[CanadianAce]

So I went shooting today and both my magazines broke. I have only put 175 rounds through the gun and I rotate my mags with 5 rounds in each while shooting. To date I have only ever but 10 rounds in a mag once. No reloads ever. I have only used Winchester 180GR. Full Metal Jacket 40 S&W. (Only ammo available at my range) I have never dropped the mags either. I just hope I can get some replacements soon.

Has anyone else had or seen this issue?

 

[ShipWreck]

There has been a lot of instances of the 40 cal mags breaking. S&W will send U replacements. There seems to be some sort of defect, although, supposedly, the newest mags are night as defective (less likely to break)

 

[CanadianAce]

Can anyone recommend a third party mag that is more reliable? Cost is not an issue, nor is weight. This may become a carry gun for at work and I want reliable equipment.

 

[rodeo]

Im totally rough on my mags, I cant tell you how many times Ive dropped them on tactical shooting courses and have never had one of them break, thats insane.

 

[CanadianAce]

How old are your mags? Are they OEM? The reason I ask is I have a 2005 40 S&W and I am wondering if they made a change to the mags. I was examining them under my scope and noticed that there are cracks on the other side of the mag bottom. It looks like a design flaw. Maybe they redesigned them for 2005? One last question rodeo... where were your mags made?

 

[rodeo]

Yes the are OEM, stamped Walther, my pistol was manufactured in 1999 so I can only assume the mags were produced around the same time.

 

[uncut]

CanadianAce
S&W is aware of this issue..... and as far as reports on this and other forums go, it is only the 10 rounders and not the 12 rounders for the .40S&W

S&W is aware of the problem... If you use this as a carry gun, call S&W and let them know you want 12 rounders..... from what I heard they are great in their customer service department....
mec-gar is a factory supplier to many gun brands.... I don't think you can get a better mag for the P99..... just that there has been a bad run of  floorplates for the 10 rounders
To tell you the truth I am surprised Walther or S&W as not recalled the 10 rounder .40S&W mags ....
anyhow call them and see what happens

 

[CanadianAce]

LOL. Thanks for the info uncut. I wish I could get 12 rnd mags but they are illegal in the Great White North. One last question... is it possible to interchange the bottoms on a 10 rnd and 12 rnd mag then? And if so does anyone know if I can just get the bottom?

 

[uncut]

I don't know, as I have not gotten any extra parts for my .40S&W
I thought since you said that you might want to carry it for work that you might be a LEO and therefor not have restriction on how many rounds your mag holds
I would assume though that the mag itself (metal pasrt) is shorter on the 10 rounder compared to the 12 just as it is shorter on the 10 rounder in 9mm compared to the 15 or 16 rounder

 

[uncut]

mec-gar is in Italy..... so it will say on it "made in Italy" (most likely) and it will have the Walther logo on it too

One more thing you can try.... Contact Earl's repair as he might have some older 10 rounders for the .40S&W....

 

[CanadianAce]

Good idea regarding Earl's. I am working at a range this summer and require to carry there so I don't qualify for +10 rnds. Ce la vie. The other option is to reenforce the base with an epoxy. It may help distribute the stress better. Oh well. I'll make it work... I like the gun too much not to.

 

[lhduce]

I will buy some broken mags as long as u have the spring and all parts even the broken bottom...

 

[Archangel99]

I just had my 10 rd .40 S&W mag butt plate break recently with around 500 rds. Same areas as yours CanadianAce. Called S&W  to report one break and they sent 2 replacement butt plates within 2 weeks.  They are aware of the issue.  Will have to see what their solution is if these breaks.

As far as the difference, yes, as Uncut stated, the metal portion is longer on the 12 rd mags vs. 10 rds.  I just received my order of three 12 rd mags.

 

[carrmat]

The butt plates are actually made by walther, same goes for the followers, Mec-Gar only makes the spring and shaft.

Anyway, I've had numerous 10 rounders break. They claim that they have fixed the problem and gotten rid of all their 10 rounder butt plates that are questionable. They sent me butt plates from the SW99 which are the same but not manufactured by Walther and I haven't had an issue with those. I think I trust the SW99 plates more than what Walther Cust Srvc claims are "good" Walther plates.

 

[mambro]

Refer to this link for differences between the 10 rd and 12 rd mags:

Magazine Diffs

Using the 12 rd mag is the best option for those that can legally do so. I have several 10 rd mags that seem to be holding up fine, and yes, some have been replaced due to the cracking floorplate issue. FWIW, I think I would try the S&W mag bottoms before going the epoxy route.

 

[CanadianAce]

I took my mags into the gun shop. They are ordering me new ones. I may look into buying the pieces for 2 -  12 rnd mags and altering them to be 10 rnds if these new ones break. From what I have read in the laws I can import all the parts for a 12 rnd mag as long as I dont put them together so they can hold 12 rnds. Downside to it all is I have to wait a month to get my new mags.

Anyone know where I can buy mags cheap online?

Thanks to everyone for that bounty of info regarding this. I really appreciate it. Thanks again.

 

[uncut]

CanadianAce.... like Mambro said..... see if you can find some S&W99 .40 S&W buttplates.... that might work