin thinking of all the stuff I've fixed/made work/made work better all by my lonesome (sometimes with parts from a vendor or advice help from knowledgeable forum members.

Another good day.

[tdogg]

I took my TSO mags and squeezed them in a vise to make them drop free.  I purchased 3 extra and two of them were not dropping free.   I made note of where they had marks on them from inserting and gently squeezed them till they dropped free.

It only took a little adjustment and they have been flawless ever since.

I believe that your better off knowing the ins and outs of the firearm and doing plenty of shooting to test rather than relying on gunsmith work.

Cheers,
Toby

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[M1A4ME]

tdogg, I figured, since that problem magazine was obviously well used it had been damaged over the years.  Maybe the "damage" was just from the wear/tear of a tight fit in the mag. well that had rubbed off a lot of the finish.  Hmm.

You bought new ones and had tight fit issues.

My magazines came with the pistol (all used) when I bought it, so I can't reallly complain about it.  However, for what Tactical Sport magazines cost (you think P07 and P09 magazines are expensive check out Tactical Sport magazines at CZ USA) I'd be really disappointed to have issues with brand new ones.

With that mag. well on the bottom of the frame the magazines just about have to eject/release on their own.  I don't always have enough fingernails to dig them out of there.

[tdogg]

The adjustment was very minor but required.  It was a minor annoyance having to adjust new mags.

These mags are the most expensive cz mag you can buy and you can only get oem.  Plus I added extended mag bases followers and springs, so they are even more $$$.

I can't complain to much because 2011 mags are even more $$$.

Cheers,
Toby

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