Squeezing 9mm mags.

[HotRodGlock]

Heard I can make my mags drop free and retain ammo better by squeezing the feed lips. Any pictures of this? I would hate to ruin a $35 mag

[OldLincoln]

Short answer is yes, however you need to be careful and don't squeeze too far out which may lead to cracking. I pretty sure I saw a video showing how.

Probably goes without saying you must push the follower down and run a pin of sorts through the holes to hold it down.

[Tilos]

If your not mechanical let someone else do it.
What Old Lincoln said
And the long answer is you squeeze the magazine body, where the lips meet the body, if dropping free is your goal.
The red area is where the bulge is:

[HotRodGlock]

Thanks for the picture! Helps a lot!

[HotRodGlock]

After round one of squeezing, they definitely work better but could use a touch more. We'll see if I can get to it today.

[RedRyder]

Be interested to see if this affects reliability. I've got P9 that bullet wobbles left to right about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch in both 7 and 8 rd mags. I was concerned about this much movement in front of bullet but so far reliability has been flawless. Been wanting to squeeze front of my mags closer together to hold bullet more firmly but didn't want to screw it up either.

[skiflydive]

I measured my one mag that wasn't dropping free. It was .002 different than the one that was dropping free. A gentle squeeze and now they both drop free. I use Johnson's paste wax on my mags when cleaning them. I think that helps too

[ticalthepimp]

Mega props to you for this. I got 2 new mags today & they were so #&$^%(# tight!!! Squeezed them down based on this post & they're buttery smooth now... :)


If your not mechanical let someone else do it.
What Old Lincoln said
And the long answer is you squeeze the magazine body, where the lips meet the body, if dropping free is your goal.
The red area is where the bulge is:

[david8613]

I did this to all my mags, much much better now...

[Tilos]

I'm happy this thread and my pic helps identify the problem area that needs the squeeze.
And thanks to all who have posted back about their success,
Tilos

[Str8shooter]

Same results here... Picked up my new Kahr CW9 and couldn't figure out why the magazine wouldn't drop. Found this forum and problem fixed! Thanks for the info.

[JAA]

I am new to the PM9 so your illustration/description is excellent. How do I know how much/little to squeeze/bend the lips? Is it best to leave a dummy round in the mag while squeezing?
Thanks

[Tilos]

I just put a shell casing in for that pic, no need for it to be in there when you squeeze the mag!
I used a toolmaker's vise to squeeze mine, I don't expect most people to have one, but any vise or clamp with parallel jaws will work.

The weld seam along the back of the mag is another problem area the will affect the drop free, and it's best stoned/sanded/filed flat(er) if found to be proud.

I have a micrometer and a dial caliper to measure the progress of any squeezing/filing, something else I don't expect most gun owners to have.
But most everyone knows someone (usually someone old) who has this kind of stuff;)
:)

[DavidWJ]

I must be lucky, Irish ya know. My CW9 mags have dropped freely from the day I got them. I keep them clean and minimally lubricated with REM Oil.

[Tilos]

I must be lucky, Irish ya know. My CW9 mags have dropped freely from the day I got them. I keep them clean and minimally lubricated with REM Oil.
Go buy a lottery ticket then
;)