KoolTurtle

Question to those that ordered the MetalForm Mags on the group purchase:
I finally got to the range to function check the new mags (mine were the 9 round) and I found that on the last round in the magazine, I had a Fail To Feed on each of the mags. I tried it with 6 rounds loaded and had the same problem.

My Kimber and Delta mags still functioned perfectly and I retried the MetalForms with the FTF problem still persisting

The MetalForms have a concave follower instead of the convex found on the Delta and Kimber and I suspect this has a lot to do with the problem.

I'm curious if any others are experiencing the same situation, before I contact MetalForm.
Thanks

John Travis

Howdy,

Last round feeding failures are usually a magazine spring issue. Not enough tension. If the round sticks straight up, or nearly so in the port,
and gets caught by the slide, it's the spring tension. It's technically
called Bolt Over Base, and the breechface is catching the round in the
extractor groove, pushing the butt-end down and the nose up. If the
magazine was a little slower, it would result in a Rideover, which catches
the round farther forward on the case, and jams it up in a hard stem-bind between magazine, feed ramp, and slide. The case gets mangled pretty badly on this one. What is happening is that the slide is simply outrunning the magazine when the tension is at a minimum.

If the round enters the chamber, with the nose of the extractor rammed against it, the spring is part of the problem, but probably not all of it. A
mag follower with a little dimple in the top helps keep the round from getting ahead of where it should be instead of releasing too early and
jumping up ahead of the extractor.

You can order Wolff 11-pound mag springs from Brownells for a 7-round magazine, or 5% X-tra power springs for the 8-round Metalform. If the
magazine has Metalform's proprietary round follower, it will need the correct springs, available from Metalform. Tell them that you want
the Wolff springs.

Luck!

JT

gunfan

The Wolff magazine springs are the best availble today. Extra-power springs will improve the frrding of the Metalform magazines in some pistols.

Good luck,

Scott

KoolTurtle

I have some extra Wolff springs that I just ordered to update my older mags.
I was just wondering if anyone else has had problems with the new ones we just got.
If it is the spring, I can fix that. If it is the follower, then MetalForm should do something. They list a round follower and if the concave ones don't work, the replacement is simple.

KoolTurtle

I just swapped out the stock springs for the Wolffs and boy, are the originals PUNY..... about 2.5 fewer coils and 1/2 the wire size.... I'll find out tomorrow if that solves the problem..
Thanks for the insight.

KoolTurtle

I took the mags with the Wolff springs to the range and no solution to the feeding problem.... It only created another in addition. The extra length/strength springs would not allow the seating of the magazine if fully loaded and the slide down.
The Fail to feed from the last round still existed, regardless of how many cartridges were initially in the mag.
On the plus side, I had a nice email from Metalform waiting and the mags have been sent back to them for their evaluation. They say the problem is unique for them, but is can be corrected..

Sean Smith

I tried the 9 round Metalforms and they sucked, hard. Wish you'd asked before you bought 'em.

The 8 round Metalforms work well, however. They have a completely different follower design and a stronger spring than the 9 rounders. The >8 round 10mm magazines I've tried have all been unreliable to various degrees.

KoolTurtle

Well, the group buy got them for me for under $45 for the three and even if MetalForm can't get them worked out, I'll play with them and work in some extra parts... Sooner or later I'll either get them to work or junk them.... If I'd paid a bunch for them, I'd be a lot more upset. Maybe I can find some old DE mags and scavenge the followers out of them... I don't know if new ones are available from Colt any longer.

agtman

FWIW, Metalform's 10-round extended mags worked great in my Delta.

If you're set on using 9-rounders, the Cobra mags from Tripp Research worked great. Others, however, have reported problems. Tripp does say they'll refund your money or replace "problem" mags.

My experience with the Metalform and Tripp Cobra mags is reported here:

http://bren-ten.com/agtman-delta/id7.html

HTH.

8)

Sean Smith

You should be able to order just the followers from Metalform. The Colt and Metalform 8 rounders both use the exact same followers.