Magazine bullet nose dive

[Brent]

I had an minor issue with a round nose diving after the first shot on my P40. I had noticed the large gap between the rounds that increased as more ammo was loaded into the magazine. I remembered reading some info here at KahrTalk about the ridge on the follower and decided to try sanding it forward on the follower so the bullet would not pivot so much. The end result was successful with even slow hand release of the slide resulting in zero nose dives. It would nose dive every time doing this before the mod. I thought I would post a pic showing what I did in case others are having the same issue. Thanks goes out to those who have posted their previous info on magazine issues. I sure do appreciate it.

EDIT: Thanks Greg for your post. I knew I had read this info somewhere here, but couldn't remember where until I ran across it again today.
http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6943

The ammo is Winchester Target/Range 165 GR. Full Metal Jacket

[JFootin]

That's cool, Brent! Now, you need to go back with some really fine sandpaper and polish it. I might see about doing that to my mags.

[Hognutz]

Thanks for sharing that, Brent. The pictures are wonderful.. There is nothing like good graphics, when it comes to showing/explaining a cure for a problem. Mike

[FLBri]

Thanks for the time, Brent, that you have put into additional clarity on this subject. Very clear and concise pics.

[Brent]

That's cool, Brent! Now, you need to go back with some really fine sandpaper and polish it. I might see about doing that to my mags.

The flash on the camera sure makes it look rougher than it is, but I will polish it up some later.

Thanks for the kind words guys. I like pics myself, so I normally try to include them if possible.

[1slinginlead2]

What photo software are you using to show yuor arrows and text? I need something like that for my Mac.

[Brent]

What photo software are you using to show yuor arrows and text? I need something like that for my Mac.

I'm using Adobe Photoshop CS2. It will do way more than I know how to use. Sometimes I have to just google what I want to do with "CS2" included in the search. The arrows and text are fairly simple to do though.

[Quickdraw]

That is very interesting. By doing that you have eliminated the space where the case can tip as the slide pushes on the opposite side of the base while it feeds.

[Richardh]

I would think that it would be critical to maintain the same angle as you sanded. Any tips on how you did that? Thanks.

[Brent]

I would think that it would be critical to maintain the same angle as you sanded. Any tips on how you did that? Thanks.

Not super critical as the angle of the cartridge is maintained by the lips at the top of the magazine. The follower will pivot around some. It must do this because each cartridge when loaded will force the follower to change its angle as it is pushed down into the magazine. Of course you want it as close as possible to the origianl angle as that would require less removal of plastic from the follower. Just find a round object such as a pen, pencil, or dowel that fits the channel of the follower and wrap some sandpaper around it. Then hold it firmly in the channel as you sand. Just do a little at a time, checking where to "ridge" has moved.

[Brent]

That is very interesting. By doing that you have eliminated the space where the case can tip as the slide pushes on the opposite side of the base while it feeds.

Exactly!

[deanp1964]

holy mackerel - top quality post all the way.
great pics and descriptions - thanks for that

[Richardh]

Not super critical as the angle of the cartridge is maintained by the lips at the top of the magazine. The follower will pivot around some. It must do this because each cartridge when loaded will force the follower to change its angle as it is pushed down into the magazine. Of course you want it as close as possible to the origianl angle as that would require less removal of plastic from the follower. Just find a round object such as a pen, pencil, or dowel that fits the channel of the follower and wrap some sandpaper around it. Then hold it firmly in the channel as you sand. Just do a little at a time, checking where to "ridge" has moved.

Great! Thanks.
Richardh

[KahrOwner]

That looks like a possible fix for the same P380 mag problem too. Great post btw - but pathetic that Kahr quality sucks so badly.

It is obviously not just the P380 that has these bad design issues.

How do they get away with it I wonder?

Anyway, I'm buying a SIG P220 Combat today - reliability just oozes from its pores! The Kahr engineers should buy one too and learn how to make pistols.

Bob

[TominCA]

Great photos - makes a difficult topic easy to understand! Thanks