Posted: 2/12/2014 5:51:50 AM EDT
| Anyone else have a hell of a time loading their shield mags? I have 2-7 rounders and 2-8 rounders and they all have the stiffest mag springs of ANY magazines I have ever loaded. I can only get about 5 rounds in the 7 rounders and 6 in the 8 rounders the springs are so damn stiff. I have taken them apart and put them back together with no change. I'm sure they will break in with use but damn they are stiff. |
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I have not had that experience with any of my Shield mags. They seem much easier to load than say, getting the last 2 or 3 rounds in a Glock mag. I know they weren't making enough of them for about a year. Possibly the QC efforts couldn't keep up with demand and you got a few with stiffer springs?
ETA - if you want to try a real stiff mag spring, try a C Products 9mm AR mag. You won't be loading those without a gravity bump assist or a Lula. |
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Quoted:
My 7 and 8 rounders that came with my shield were the same way when I first got them, I believe I loaded them both one short and let them sit a day, the added the last round and let them sit and it seemed to do the trick. I've got a Shield coming, and got a bunch of mags from Midway today. I'll do this and see how it works. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Just use your Glock mag loader from a 9 or a 40 to push the rounds down with. The Shield mags are very stiff, but loosen up a little after a few stacks are fired out.
The Glock loader is a little wobbly, but if you center it on the top round in the mag, it works fairly well and does not bust your fingers. I was going to concave the Glock loader to make it stay put better, but I got the hang of it and didn't alter the loader. (Dead serious, not a silly Glock fan boy BS.) |
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Quoted:
Anyone else have a hell of a time loading their shield mags? I have 2-7 rounders and 2-8 rounders and they all have the stiffest mag springs of ANY magazines I have ever loaded. I can only get about 5 rounds in the 7 rounders and 6 in the 8 rounders the springs are so damn stiff. I have taken them apart and put them back together with no change. I'm sure they will break in with use but damn they are stiff. I had one that was like this, but it was improperly assembled from the factory. Is your follower attached to the spring? |
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Quoted:
Just use your Glock mag loader from a 9 or a 40 to push the rounds down with. The Shield mags are very stiff, but loosen up a little after a few stacks are fired out. The Glock loader is a little wobbly, but if you center it on the top round in the mag, it works fairly well and does not bust your fingers. I was going to concave the Glock loader to make it stay put better, but I got the hang of it and didn't alter the loader. (Dead serious, not a silly Glock fan boy BS.) I was just getting ready to try this with mine. Heaviest pressure I've ever seen on a mag follower--same way on both of my Shields. Now I guess I need to take them apart and check assembly like heavy duty says...... |
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I have 6 mags, 7s and 8s. They are ALL that stiff, but better slightly after 500 rounds now. I don't think you can put them togther wrong unless on purpose. But they managed to do it at the factory! Ten second fix, but no way I could get that last round in there until I correctly assembled the follower to the spring - it was just lying on top of the spring. None of my other Shield .40 mags have been particularly difficult to load. |
| My 6&7 rounders for my .40 did the same thing. My 6 rounder didn't want to insert into the gun with the slide forward. Left them full for a few days and they got easier. Still a little stiff but the work much better now and the magazine goes in without locking the slide back now. I have a speed loader that came with my PX4 that makes it way easier to load the mags. |
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If you don't already have a Glock loader to use, there are inexpensive metal options.
-there are several models of 9mm sub-machine gun loaders made from metal that work. 9mm ones, NOT some really long thing like the Finnish "SA" marked loades for the 7.62x25mm conversion mags for a Finnish buzz gun. -ProMag makes a general purpose loader for double stack mags but if you close the front of the U shaped body, it fits snugly on the front of the Shield mags. The upside down U that is the cartridge pusher is a little forward of ideal. If you close the U slightly to the rear, it pushes the top round down and allows the new cartridge to be inserted easily. -Ruger has a metal mag loader that with the same mods works, but it doesn't have the little shelf on the rear to help pull it down that the ProMag model does. Even though these are double stack mag loaders, the slightly closed front tracks the Shield mag body in the front. The slight dish in the cartridge pusher finger, the bottom of the U, locates the rear of the loader just fine. I mention them because you see them floating around loose at shops and shows and no one knows what they are good for. Browning and Beretta have the same things for their mags. A minor tweak in two spots and any of them make a Shield easy. Plus they go for $2-3-4-5 if you spot them or a little more if you have to actually order one. See the photos at the URLs. http://www.brownells.com/shooting-accessories/speedloaders-accessories/magazine-speedloaders/magazine-loader-sku780000928-11837-28514.aspx http://www.handgungrips.com/Magazine_Loading_Tools/1968/c/2940 I know these styles for 9mm length ammo work because I have used several variants. What might even be better is the Ruger .45 auto single stack mag loader. It would be slightly longer and I don't know how wide the cartridge push down finger is. It might be too wide for a 9mm width feed lip gap. Maybe someone has one and can try it for width in a 9mm mag?? http://www.brownells.com/shooting-accessories/speedloaders-accessories/magazine-speedloaders/magazine-loader-prod11869.aspx |