[twistedsteel]

Alright...has this ever happen to anyone???

I took my brand new straight out of the box P99 to the range today. I only got to shoot 98 rounds when both my mags broke! Both on the 5th load! The plastic bottom broke and all the guts came out. My P99 is 2003 and the mags have the blue followers....has this been a problem with the P99 mags???

Never dropped my mags and never forced it in on a full load...I made sure the slide was locked to the rear every single time I reloaded. And I wasn't shooting hot...

Bummer...I waited a week to shoot my P99 and bought hundreds of rounds and didn't even made it to the century mark!!!

 

[WalP99]

Since your P99 has blue followers, I would assume that it is a 40SW? How did they break? And what is the capacity of your magazine?

I heard, though never experienced it myself, that some of the 10rd mags have week bases. I am not sure if the newer 12rd mags have the same problem or not. If you contact Smith and Wesson they should be able to help you with your problem.

 

[P88]

Yes, this was a known problem with the .40 mags in the date code range. Call S&W in the morning and they'll replace them with good ones.

 

[WalP99]

P88,

Do you know if this affects just the 10rd or are some of the 12rd magazines in the bad batch too? How would you know? Or is it if they break you know?

 

[madecov]

My 10 rounders broke.
S&W sent two new 12 rounders.

 

[twistedsteel]

Floorplates broke and the guts came out.

I did a little research and found that this has been a problem with the 10 rd .40 mags. Some got replacement floorplates only to break the next trip to the range. No problem with the 12 rd mags from what I read.

I called S&W and they're closed for the hilodays!!!

 

[twistedsteel]

madecov,

Did you call or sent an e-mail? If you called, do you have a number for them? The number I called said they were closed for the holidays. Just was wondering if they have another phone number.

 

[carrmat]

The problem is specific to .40 10 round mags definitely. I am now on my fifth broken 10 rounder which is the biggest load of crap ever...yes, thats right, S&W has now sent me three new "good" mags all of which have broken. I would never, ever trust the 10 rounders for carry.

Some background, MecGar makes the mags and assembles them but Walther won't let them sell them under the MecGar name. Interestingly, the floor plates and followers are made by Walther. Walther has one of the largest injection molded plastic businesses in Europe.

If anyone else is having problems with the 10 rounders (in .40 only) I would discontinue their use and ask S&W for 12 round replacements. I have about 1000 rounds through each of my 12 rounders and they are fine. I'm getting sick of calling them and having them ship me the UPS things to send them back though, I'll tell you that!

I have two broken ones to ship them back once they return from the holidays. This time I am going to flat out tell them not to bother sending the 10 rounders, I can't trust them, only send me 12 rounders. They have awesome customer service in one sense but they really need to get a handle on this stuff. Its quite dangerous for anyone that carries the 10 rounders for self defense.

 

[twistedsteel]

Just got an e-mail from S&W. They said the buttplates were redesigned and they're sending me 2 of them (just the buttplates). I kinda threw a hint out there for 12 rounders but I guess they didn't bite on it. I hope this one serves me well, I use my P99 as my CCW. I'm buying a couple of 12 rounders but I was hoping this new buttplates work.

 

[TAZ]

This is a known issue with the 10 round 40cal mags. My 12 rounders have had about 500 rounds through them without problems and I have even dropped them on concrete a few times.

I have not seen the 10 rounders, but my guess is that they use the same body with some form of insert to limit capacity and the same base, follower and spring. If so I can see why they would crack as in all likelyhood the limiting insert could place a lot of stress on the baseplate if it isnt just right and fully compresses the spring.

 

[stunksinatl]

+1

My 12 rounders have been great, no problems other than that 12th round being hard to load.

-stunks

 

[twistedsteel]

Non of the gun shops in my area carry the Walther hi-cap .40 mags. They do have the S&W99 though. How does the S&W99 compare to the Walther mags?

 

[stunksinatl]

you're in luck, they're the same magazine! Buy 'em up!

-stunks

 

[P88]

I've got both S&W and Walther mags. Both work fine.

My 10 rounders with black and orange followers work fine also. In addition I have one 10 round mag with a blue follower, that has never given me problems either. I think I bought this mag before 2003, when it seems that all these problems started happening.

My 12 rounders work fine also.

 

[Lydia1966]

I just saw where TheGunSource has them for 36.95 in stock

 

[twistedsteel]

Just got some Walther 12 rounders from a local gunshop. It was $33 vs. the S&W for $39...weird...always thought the Walthers were a bit more. The cheapest I've ever seen them around my area is around $45.???

 

[Lydia1966]

My third time out with mine, shoot 100 rounds today, came home and cleaned her up and happen to notice ny 10 round mag with blue follower 03 model was cracked. Ill be on the phone with S&W monday for sure.

 

[WalP99]

I never use my 10s I usually only use my 12s. But I emailed SW anyway and they mailed me four new bases for my 10s.

They look like the ones that were originally on my mags, but they were much snugger putting on then my old ones.

 

[twistedsteel]

Tried my 10 rounders with the new buttplates yesterday at the range...300 rounds through them and not a crack...

I'm happy...

 

[Ronnie151]

My 10 rounder cracked i called S&W told them and they sent me a new 12 rounder, didnt even have to send the 10 rounder back, they sure were nice, great customer service.