Do the "NEW" Witness .22lr mags hold open the Slide or not

[DenStinett]

Been reading in a few places that the ?NEW STYLE? Witness .22lr Magazines WILL hold the Slide open after the last shot
EAA has sent-out a replacement Slide Stop Spring to aid in this function
Does anyone know this for a fact or is this just wishful BS ?

[blinkoj]

It is fact. i ordered a .22 conversion kit for my compact steel 10mm a few months ago. It came with the new slide stop spring. Although i found the new spring to be too weak, and caused random slide lock-backs while firing. (centerfire rounds, not the .22)

I modified the original slide stop spring by cutting off a little of the post on the end, leaving its length about halfway between the original length, and the length of the new spring. It now functions well using either the regular 10mm/.40 top, or the .22 conversion.





It would stand to reason that it would only work with this style of magazine though.

[DenStinett]

HUM?..
Sounds interesting
Saw the different .22lr Mag style when the new(ish) 9mm/.22lr Combo came out
Wonder what the odds are of selling off the five ?OLD? style .22lr Mags and buying five ?NEW? style would be
As most folks, I?d prefer the Lock Open Feature of the New Magazines

[blinkoj]

I also tried to place an order for a 3pack of magazines from EAA about a month ago, and was informed they're on backorder. I believe at the time they told me 30-60 days until they got more in. I haven't checked back since then.

Of course i would prefer to get some new mags, but at the moment i only have 1. So if you do end up trying to sell your old mags to purchase new ones, PM me, as i may be interested for the right price.

[DenStinett]

Of course i would prefer to get some new mags, but at the moment i only have 1. So if you do end up trying to sell your old mags to purchase new ones, PM me, as i may be interested for the right price.

You'll be the first to know
Thanks, Den S

[DenStinett]

Mustang:
Don't think there's a Slide change, just different Mags

[blinkoj]

mustang-

As Den said, i believe it is the same large frame .22 slide they've had for a while now. Although i have nothing to compare it to.

Obligatory pics:






As for fitting on the polymer frame, i have no idea. Also, i have no comparison to the Kadet kit. But i will say that it is quite reliable and accurate as far as .22 conversions go.

It was way tight in the beginning, as in; "it wouldn't move the slide more than a half an inch when firing" tight. After 200-400 hand cycles, it loosened up enough to mostly cycle, but then the hammer started getting caught up at the firing pin retainer plate. 200-400 more hand cycles, and its smooth as butter. The only jams i get now are after 300 or so rounds with no cleaning, or the occasional magazine feeding issue. (the "new" style mag i got with the kit has a slightly loose follower and is prone to misfeeding on the 8th round.) As for accuracy, i can routinely hit 5" steel plates at the 50yd line offhand. Which in my opinion isn't bad for a conversion kit pistol.

[DenStinett]

.....But i will say that it is quite reliable and accurate as far as .22 conversions go.

I must say, that the more I shoot mine, the more I'm liking it

It was way tight in the beginning, as in; "it wouldn't move the slide more than a half an inch when firing" tight. After 200-400 hand cycles, it loosened up enough to mostly cycle, but then the hammer started getting caught up at the firing pin retainer plate. 200-400 more hand cycles, and its smooth as butter.

Mine was the same
I poliished the rails until it ran smooth

The only jams i get now are after 300 or so rounds with no cleaning,

I keep a BoreSnak handy and run it through every couple hundred rounds

As for accuracy, i can routinely hit 5" steel plates at the 50yd line offhand. Which in my opinion isn't bad for a conversion kit pistol.

Yeah, it seems that my groups are getting tighter each time out
I'm becoming quite impressed by it really

[Rod Slinger]

Don't you just love the Witness line.  So many options!  Let us know which way you go. 

I to like my guns to have a little weight.  For me this equals faster follow up shots.   Good Luck.   R S

[blinkoj]

Mustang,
I actually ended up purchasing the witness steel over the P carry for a few reasons, but the main one was the .22 conversion issue. I searched and searched, but was unable to find ANYONE who has tried the polymer frame with the .22.

Surely someone out there must have this combo. lol.

[DenStinett]

I see that Bud's has sold a few of the 9mm / 22 Combo Sets
Been e-mailing EAA and I still would like to sell my (five) old style Mags and get five new ones
I guess we'll just have to wait and see

[DenStinett]

Ok, I did it
I sold off my five, Old Style and bought five, New Style .22lr Magazines
One problem, EAA didn?t send the ?new? Slide Lock Spring I requested, so I tried the new Mags in my (as is) Large Frame
Sad to say, the New Magazines don?t hold the Follower up and lock the Slide Back
Dropped EAA a (half nasty) e-mail letting them know I didn?t appreciate; not get the Spring I asked for
Anyone have any suggestions ?

[blinkoj]

I ended up purchasing a 3-pack of springs and just experimenting. The shortened spring sent with my conversion kit turned out to be unreliable when used with the regular 10mm slide. it would cause the slide to randomly lock back while firing.

when comparing this spring to the original 10mm spring, the difference was very small. probably less than a millimeter total. another thing i noticed when i got the 3-pack to mess with, was that none of the 5 springs i had were exactly the same. tolerances on these springs are loose to say the least.

so for me at least, the tuning process was tedious, but worth it. basically i went to the range with a file, and would take a couple of shaves off of a stock spring, see if it locked back the 22 slide, then see if it caused premature lock backs with the 10mm slide. repeat. Eventually i found the "sweet spot" where it preformed perfectly. (it may also be a little easier to find the common ground with a round other than the 10. )

The place to shave is off the bottom of the short vertical end, not the long horizontal end. And it is VERY easy to accidentally take off too much and cause it to lock back all the time with centerfire slides, so i highly recommend having extras on hand.

[Bret]

Just in case anyone is looking for them, Midway finally has the large frame 22LR magazines in stock.  I bought three to go with the one that came with my 9mm/22LR combo.