How to video on modifying M&P magazine followers

I cut a fork into the follower on one of my magazines, and shortened it a hair. I also tried to thin the "legs" of the fork. It doesn't work too well. The magazine works fine, fed 100 flawless rounds, today, but still a bear to get rounds it, and still failures to return to battery after a press check. You can feel the follower flex when you shove that 10th round in. I can feed the 10th round with my uplula, now, but they still need to be shortened. I need a vice, it's really hard to cut at it when it's so small and your fingers are right there [laugh]
 
Success!!! Used a pair of snips and cut the legs off the followers. Then used a file to smooth it out. All of the mags now take the 10th round with a little bit of force on the UpLuLa (which is better than having to load the 10th one by hand). Even better, the mag now seats easy if the slide is in battery, plus I have 10+1 capacity.
Timmay =
charlie-sheen-winning-tshirt.jpg
 
Tim, Thanks for this posting - its going to save me a bunch of aggrevation in matches. I was lazy though - I cut the followers with cutting pliers. The cut is not as clean as if I used a dremel but it was really quick and easy with less mess. I cut a bit more than you showed and it still worked great. I started with one mag first to check it out and it was perfect. I got 6 mags done in about 10 minutes - test loading and cycling them too.
 
Maybe I'm missing something, but why isn't this problem a manufacturing defect that needs to be corrected (a retrofit) by Smith & Wesson?

My simple way of thinking is that a magazine marketed as a ten round magazine ought to accomodate TEN rounds. Isn't there a legal construct called 'warranty of implied merchantability' that says that a product has to operate as advertised?
 
Nana the Great said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but why isn't this problem a manufacturing defect that needs to be corrected (a retrofit) by Smith & Wesson?

My simple way of thinking is that a magazine marketed as a ten round magazine ought to accomodate TEN rounds. Isn't there a legal construct called 'warranty of implied merchantability' that says that a product has to operate as advertised?
Click to expand...
Some of the mags hold 10 without too much effort. IMO S&W will err on the side of caution to appease the .gov in the non free states.
 
Nana the Great said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but why isn't this problem a manufacturing defect that needs to be corrected (a retrofit) by Smith & Wesson?

My simple way of thinking is that a magazine marketed as a ten round magazine ought to accomodate TEN rounds. Isn't there a legal construct called 'warranty of implied merchantability' that says that a product has to operate as advertised?
Click to expand...

FSTC said:
Some of the mags hold 10 without too much effort. IMO S&W will err on the side of caution to appease the .gov in the non free states.
Click to expand...

My guess is that FSTC is right. Another way to look at it... If the state only requires a 10lb trigger, why do S&W distribute M&Ps with triggers anywhere from 10-15+ pounds? Answer: So they can avoid any showdowns or disputes with the state.
Sucks for the buyer but, similar to the mag issue, it's pretty easy to fix.
 
I used a Dremel tool with the small 'drum" sander attachment, and modified all four followers in the magazines for my M&P9c. Look at the followers, and think of them as a tiny "footstool." Shave off the footstools' "legs." With the Dremel, it took less than a minute by the time I got to the fourth one.

None of them would hold ten rounds prior to making this modification. Thanks to the OP for posting the video.
 
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Has anyone tried just leaving the mags full for a few weeks? Mine were impossible to get all 10. Rounds in ( without cutting mu fingers) I loaded up 10 rounds in all my mags and they have improved greatly
 
**DRB** said:
Has anyone tried just leaving the mags full for a few weeks? Mine were impossible to get all 10. Rounds in ( without cutting mu fingers) I loaded up 10 rounds in all my mags and they have improved greatly
Click to expand...

Of course we have. After a while it gets easier to get the 10th round in. Now insert that mag with 10 rounds in it on a closed slide. Is it easy to seat? Try pulling the slide back to do a press check. If you let it go does it go fully into battery? It has been my experience with the new followers that they require surgery to fix those problems.
 
**DRB** said:
Has anyone tried just leaving the mags full for a few weeks? Mine were impossible to get all 10. Rounds in ( without cutting mu fingers) I loaded up 10 rounds in all my mags and they have improved greatly
Click to expand...

Tried it, helped a little bit but not much. To build on eisenhow's post, 10+1 was flat out impossible to get the mag to seat properly. Cutting the legs off the followers resolved the issue. I'm still keeping them fully loaded to break in so as to make future loading easier.
 
eisenhow said:
Of course we have. After a while it gets easier to get the 10th round in. Now insert that mag with 10 rounds in it on a closed slide. Is it easy to seat? Try pulling the slide back to do a press check. If you let it go does it go fully into battery? It has been my experience with the new followers that they require surgery to fix those problems.
Click to expand...

