[peace]

Can you cut the plastic mag follower down a bit to make a 7 round mag into an 8 round mag? I seem to think that I read somewhere that this is possible. I am talking about the P90 mags.

 

[deputy125]

Don't know but i wouldn't try it. My 7 rd mags have been flawless. Perhaps you could just change out the follower with a wilson---might work--- if you know someome that has an 8 rd 1911 mag you could borrow and try swaping out the follower.

 

[Iowegan]

deputy125, The difference between a 7 and 8 round magazine IS the follower. Yes, you can remove material from the bottom of a 7 round plastic follower and it will work perfect as an 8 rounder. If you have metal followers, just replace them with the Wilson 8 round kits.

 

[deputy125]

Thats what i meant--swap followers. I'm (right or wrong) am still of the opinion that 7 rd mags are more reliable than 8 rounders. Things are probably better now-a-days though. Still know a few guys who swear by 7 rd mags for their 1911's and swear at 8 rounders.

 

[Iowegan]

deputy125, The magazine capacity isn't the important issue ... it's the type of follower used. Back when Colt first introduced the Series 80 (1911 type) pistols, they furnished two 8 round magazines. The magazines had a patented metal follower made by Shooting Star. These followers had a short leg to allow it to go farther in the magazine body before the leg bottomed out on the base plate, thus an extra round capacity. Serious Colt shooters (myself included) learned to hate these followers because they often had failures to feed on the last round and failures to lock the slide after the last round.

The problem was very simple ... the 8 round follower was moving forward as the last round was being fed and screwed up feeding and lock-back. The short leg could not capture the top coil of the magazine spring, unlike the reliable 7 rounder.

When Ruger switched to 8 round magazines, guess what follower they used? Yup, the Shooting Star (which has since been bought out by Chip McCormick). The same identical problems happen with Ruger 45s. As the last round is being stripped from the magazine, the follower travels forward and gums up the works.

It's a very simple solution ... use a magazine follower that doesn't slide forward on the last round and you will get flawless function. The old Ruger 7 round followers are polymer and can be cut down. You can see the front of the follower is contained by the magazine body so it can't possibly slide forward like the crappy metal 8 rounders. Wilson makes a W-45 kit for 1911 magazines that works perfect in any Ruger 45 ACP P-gun. See: http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=16398&st=965-266-245&s=36909

 

[deputy125]

thanks for the link. if i wind up with any ruger 8 rounders, i'll spend $7.95 for the conversion.
Till then, 7 rounders are fine---old habits die hard!

 

[peace]

Iowegan, Thanks, I thought I had read somewhere that it is possible and works perfectly, I also understand Deputy's caution or downright aversion to doing this as the 8 rounder in the 1911 was a major hiccup for years. As I understand it this is not the case for the Ruger .45 and I needed the OK of a keener mind than mines.

 

[Calvin Wiles]

I have 10 8-round .45 Magazines. 4-P97'S, 2-P90's, 2-P345'S and 2 that I won in a Karma. I use them mixed in any of the above guns. All the 8 rounders feed perfect. I have never had any problem with a 8-rounder.

 

[Iowegan]

Calvin, You are very fortunate. The 8 round Ruger magazines have been problematic for many shooters. All I can say is if they work, don't mess with them. If they casuse last round problems .... trash the followers and go for the Wilson kits.

 

[Calvin Wiles]

If I ever have a fail to feed on the last round or the slide don't lock open I would. From what I've read I must be lucky. I do occasionally check them for dirt and clean them, but never had any problem.

 

[sheepdog]

I've bought a total of 12 for P97 and P90 and no trouble...maybe they got away from McCormick's crap.....

 

[Iowegan]

Here's what to look for. The 8-round followers like in the photo are the problem. You can test yours and see if they will slde forward.

 

[Calvin Wiles]

On mine the spring catches on the bottom of the follower and won't let it slide forward.

 

[Iowegan]

KP97DC, That's exactly what they are supposed to do. If you look at the photo of the 8 round follower, you can see a little clip hanging down. That clip is what secures the magazine spring so the follower won't slide forward. Unfortunately, that little clip bends or breaks and the spring will allow the follower to slide forward.

If you compare the 7 round GI follower (which works fine in a Ruger magazine too) to the 8 round, you can see how much longer the leg is. That leg will catch the top coils of the spring and prevent the follower from going forward. With the Wilson follower, the enclosed body won't let the follower move forward.

I've been fighting these Shooting Star followers for well over 20 years and have replaced a ton of them. With Colt's bad track record, I can't believe Ruger went with the exact same model.

 

[Calvin Wiles]

Thanks Iowegan! Now I understand what the problem is and what causes it. Never get too old to learn. If the little clip breaks they go into the trash.

 

[deputy125]

a very informative thread.

 

[kansas45]

quote:Originally posted by deputy125

a very informative thread.

Yes it is! A very good thread. [^]

 

[7mmb]

I got a link to this thread from rugerforum.com. I recently bought a P90T and a second mag and both misfeed on the last round about 75% of the time. I just ordered two of the W-45 kits from Brownells. New eight round mags are still screwed up from Ruger. They need to can the Shooting Star follower and use one like Wilson's. You'd think they would have learned by now. Thanks for the link, Iowegan. Without you guys I would be swearing at the mags instead of fixing them.

 

[MACHINISTgunner]

quote:Originally posted by peace

Can you cut the plastic mag follower down a bit to make a 7 round mag into an 8 round mag? I seem to think that I read somewhere that this is possible. I am talking about the P90 mags.

It's been a long time since I compared P90 and P97 followers so on the follower cut down, I can't say for sure.As I remember it, On a P97 mag, the bottom part of the follower that protrudes downward into the magazine itself has a shorter protrusion than that of a P 90 follower, and that's why P 97s hold 8 rounds and P90s 7. If you shorten the protrusion on your P 90 mag follower, the way the follower rides/fits in the magazine may change, and the follower angle may not be optimal for proper feeding. Improper feeding angle would probably be more noticeable as the follower rises as the magazine empties. If you could get P 97 followers they should fit right into the P 90 magazines, but I don't think they're available as a separate item. If you have enough P90 mags, and you want to experiment, with just one, I would say try the cut down.......but I think the follower fit and feeding angle/relationship will not be optimal/as designed. Good Luck.......tell us what happened.

 

[Aqualung]

I've encountered where the last round not only doesn't feed, it's ejected from the pistol along with the fired case #7. I suspect the follower could cause this as well?

I've got to clean my guns this week and will check to see if my followers move.

Thanks!

Aqualung