New MagGuts +1 mag addition for Kahr 380 pistols

[SmokyT]

I just put another 115 rounds through my P380 using the two factory 6 rounder mags with the Magguts conversion. Of those rounds, 15 were Speer GD that I actually carry, 50 were Blazer Brass 95gr FMJ and the other 50 were American Eagle 95gr FMJ. Once again, there was no magazine related issue whatsoever. This makes a total of 575 successful rounds fired to test the reliability of the two new Magguts systems I installed three weeks ago.

I also want to point out that since the time I installed the two Magguts, my two magazines were (and still are) constantly loaded to the full capacity with Speer GD at home. At this point, no significant reduction in spring tension has been detected when loading and unloading cartridges in the two magazines.

[XD40SC]

Excellent report! Great to see stats rather than just " they work fine" so others can make an informed opinion on these. When I first got my P380, putting 575 rounds downrange without a malfunction would've thrilled me, no matter what mags/springs I was using. I've had it running flawlessly for over 2 years and being my EDC, an extra couple of rounds at my disposal is very inviting. I look forward to subsequent reports.

[TheLastDaze]

thanks for the report... I maybe starting to warm up to the idea, but man the price is still a little high for me justifying buying these at the price of a new mag...

[wyntrout]

Thanks for the posts. I might consider the new CT380 with upgraded mags for my wife. I hope the recoil spring design is like the CW/P models... one spring instead of the compound/captured ones used on the CM/PM's. She still has to be able to rack the slide.

The CT380 looks interesting, especially with the Magguts conversion. That's an expensive 1-round addition, though!

Wynn

[SmokyT]

Yeah, they are not cheap, but the extra 1 round you get may one day make a "life-or-death" difference when you least expect... So I want to carry 7+1 rounds with my P380 (and LCP) in my pocket. (The longer factory 7 rounder mags do not work for front pocket carry that I prefer.) The Magguts system allows me to achieve this goal with the level of reliability acceptable to me.

So far I'm happy with these particular Magguts I have been using in my P380 (and LCP) magazines. I'll continue to report the results of my longitudinal test here.

[SmokyT]

I shot additional 81 rounds of Speer GD through my P380 using the two factory 6 rounder mags with the Magguts 7 round conversion. Both magazines functioned as they should, and I did not experience any magazine related issue. This makes a total of 656 successful rounds that my Magguts fitted magazines have fed the gun.

As always, those two magazines had been fully loaded continuously for 7 weeks since my last range session in early October. (They have been fully loaded for over 11 weeks since I put the conversion kits in them in September.) I did not notice any decrease in spring tension in either one of them.

So far they have been working to my satisfaction. I will continue to report my test results here.

[gb6491]

Excellent follow up report SmokyT
Regards,
Greg

[josp]

I've been looking into these things for a couple weeks but based on SmokyT's evaluation I think I'm getting a couple. Thanks for all your work.

[CPTKILLER]

I shared this.

[Bikehiker]

Anybody know when Mag Guts mags will be back in stock? They've been out of stock for a few weeks.

[SmokyT]

More Follow-up

I didn't take out my .380 pistols for a long time, but today I shot 30 rounds of Speer GD through my P380 using the two factory 6 rounder mags with the Magguts 7 round conversion. That is, two sets of "7rds x 2 mags + 1rd in chamber". This makes a total of 686 successful rounds that my two Magguts fitted magazines have fed my P380 since September 2014.

Both magazines functioned flawlessly for all 30 rounds. I normally use the slide stop to chamber the top round off these magazines as per the manual, but I can also slingshot the slide to load the gun if I wanted. The slide was held open after the last shots as expected.

As always, those two magazines had been kept fully loaded for the last 15 weeks since my last range session in late November 2014. Actually, both magazines have been fully loaded continuously for over 26 weeks since I first put the conversion kits in them in September 2014. Though I have not taken any precise measurement, I still cannot detect any decrease in spring tension in either one of them while handling them on the range.

I still don't know more serious long term durability of Magguts conversions in terms of years as opposed to weeks and months. But at this point, I'm comfortable enough to continue to use these two magazines as part of my CCW system.

[dsk]

It seems to me the kits are worth it just on account of having a better follower design than OEM. So far with the issues I've had it seems Kahr's followers are the root cause of many of the problems people have with their pistols. I sanded my followers and got them to finally feed the top round, but now the last one often fails to feed.

[Ron AZ]

Based on the successful reports by SmokyT and erichard, I purchased Magguts for one of my P380's for 2 x 6 rd. and 1 x 7 rd. magazines. These were installed in magazines and used for a gun that was already running smoothly, and that I already know which ammo works well. Unlike SmokyT, I did not polish or clean anything. (The mag tubes were already clean.)

I loaded them up about 3 weeks ago and just got to the range today.

I fired 4 mags of 7 + 1 and 2 mags of extended 8 rd. with hollow points (Fiocchi and Precision One both with XTP bullet) with out a single failure. I fired 7 mags of 7+1 with Federal and Magtech FMJ's and 4 mags of extended 8 rd with Federal FMJ's with no problems.

Late in the session with the FMJ's (dirty gun) I had 1 stovepipe while shooting 1 handed with the weak hand ... so I probably limp wrested it. And I had 1 brand of FMJ (Magtech) that I got a 2nd round nose dive in the extended mag. But that brand nosedived the 2nd round in the extended mag BEFORE I installed the Magguts also … so the same result.

So the total was 17 full mags plus a few extra and a total of 141 rounds. Results were great for me. The results (so far) with the extended mag are better than before I installed the Magguts. Before installation I infrequently got a 2nd round nosedive with HP's or Federal FMJ's in the extended mag as well, but none yet after installation.

Thanks SmokyT and erichard for sharing your results which encouraged me to try them.

(Someone also asked in another thread if the P380 was a gun you can go to the range and shoot 100+ rds. comfortably. Yes, shot the 141 rds. of .380 at the end of a session shooting maybe 100+ rds. in my .40 cal handguns. No problem … P380 is very fun to shoot!)

[dsk]

I ordered a couple kits as well and will report back once I have them in hand and get a chance to go to the range. Honestly, the OEM mags are one of the suckiest things about Kahr pistols. Not only did I get a lot of nosedives before I sanded the plastic followers, but also the springs themselves weakened from leaving the mags loaded, and they would no longer lock the slide open until I took them out of the mags and stretched them. If I remember correctly I once had issues with a P9 as well, where the top round would pop out of the mags when carrying them as spares. I really wish Mec-Gar or somebody else who actually knows how to make mags would come out with some for the Kahr pistols.

[dsk]

I just received two MagGuts kits today and installed them. Hopefully I'll get a chance to hit the range in the next couple of days, but already I'm impressed. The springs are much stronger than OEM, the slide locks back with authority, the rounds are still easy to load (even the last one), and the split-metal follower looks superior to the OEM plastic ones as well. The fully-loaded magazines lock into place just fine, but there's no extra play so you have to make sure they seat properly by slapping the base afterwards. You also have to pay strict attention to the instructions when installing the kit into the mags, as it's easy to put the dual springs in backwards.

As soon as I have a decent number of rounds sent downrange I'll report back, yay or nay.