Yes, 2 out of my 3 mags now pass a press check and can be loaded by hand to 10+1. All 3 seat but one will fail a press check 1 time out of 20

Edit: in all honesty I have not tried unloading the mags and leaving them for a few days and then trying them again.... I should probably check that
 
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Just bought 2 new magazines and experienced several failure to feeds during an IDPA match. Never had any problem prior using 3 magazines I purchased used with the followers filed. Picking up a Dremel tomorrow and plan on filing down the legs. Never used a Dremel before. Dumb question time: Is there a particular bit I should use for this purpose, or will any of the sanding bits work? Thanks
 
lel said:
Just bought 2 new magazines and experienced several failure to feeds during an IDPA match. Never had any problem prior using 3 magazines I purchased used with the followers filed. Picking up a Dremel tomorrow and plan on filing down the legs. Never used a Dremel before. Dumb question time: Is there a particular bit I should use for this purpose, or will any of the sanding bits work? Thanks
Click to expand...

Any sanding bit will work. You can even use a fine grinding wheel if you have it. (Wear gloves). Make sure too finish off the edges with light sand paper or a finger nail file.
 
lel said:
Just bought 2 new magazines and experienced several failure to feeds during an IDPA match. Never had any problem prior using 3 magazines I purchased used with the followers filed. Picking up a Dremel tomorrow and plan on filing down the legs. Never used a Dremel before. Dumb question time: Is there a particular bit I should use for this purpose, or will any of the sanding bits work? Thanks
Click to expand...

the round "drum sander" thing works well for this task. Doesn't matter fine/medium/coarse. Just take the 'legs' off the little stepstool-shaped follower, and you'll be good.
 
UPDATE: It has been more than a year since I cutdown the magazine followers and cut a loop off the spring on my full size M&P new version mags. I shoot about 2 IDPA matches a month as well as some Steel Challenges/Walls of Steel and none of the magazines has caused any problems with loading, going into battery, or failure to feed/eject.
 
Six Month Update: ?

Used a mod I saw on YouTube (trim the spring & the follower) and was able to load 10rds,
but it's still pretty hard to load a full mag on the closed slide. (for 10+1)

After shooting my new M&P9 a while, I got into the habit of slamming the mag in firmly.
At the range, I noticed the side lock sometimes fails to hold the slide back.
The jar of the mag going in, seems to release the slide, sometimes.
Not sure that I like like the idea of sometimes.

That aside, after looking at all the fine photos, I think maybe I need to shorten
the follower legs a little bit more. When I did the mod, I just cut the legs down with a sharp knife.
Maybe I left them a tad too long..

Question:
I'm wondering if that center lug (where spring attaches to follower) might need to be sanded down a little??

Thanks,
Rich
 
I just cut the follower legs to flat with the rest of the follower body and have been all set since. The springs will break in some to make it even easier if you leave the mags loaded.
 
Xringer, My M&P's do that everytime I slam a mag into the gun...I LOVE IT! It's definitely an advantage when reloading during IDPA matches.

If it doesn't release every time, you're not hitting it hard enough.
 
Alex Cannella said:
Xringer, My M&P's do that everytime I slam a mag into the gun...I LOVE IT! It's definitely an advantage when reloading during IDPA matches.

If it doesn't release every time, you're not hitting it hard enough.
Click to expand...

Whenever I drop the slide or close a bolt on most firearms, I aim them into a backstop.
Just in case, a malfunction causes the weapon to fire as soon as the round is chambered.
But, do I have to carefully point my M&P9 at the backstop when inserting a mag?


When I watch someone in a hurry (at 11 seconds in the video below), I see the muzzle might be angled upwards.
Maybe Over the backstop, as the mag is inserted.
Three (3) kinds of IDPA Reload - YouTube

At the WSA club, they don't want us pointing a loaded weapon above the back stop.
They want all lead to remain on club grounds.

Anyways, after I insert the mag, I point the pistol towards the target, pull back on the slide and release it.
If it were to fire for some reason, it's not going to be skyward.
If it were to go full auto, I'm in a shooting position and might be able to control the recoil.

But if it went full auto, while my elbow was bent with the muzzle pointed up at 45 deg,
and left 45 deg, about 1 foot from my chest, with 10 rounds??
I don't know if there would be a chance any control at all.

Am I being overly cautious?
 
I have free state 12rd magazines for my 9c, and I have difficulty sometimes getting the 12th round in. I thought it was just me having difficulty getting the magazine into the firearm, after topping off the magazine. Sometimes it can take two or three tries before it seats.
 
Just read some interesting posts about the mag-load-slam at M&P 40 full size slide release problem - MP-Pistol Forum

After reading a few of those, I can see how someone who got used to slide always going forward during mag insertion,
could end up not hitting it hard enough, and then pounding his left hand on the bottom of the mag,
instead of doing the normal pullback & release of the slide..

The real pointed comment was you should "Train like you fight"..
Since you will very likely fight like you train..
 

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