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Kimber Micro .380 Magazine Spring Experiment

6K views 21 replies 5 participants last post by  sawman556 
#1 ·
Okay...so my last experiment went well. I utilized SIG P238 flat wound recoil springs in my Micro. So far so good. I think I have somewhere near 450-500 rounds on the first one so far, and no hiccups at all.

So I was at the range over the weekend, and of course (as many people have complained) my 7 round magazines are beginning to not lock back anymore. I'm thinking this is due to with the weak magazine springs Kimber is putting in their 7 round mags. KIMBER FIX THIS SHIT! :mad: Anyways, I am going to purchase a Wolff +5% extra power magazine spring for the Colt Government .380 7 round magazine. I will let everyone know how it goes.
 
#6 ·
To answer Chuck and Strawman's questions:

Chuck, the magazines were clean as a whistle. I got about 30 rounds in and that's when they began to stop locking back after the last round was fired. In a few instances where the slide failed to lock back, I immediately began racking the slide with the mag still locked into place and the slide would still fail to lock back. Only after about 5-7 slide racks would the slide eventually lock back into place. This happened on both magazines which I keep loaded at all times for CCW. The magazine springs have taken a considerable set since I have kept them loaded. Rounds load very easily into the mags and the mag spring is considerably less springy than they were when new. Hopefully the extra power springs will resolve the problem, which I really think they will.

Strawman, The springs I ordered from SIG are the P238 recoil springs. The ones I ordered come in a pack of 3 recoil springs and 3 firing pin springs. They are the flat wound springs. My Micro comes installed with the newer guide rod. My guess is the SIG recoil springs would be around 10-11 lbs. It's definitely more weight than the stock Kimber spring. The P238 recoil spring is a drop in fit and I have had no malfunctions (FTEs, FTFs, Stovepipes, etc.) in regards to the recoil spring so far. I am quite pleased with its performance.
 
#10 ·
That sucks, I was hoping to get one of those for my 7 rounder. I got the Wolff Colt Mustang 6rnd mag springs and they work great. A good bit stronger, but a full mag still has plenty of room to compress. I only have one 6 round mag, but I have 3 more on the way. I got one mag spring with the Mustang spring pack and bought another 3 pack. You do have to tweak the top coil with two pairs of needle-nose pliers, but they fit great. I'll post pics.
 
#11 ·
Sawman,

I had to do the same needle-nose pliers fix with the top coil, but even so, the 7th round would not feed into the magazine very well and there was no extra room to press down on the 7th round for that needed slide clearance. Have you tried those Colt Mustang springs in a 7 round mag?
 
#13 ·
Here's the 6 round Wolff springs vs. the 6 round Kimber springs.


Here's the opened Wolff spring pack for the Mustang.


Side by side comparison.


The difference and the top of the springs.


The fix.


I'll post pics of the 7 rounder next. I'm also going to try the rest of the springs and give my results. I need to get my new firing pin before I can put my Micro back together.

On a side note, I use all Wolff spring in every firearm I can. Mainly all my Glocks and have never had an issue. If the Wolff springs will work in my Micro, that's what I will use.
 
#14 ·
Here's the 7 round Kimber spring vs. the 6 round Wolff spring. Note that the Kimber spring has one extra coil. The Wolff feels a little stiffer with the mag assembled. All 7 rounds fit in fine and a 8th round would not go. There is sufficient give when pushing down on the top round of a full magazine. Loaded, the Wolff feels stronger to me despite the minus 1 coil. I'll leave it loaded for a with days and compare the springs again. The 7 round Kimber mag has only one range trip and only sat fully loaded for a couple days itself. One again, I'll use the Wolff spring if it works out.





BTW, photobucket blows!:mad:
 
#18 ·
SAWMAN

I saw something you previously posted in regards to bending the bottom front tabs of the magazine follower. I went ahead and did this. I am going to the range in the morning and will let you know if that fixes the last round non-slide lock up issue. :D Hopefully this works...
 
#22 ·
That's great! Glad to hear it! I'll have to post pics so others can try it. It's really quite easy to do. Kimber really should modify their follower design, but I doubt they will. Let me know if they ever stop working again, I'm kinda curious how long the fix will last.
 
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