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Scherer high capacity mags for Glock - Don't bet your life on them or waste your money

open4years

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Messages
347
Location
Valdosta, Georgia, USA
imported post

I purchased some Scherer high capacity magazines for my Glocks several years ago. I bought a .40, .45 and 10mm. The 10mm would only accept about 8 rounds and no more. I loaded the 28 round .40 and set it aside for a SHTF situation. I never loaded the .45 mag.

A few days ago I needed some .40 for my new Walther PPS, so I decided to take some from the .40 Scherer. The rounds were under NO spring tension at all! After taking a few out, I turned the magazine upside down and the rounds fell out. I noticed days after I loaded the magazine that it swelled up at the bottom, where the spring would be under tension. That kept the spring from expanding when I took the rounds out. I have done everything possible just to see if I could get the spring to expand and it absolutely will not.

This magazine would have caused a failure to feed or a gun jam had I needed to use it. I did keep it in my bedroom, just in case, but I planned to test it at the range before I put any trust in it.

Don't waste your money on these, unless they have been redesigned with a metal liner inside.

Have any of you purchased these? If so, what are your experiences with them?

open4years
 

Kevin Jensen

State Researcher
Joined
Feb 23, 2007
Messages
2,313
Location
Santaquin, Utah, USA
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We have a 33 round 9MM mag that we keep full. I have noticed that when it is unloaded by hand, that sometimes the spring gets stuck. However, in the few times that it was used in my wife's Glock 26, it never failed to feed. I guess time will tell on this one.
 

open4years

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Messages
347
Location
Valdosta, Georgia, USA
imported post

SGT Jensen wrote:
We have a 33 round 9MM mag that we keep full. I have noticed that when it is unloaded by hand, that sometimes the spring gets stuck. However, in the few times that it was used in my wife's Glock 26, it never failed to feed. I guess time will tell on this one.

Does it have a slight bulge at the bottom?

open4years
 

Paul Volk

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
61
Location
Michigan
imported post

I was always taught that it's best to 'cycle' spare loaded mags.

The loaded spare that I keep in my nightstand next to my bed, gets replaced by a different spare mag every 6 months (as does the mag in my daily carry). I have five mags, and I just cycle a new one in to prevent the springs from gaining a compressed memory.

Although, I'm not using the mags in question, I just figured I'd share anyway. And even though yours sat loaded for a long period of time, I would still expect it to function properly.
 

kurtmax_0

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
794
Location
Auburn, Alabama, USA
imported post

Springs don't gain memory. They won't wear out if you don't compress/depress them (cept for something like rust or such).

I normally just go ahead an replace the springs in all my mags every year anyways. It costs maybe 5 bucks per mag.
 

AbNo

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2007
Messages
3,805
Location
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
imported post

Paul Volk wrote:
I was always taught that it's best to 'cycle' spare loaded mags.

The loaded spare that I keep in my nightstand next to my bed, gets replaced by a different spare mag every 6 months (as does the mag in my daily carry). I have five mags, and I just cycle a new one in to prevent the springs from gaining a compressed memory.

Although, I'm not using the mags in question, I just figured I'd share anyway. And even though yours sat loaded for a long period of time, I would still expect it to function properly.
So sayeth this guy, me, that has taken a Metallurgy last semester: Compression memory is a myth. Repeated compression/decompression will kill a spring faster than keeping it under tension.

If you don't believe me, take your own Metallurgy class. :)

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=32948
This is a regular question across all the boards that deal with autoloaders. The consensus of metallurgists who respond to these inquiries is that springs wear out from being compressed and released. So you cause the least spring "wear" if you load a mag and just leave it loaded. I saw one story of a 1911 magazine left loaded for 70+ years that worked just fine.
http://handgunforum.net/showthread.php?t=13993
Magazine springs wear out from the combination of repeated compression and decompression. Leaving the magazine loaded (compressed) will not damage the spring.
Also Kurt, can I have your old springs? :D
 

DanGarand

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
14
Location
, ,
imported post

I have one of these sitting in my safe. I bought it hoping I could save a few bucks instead of getting the factory glock 18 mag. Wrong move.

At first glance I could tell it was not very good quality and my fears were confirmed when I tried to load it. It was not possible to load the mag to 33 rounds. Even with less than 33 rounds the magazine did not feed or function reliably in any sense of the word. This magazine is an absolute piece of trash that I have had sitting around in my safe because I sold my glock and I can't with good conscience sell or trade this item to anyone because of its complete failure to function or even load.

scherer quality control must be non-existent. Save yourself the trouble and spend the extra bucks for the glock factory mag.
 

Paul Volk

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
61
Location
Michigan
imported post

Back from the dead.


I just picked up a Scherer 30-round magazine for my Glock 23 (.40 S&W) last weekend at the Knob Creek machine gun shoot. I had picked up one of the Korean mags the day before, then found one of these and picked it up too.

I'm not sure about the design of the magazine than "open4years" had owned, but the Scherer that I bough did have a metal liner just like the factory Glock magazines. I loaded and emptied it four times on Monday this week, using two different brands of ammo. Absolutely no cycling problems. I also noticed that it loaded very smoothly just like the factory Glock mags do. The Korean 30-rounder was a bit more 'difficult' to load.

I have yet to see if letting it sit loaded over a period of time will cause excessive swelling and/or spring fatigue issues. But it's loaded and sitting now, so only time will tell.
 
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