Solo Range Trip 1-24-17 - Magazine Experiment Continues

[Tejun]

This morning I loaded up my range bag with the Solo, Micro 380 and Bond Arms 44/410 Snake Gun. Since I was on the West side of Houston this afternoon, I decided to stop by the Athena Gun Club (a range I would go to when my office was off I10. This is one of the nicer gun ranges in Houston and their non-peak time range fees are very good !!

I had all three Solo mags loaded up with the Nato 124gr ammo. Started by shooting through two mags with the shimmed magazine, with no issues at all. Switched over to the brand new magazine and every shot, the magazine would release. Changed to the other mag that came with the gun (but is unshimmed) and same thing. Every shot resulted in the mag releasing. Went back to the shimmed mag and shot through two more magazines with no problems. The gun is so fun to shoot (when not having problems with mags releasing prematurely). Switched back to the other mags again (one more time) and both experienced the same issues with the mag releasing every shot. Finished up with a total of 50 rnds through the gun with the shimmed magazine and not one single hiccup I shot one handed (strong hand), rapid fire and slow aim firing. I'm planning to shim the other mag that came with the gun now and see if I get the same consistency as I've been seeing with the first one.

I also shot 100 rnds of Sig 100gr, FM 100 gr and Remington 95 gr ammo through the Micro 380. Gave that little gun a pretty good workout mixing ammo, rapid fire, slow (strong hand) and slow aim firing. Did not have one single issue with it at all.....I'm still shooting a little low & to the left with the Micro but I will work on that now that it seems to be chugging along with no issues.

Also took my Bond Arms Derringer out and put two sets of two rounds through a target at 4.5 yds. This is my carry gun aroung the lake in spring when the copperhead snakes start to come out

Pics Attached !!

[Chuck43]

Nice shooting sir, it looks like you had a great time.

[starnovi]

Ok, this is beyond my scope. Could you please explain to me what you did to the magazines...shimmed? I had a Sig modified extended mag for my Micro 9 that would drop after a couple of rounds so I quit using it. Bought 3 Kimber extended mags and they do the same thing, not after every shot but usually by the 3rd or 4th round. Do you think they can be adjusted somehow? Thanks. My Micro 380 also liked the Sig rounds. Glad to hear you Micro is performing well for you.

[Tejun]

Originally Posted by starnovi Ok, this is beyond my scope. Could you please explain to me what you did to the magazines...shimmed? I had a Sig modified extended mag for my Micro 9 that would drop after a couple of rounds so I quit using it. Bought 3 Kimber extended mags and they do the same thing, not after every shot but usually by the 3rd or 4th round. Do you think they can be adjusted somehow? Thanks. My Micro 380 also liked the Sig rounds. Glad to hear you Micro is performing well for you.

Hey Starnovi !
Sorry to hear you've been feeling under the weather. Hope you get back to feeling better soon and able to go shoot your Advocate. Basically, due to what appears to be excessive movement of the magazine in the Mag well (front to rear) I added (glued) a .01" plastic shim to the back (flat) side of the magazine. I was experiencing issues with the mag releasing upon firing the gun. I'm attaching a picture, if you zoom in you can see the top edge of the shim on the mag on the right. Below is a link with more detailed info on this experiment.

[YuK]

Originally Posted by TGLeBlanc Hey Starnovi ! Sorry to hear you've been feeling under the weather. Hope you get back to feeling better soon and able to go shoot your Advocate. Basically, due to what appears to be excessive movement of the magazine in the Mag well (front to rear) I added (glued) a .01" plastic shim to the back (flat) side of the magazine. I was experiencing issues with the mag releasing upon firing the gun. I'm attaching a picture, if you zoom in you can see the top edge of the shim on the mag on the right. Below is a link with more detailed info on this experiment.

I think that your particular frame is out of designed dimension between the shell and a hole for the magazine release for about .010 in.

[Rangemeister]

Strange matters at hand. I measured each of my Solo mags. Three mags are 1.245 and two are 1.243. Pretty consistent. I am having no problems. Maybe TUK is on to something? (two extended mags are 1.245 and 1.243) Of course I do not know which is an original that came with gun.

[Tejun]

Originally Posted by Rangemeister Strange matters at hand. I measured each of my Solo mags. Three mags are 1.245 and two are 1.243. Pretty consistent. I am having no problems. Maybe TUK is on to something? (two extended mags are 1.245 and 1.243) Of course I do not know which is an original that came with gun.

Yea, the mag measurements all seem to be pretty consistent.

.01" doesn't sound like much, but when you have the slide off and put the shimmed vs unshimed magazines in, the amount of play is significant. In addition to the mag prematurely releasing, I also had some FTF and FTE issues with the unshimmed magazines that I have not experienced with the shimmed mag.

I will probably give Kimber CS a call and discuss all the details thus far. I'm sure they will want me to send it to them for evaluation.

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by TGLeBlanc Yea, the mag measurements all seem to be pretty consistent. .01" doesn't sound like much, but when you have the slide off and put the shimmed vs unshimed magazines in, the amount of play is significant. In addition to the mag prematurely releasing, I also had some FTF and FTE issues with the unshimmed magazines that I have not experienced with the shimmed mag. I will probably give Kimber CS a call and discuss all the details thus far. I'm sure they will want me to send it to them for evaluation.

And maybe offer you a job in Yonkers....God only knows they could use the help...