Glock magazine "bulging"?

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Hey all,

I just discovered somewhat of an issue with 3 Glock magazines I just bought and I was curious if anyone has had an similar experiences.

I picked up 3 G37/10 round magazines a few weeks ago for my G38 and in the process of testing them out at the range I found themvery hard tovirtually impossibleto load by hand to their full capacity. After I got home I used the mag loader that came with the gun to load them up and in working with the magazines again I find that there is now a noticable bit of frictionwhen loading them into my gun but that it is reduced with the removal of rounds from the magazine. The fewer the rounds, the less the friction. At first i thought it was just the 10 round mags but now that I've experimented with the standard 8 rounders I feel the friction there as well. None of this prevents the loading and use of the gun but I see a noticable differencebetweenmy G38 and my G19 when it comes to how easily the mags are to insert, afully loaded G19 mag loads effortlessly while even a partially loaded GAP mag creates friction. I'm curious ifthisisa common thing to be expected with larger rounds (GAP vs. 9mm) in the same size magazine or if it couldbe an issue with the gun and/or magazines. Any thoughts?

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OEM or after market?

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I can't really load my FN magazines to stated capacity, for the same reason, and just leave them 1 short. It's a newish gun and the springs may "break in" after a time. Not unique to Glock in any case.

-ljp

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They're OEM mags. I loaded them up to capacity and left them for almost 2 weeks to see if it would make a difference in how hard they were to load andthat's when I noticed the resistance when inserting them in the gun. It seemsthat the magazines on the GAP engage the magazine release earlied than the 9mm but I don't know that might be what I'm noticing. Either way there's definitely a noticable difference in how smoothlythe 9 and GAP insert. I'll keep shooting 'em up and see if it changes at all.

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Oh - I misunderstood. I thought you meant it was difficult to fill the magazine to capacity. No, I've not had the problem of inserting a full magazine into a gun before. Not sure what to make of that except weak materials in the mag.

-ljp

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There are two variants of magazines made by Glock. One is drop free and the other is non-drop free. If you look in the top of the mag and see a thin metallic liner under the plastic those are usually the drop free and are easy to insert/remove. The non-drop free don't have the metal liner and bulge as you mentioned making them more difficult to insert/remove. I accidentally purchased a non-drop free mag once and it does the same thing on my 22.

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Legba wrote:

Oh - I misunderstood. I thought you meant it was difficult to fill the magazine to capacity. No, I've not had the problem of inserting a full magazine into a gun before. Not sure what to make of that except weak materials in the mag.

-ljp

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No, you were correct, they are virtually impossible to load to capacity by hand and only marginally easier to load with the mag loader that came with the gun. I can get 8of 10in by hand with agood effortbutmy hands aren't strong enough for the last 2. It was after I filled them up that I noticed that they are harder to insert and a full magazinewon't drop free without a good shake of the gun. I guess the latteris a good thing though!

None of this has affected the reliability so it's not a huge deal, I was just wondering if this had something to do with the larger caliber more than anything else.


Edit: All my mags (GAP and 9mm) look to me to have the same type of metal liner.

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smash29 wrote:

SNIP

No, you were correct, they are virtually impossible to load to capacity by hand and only marginally easier to load with the mag loader that came with the gun. I can get 8of 10in by hand with agood effortbutmy hands aren't strong enough for the last 2. It was after I filled them up that I noticed that they are harder to insert and a full magazinewon't drop free without a good shake of the gun. I guess the latteris a good thing though!

None of this has affected the reliability so it's not a huge deal, I was just wondering if this had something to do with the larger caliber more than anything else.


Edit: All my mags (GAP and 9mm) look to me to have the same type of metal liner.

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I've had my Glock 21SF about a year now and the 13 round mags are still difficult to get the 13th round in. I insert 11 or 12 roundsand use my thumb to press down as far as I can on those in the mag then insert the following 1 or 2 rounds. I've never had any trouble whatsoever inserting or removing mags from the gun.

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I just purchased a Glock 23, and was surprised to have the same experience. I own a WASR-10 Rifle, and have a 40 round magazine for it, and that was easier to fill to capacity than it was to get the rounds into my 13 round Glock magazine.

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{Channeling annoying TV pitchman} : "Having trouble loading those pesky full capacity pistol magazines?"

http://maglula.tripod.com/uplula.htm

If there was evera shooting gizmo that deserves an infomercial, this thing may be it. If you can't get the last round in with the Uplula, it probably can't be done.

NoI do not work for the company, just a satisfied user. Best $25 Christmas present I ever bought myself.

As far as the OEM drop free magazines go, they aren't supposed to bulge as described, can't say why that is happening.

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find yourself a tool (wrench handle, screw driver, dowel, etc...) that you can use to press on the follower and compress the spring down until it stops, then let it up slowly and then repeat that process about 30 or 40 more times or until you feel the spring loosen up some. This will break-in your new mags quickly.

I can't really say anything about the bulging though...do your mags drop free when they are empty?

Gen 4 G23 Mags Bulging also

Sorry to bump an old thread but I am having similar issues with a new gun and magazines.

I just bot a NIB Glock 23 40 cal with three factory mags. Two of the mags are "sticking" in the mag well while inserting and ejecting the magazines when full-enough to bulge. When empty, the magazine perform as desired: free to fall from mag well. But when loaded with 7 or more rounds, the magazines bulge and become tight in the mag well. These are brand new magazines that came with my generation 4 Glock. The third mag performs flawlessly, regardless of the amount of loaded ammunition. They are all FML, and again, brand new from Glock.

Is this a manufacturer defect from Glock? Are the materials in the two faulty mags weaker than the one that performs as it should?

Would Glock replace the "faulted" magazines?

Any advice and help is greatly appreciated, and hopefully since the original post in this thread something has been figured out...

Thanks All!

Thank you for acknowledging your necro-post.

Send the magazines back to Glock. Typically they will replace them at no cost if it is a recent purchase. Some magazimes need a breaking in period before it becomes easier to load them. However, no new magazine should be malfunctioning with only seven rounds loaded.

this is a running problem with all of the glocks chambered in .45 GAP. i owned both the 37 and 38 models and ran into the same issue. i used the speed loader to load the last round on both. but even that was tough. i guess they jumped the gun on the design process to make the gap round and fit it into a smaller width and length magazine to get their product across. so yes it is normal to buldge or not fit the last round at all. i just carried -1 to compensate . is your running the model 37 its not biggie. and the 38 throws you to the level of a 1911 with 7 +1 so no biggie there either. sadly there is no way to fix this issue........just a design flaw

forgot this. i even contacted glock on the matter once i bought my 37. they sent me a few replacement mags for free, and it continued. i took it to an armorer i know that works for perros gun supply in Vt. and he said they have seen the issue too. :-/ not fun having a non function glock mag. good luck thought. you may get a mag replacement that works. i didnt lol

cabbitone said:

Its really strange hearing this. I have never come across anyone with this issue and looks like at least three posters here have had the issue with various models. carry for myself, if you don't mind my asking what generation were the Glocks, what version were the magazines, and where your 37 and 38 any variant like a L or C or SF?

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both third and not sure on the varient. think they were just stock. all stock mags that came with them, and 2 mags straight from glock. for some reason they just dont fit the last round right.