Steel Baseplate Not Locking

[McE]

One of the metal baseplates on a 6-round 9mm Kahr magazine marked "9-6" does not lock in place.

The baseplate and the little piece with the dimple can slide off the front. I'm assuming that little piece is supposed to catch on the front edge of the mag body, but instead it's just clearing it.

The baseplate itself has a little bit of vertical wiggle room, as if the folded edges that grab the mag body rails were not folded enough. However another thread I found about this issue had a user saying Kahr told them to squeeze together the bottom of the mag body itself which I'm not sure what that does, maybe angles the mag body rails for a tighter fit into the baseplate?
It seems like I could also bend that little piece that sits between the spring and baseplate upward a little bit to help it catch the inside of the mag body, but idk if that's a good idea.

This mag came with a used PM9 I purchased, would Kahr still be willing to fix this if I sent it in?

[muggsy]

The magazine base lock has a dimple that is supposed to lock into the hole in the magazine base. That's what holds it in place. See the link.

http://www.kahr.com/Parts/Kahr-PM9.asp

[wyntrout]

You can try to make the "dimple" in the locking plate more prominent by placing the dimple side down on a scrap of wood(not your dining table or counter) and using a punch and a hammer... or try squeezing the base's rail slots that hold the locking plate on the tube a TINY BIT... or, try bending the outer side rails on the magazine tube down just a tiny bit.

Shipping the mag back to Kahr seems kind of expensive and time consuming!

Wynn:)

[wyntrout]

An alternative:

http://www.kahr.com/GetDynamicImage.aspx?dir=itemImages&path=SVing-KA038M9D-1.jpg&w=326&h=278 (http://www.kahr.com/GetDynamicImage.aspx?dir=itemImages&path=SVing-KA038M9D-1.jpg&w=652&h=556)

http://www.kahr.com//magazines/kahr-steel-magazine-base-kit-black.asp

At $12.99 it's cheaper than the plain stainless ones.

http://www.kahr.com/getdynamicimage.aspx?path=Steel-Magazine-Base-Kit-380-ACP1573.jpg&width=130&height=130 (http://www.kahr.com//magazines/kahr-steel-magazine-base-kit-380-acp.asp)

Kahr Steel Magazine Base Kit (.380 ACP) (http://www.kahr.com//magazines/kahr-steel-magazine-base-kit-380-acp.asp)
Kahr .380 ACP steel magazine base kit allows for the replacement of your existing steel base or can also be used to replace the extended base on the Kahr .380 ACP 7 round magazine.

$15.00

Any time you're looking for mated pieces like this, look for the KIT. Or, you'll be paying more for the two separate pieces... in this case $8.80 each.

Wynn:)

[Alfonse]

I used a punch and hammer on one of mine. It stayed put just fine after that bit of persuasion. It seemed like the easiest solution. Yes, I'm lazy that way.

[McE]

The dimple is not the problem.
The baseplate AND the dimpled piece slide off the mag body easily. The baseplate takes the dimpled piece with it as it slides off.

The dimple locks into the baseplate just fine.
The dimpled piece seems like it's supposed to catch the inner edges of the mag body, and it doesn't.

[BEARDOG]

McE, I think you have your own easy fix here in your first post;

"It seems like I could also bend that little piece that sits between the spring and baseplate upward a little bit to help it catch the inside of the mag body, but idk if that's a good idea."

I have had to do the same to one of my own lock plates, worked for me.

[Buzzard45]

McE, I think you have your own easy fix here in your first post;

"It seems like I could also bend that little piece that sits between the spring and baseplate upward a little bit to help it catch the inside of the mag body, but idk if that's a good idea."

I have had to do the same to one of my own lock plates, worked for me.

Agreed. should do the trick, and is reversible if necessary.

[ReManG]

The dimple is not the problem.
The baseplate AND the dimpled piece slide off the mag body easily. The baseplate takes the dimpled piece with it as it slides off.

The dimple locks into the baseplate just fine.
The dimpled piece seems like it's supposed to catch the inner edges of the mag body, and it doesn't.


Just had the same thing happen with my CW380 mag, came apart in my pocket after I reached in. I guess I pushed both the "retention" plate and the base plate off at the same time... PS, you cannot eject the mag easily if you have no spring tension...

Here is what I did for a "fix": I took a smaller socket (1/4" drive, 8mm) with the narrower end up. I took a punch that fit through the hole in the base plate, but had a radius up to the body of the punch and put the punch through the base plate. I then put the base plate on the narrow end of the socket and tapped gently with a hammer to "depress" the edges of the retention hole in the base plate. This keeps the plate a bit more securely on the "retention" plate. Next, I bent (slightly) the front radius of the "retention" plate upwards (away from the dimple) using pliers and just finger pressure. This worked pretty well, but with the springs getting weaker in the magazine over time, I could still push the base plate off with some force. I then tapped the folded edges of the base plate at the rear (open) end together (folded sharper) to eliminate some play and it seems to work as it was intended now. If this fails, I will simply drill two .032" holes, one in the back of the base plate and one next to it in the magazine body and use some .020" stainless safety wire. Or tap the dimple in the retention plate for a cap screw....

I have never had a magazine fail like this, so it is a bit disappointing and dangerous that a magazine could come apart so easily when fully loaded.