Stuck follower on a 1911 mag?

[autocrash]

Hi Guys,

I recently acquired a Kimber/CMC Shooting Star (7rd) magazine second hand.
I loaded it last week - I got six rounds in, and while inserting the seventh the follower and/or spring bound up.

After removing all rounds (not under spring tension ) I tried to shake it down, tried to wiggle it free, but no luck.

The follower is the original shooting star follower, and it's a welded base mag - So, how hosed am I? Any suggestions on how to un-stick? any suggestion on how to prevent this in the future?

Thanks,

Matt

 

[sdlonyer]

Try disassembling the mag and cleaning it. Check to see if there are any flaws/burrs on the inside of the mag..then lubricate the inner mag walls when you reassemble.

 

[tjhaile]

To disassemble welded baseplate magazines, push the follower down part way (four rounds/cases/dummies will do it) and stick a suitable object (eg. a punch) through one of the witness holes to release the follower from spring tension, so that it can be shaken out. Given that your follower is already stuck, I would try to get a punch through one of the witness holes and see if you can loosen the follower with a pick.

My recommendation for preventative maintenance is that you buy better magazines with removable baseplates. Any of the following are good choices:
-Wilson Combat
-Tripp
-Chip McCormick Power Mags (not the old Shooting Star type)

 

[autocrash]

Got it sorted - magazine spring was in backwards. Switching this, and cleaning helped - but didn't quite fix. Small touch up on the front of the follower with a file to match the radius of the magazine tube and it seems to be working now.

Thanks for the help,

Matt