Mec Gar Mags are Short?

Vboy · 07-23-2004, 07:25 PM

Three mags came with my Luger. Two were seven round blued mags with wooden bottoms and no marks of origin. The third was a very old nickeled mag. I had no jams with these mags. Then I got some new eight round Mec Gar mags, nickel and blued. Then I started having jams and failures to load. Sometimes no round would be stripped from the mag and loaded into the chamber. Today I compared the mags that worked, with a Mec Gar. The Mec Gar doesn't lock in as high as the other one. There is some play between the bottom of the mag and the bottom of the grip. The round doesn't seem to sit as high between the mag lips. I think the Mec Gar mags are slightly off spec and do not allow the round to sit high enough to be stripped consistently by the action of the slide. Comments?

Thanks,

Vboy

(Message Thread Subject corrected by admin in response to the desire of the thread originator -JS)

Ron Smith · 07-23-2004, 07:53 PM

Vboy, That sounds like the case. What you can try is use a pair of vise-grips. Lightly clamp the smoothe ends of the jaws parallel on the mag lip and VERY slightly bend the lips out. It does'nt take much. Be carefull. Tweak it just a touch and try it. Repeat until the cartridge comes up alittle higher. Keep checking it until it feeds. Then stop. The trick is, a tiny bit at a time. Don't get too heavy handed. And try not to warp the lips. Keep them even and parallel.
There's not much you can do about the retainer notch. Short of having it welded and re-cut it.

Good Luck! Ron

Vboy · 07-23-2004, 08:31 PM

Heading of my message should have been "Mec Gar Mags are Short?" I am trying some filing on the mag lips. This is a more conservative approach than bending. I have tried that before with bad results.

Vboy

G.T. · 07-23-2004, 08:40 PM

Hi Vboy! All MEC-GAR mags are made the same... and, although probably not as good as an excellent original mag... they are still usually pretty good... I would probably try them in a different P.08 first, to decern if the issue is with the pistol, or the mags in question?? You shouldn't have to make any adjustments until you know which item is at fault... best to you, til...lat'r...GT

Doug G. · 07-23-2004, 09:40 PM

Just thought of this, could it be a bad mag catch? Maybe try a few to see if it is too low? I would think that if the catch were a bit low it would allow the mag to drop down enough to cause a problem? Measure the distance from the top of the mag to the hole on all mags to see if they are the same.
My .02

G.W. Gill · 07-23-2004, 11:56 PM

Ditto Doug G. And JD. Emphlat! Don't grind. You will be able to make the adjustments if the mag is not a reject.

07-23-2004, 07:25 PM	#1
Vboy User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 35 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Mec Gar Mags are Short? Three mags came with my Luger. Two were seven round blued mags with wooden bottoms and no marks of origin. The third was a very old nickeled mag. I had no jams with these mags. Then I got some new eight round Mec Gar mags, nickel and blued. Then I started having jams and failures to load. Sometimes no round would be stripped from the mag and loaded into the chamber. Today I compared the mags that worked, with a Mec Gar. The Mec Gar doesn't lock in as high as the other one. There is some play between the bottom of the mag and the bottom of the grip. The round doesn't seem to sit as high between the mag lips. I think the Mec Gar mags are slightly off spec and do not allow the round to sit high enough to be stripped consistently by the action of the slide. Comments? Thanks, Vboy (Message Thread Subject corrected by admin in response to the desire of the thread originator -JS)

07-23-2004, 07:53 PM	#2
Ron Smith User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Orygun Posts: 4,243 Thanks: 118 Thanked 245 Times in 150 Posts	Vboy, That sounds like the case. What you can try is use a pair of vise-grips. Lightly clamp the smoothe ends of the jaws parallel on the mag lip and VERY slightly bend the lips out. It does'nt take much. Be carefull. Tweak it just a touch and try it. Repeat until the cartridge comes up alittle higher. Keep checking it until it feeds. Then stop. The trick is, a tiny bit at a time. Don't get too heavy handed. And try not to warp the lips. Keep them even and parallel. There's not much you can do about the retainer notch. Short of having it welded and re-cut it. Good Luck! Ron __________________ I Still Need DWM side plate #49... if anyone runs across a nice one. What ~Rudyard Kipling~ said...

07-23-2004, 09:40 PM	#5
Doug G. User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 713 Thanks: 1 Thanked 53 Times in 17 Posts	Just thought of this, could it be a bad mag catch? Maybe try a few to see if it is too low? I would think that if the catch were a bit low it would allow the mag to drop down enough to cause a problem? Measure the distance from the top of the mag to the hole on all mags to see if they are the same. My .02 __________________ Suppose you were an idiot.....and suppose you were a member of Congress.....But I repeat myself" ~~ Mark Twain

07-23-2004, 08:31 PM	#3
Vboy User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 35 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Heading of my message should have been "Mec Gar Mags are Short?" I am trying some filing on the mag lips. This is a more conservative approach than bending. I have tried that before with bad results. Vboy

07-23-2004, 08:40 PM	#4
G.T. Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chandler Arizona Posts: 3,486 Thanks: 1,284 Thanked 3,583 Times in 989 Posts	Hi Vboy! All MEC-GAR mags are made the same... and, although probably not as good as an excellent original mag... they are still usually pretty good... I would probably try them in a different P.08 first, to decern if the issue is with the pistol, or the mags in question?? You shouldn't have to make any adjustments until you know which item is at fault... best to you, til...lat'r...GT

07-23-2004, 11:56 PM	#6
G.W. Gill User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Southeastern USA Posts: 369 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ditto Doug G. And JD. Emphlat! Don't grind. You will be able to make the adjustments if the mag is not a reject.