I just bought this gun new, Oct. 22, 2020. Anyone else having an issue with the mags for the hellcat sticking in the mag well when released? Specifically, If I insert a full mag and load one in the chamber, then try to drop the mag, the mag only falls out about a half-inch or so. I have to manually pull it out. If I pop it back in there instead of pulling it out and then release it again, it does fall out. It does that all the way down to only 4 or 5 rounds left in the magazine, then it drops fine. Empty mags also drop fine. I've had Winchester 124 grain and snap caps in it so far but nothing else. It's only had about two hundred rounds through it at this point. I bought a new 11 round mag from SA to see if I just got a bum mag, but the new one does the exact same thing the original one does, so I sent the gun and mag back to SA and they did...something.....weeks later (actually a reasonable amount of time for them to have it, I have no complaints about that) I got it back but it is still doing it. Also, loading a full mag into the mag well is harder than it should be. It usually requires a second pop to get it seated in there. I have a Glock 43x, a couple of Sigs including a P365, several M&Ps, none of my other guns do any of this. Anyone run into this at all? It's mostly the 11 round mags. The 13 round mag I have usually runs fine but does stick sometimes. If I have the slide locked back, load the magazine into the mag well and release the slide lock. I don't have this problem. The mag will drop fine. But I don't want to have to run this gun in one particular way to make it work right, if it is going to be my carry gun I need to be able to rely on it like I would the 43x or M&P Compact, every single time. At the moment that is not the case, but I am hoping I can get this fixed. Other than this I really like this gun. Thanks in advance!
Hellcat OSP mags don't drop when mostly full?
- Thread starter kyko316
- Start date
uspatriot1960
Custom
I just went and tried this with mine after reading your post. No problem. Although, as southtex said, I need to make sure my palm is clear of the mag or it gets in the way. Hope you get it figured out.
Thanks guys. I do make sure my palm is completely clear each time so I know that is not the problem. It's odd, I can intentionally "slow rack" my other guns and they don't do this. But with my Hellcat if I do anything but slam the slide closed, the mag will not drop. Sometimes even if I do slam it, it sticks anyway. I have another email into SA as of last Thursday. Hoping to hear something tomorrow or early this week.
uspatriot1960
Custom
Good luck. I know that has to be irritating.
Lock n' Load
Custom
I've never had this happen when dropping a mag. Mine was a little tight on insertion when I first got it but after about 1000 rounds, it loosened up. I hope you get it sorted out.
TheHumbleMarksman
Operator
what's likely happening is as you slow rack it you're letting the cartridge under the cartridge being fed slide forward to the point that it's contacting the frame and preventing it from dropping free. If you've got some snap caps - load them up and aggressively drop the slide and see if you have the same issue.
With shorter cartridges (like JHPs) this may not be an issue but longer target loads it might be.
With shorter cartridges (like JHPs) this may not be an issue but longer target loads it might be.
I think you're right, it doesn't happen if I VERY aggressively rack the slide or just release the slide lock and let it come forward. It works okay then. But anything short of that jams up the mag if released. If it were just doing it if I racked slowly I could live with that because I don't usually rack slowly anyway. But it does it every time unless I very deliberately rack the gun very hard. I can rack this gun MUCH harder than any of my other guns that won't do it, and it will still jam up. I guess that's my main issue, it jams up way too easy even if I rack the slide with plenty of force and I don't want to find myself in a situation where I NEED the mag to drop immediately and it doesn't fall at all because I didn't rack it "just so". It seems to be an issue with just this particular gun, I have talked to several people with Hellcats that don't have anything like this happening to theirs. Hopefully I can get a response back from SA. So far nothing since I got it back from them.
jumpinjoe
Hellcat
I've not had this type of issue with my Hellcat with either mag regardless of how hard or soft it's racked. But due to a habit I picked up many years ago, I always slap the loaded mag on the heel of my hand a couple times before I insert it into the firearm. I just feel like that sets each and every cartridge absolutely against the rear of the mag as intended making it less likely that any one will stick out or creep far enough forward to cause a drag when trying to release the mag. Probably not your issue, but worth a look-see. BTW, you using factory or hand loads?
I have started doing this also after this problem started but now I am doing it on all my mags. Something about it made it an easy habit for me to pick up I guess. lol. So far I haven't used any reloads, only Winchester 124gr. and snap caps for dry fire and testing this.
This morning I dug into it and tried it out again on my Walther Q5 match, M&P 4" compact, my wife's Sig P365, and my Hellcat in case I missed something the last time. Same results, the Hellcat is the only one doing it. All of the other ones I can rack as slow as I want and it always loads one in the chamber (so does the Hellcat) and the mag always drops. So checking further with the slide off, I can see the round under the one being loaded into the chamber is being pulled forward and hanging up on the ramp just enough to stop it from falling but not enough to make it too difficult to pull the mag out. So that's definitely the issue, as suggested by TheHumbleMarksman. Now the only question is, what is the fix? Still haven't heard back from SA, which is unusual for them, their customer service prior to this has been outstanding. When I learn something I'll pass it on in case someone else runs into this issue.
jumpinjoe
Hellcat
kyko316, don't remember if you mentioned it or not, but what ammo are you using in the Hellcat? Are you using the same ammo in all your firearms? Sometimes just a change in ammo will make a difference. Sometimes it's the OAL of the cartridge, sometimes the bullet type, etc.
Guns can be finicky sometimes !!!! In any event, let us all know what SA has to say.
Guns can be finicky sometimes !!!! In any event, let us all know what SA has to say.
I've used 124 gr Winchester FMJ, Tipton snap caps and one other kind of snap caps I can't recall right now. I've used all of the above in my other guns too, but none of them react like the Hellcat.
TheHumbleMarksman
Operator
If this is an issue - chamber the round. Pull the mag out - seat the next round fully - then lock the magazine back into the gun. I do this every time I load and make ready in competition - just to ensure that everything is going to go well. It's a pretty minor issue with a very easy work around.
This is likely due to the magazine design of the Hellcat mag - being roughly the same size as a P365 magazine - but taking one more round. There's a BUNCH of tension in that little box.
That's one of the things I have done and it works well enough, at the range it isn't a big deal. But as a carry gun, it could be a major issue. In defensive pistol classes it came up during drills (FTEs and others) but I worked around it. It took extra time though and that's the problem. My concern is one day I get in a situation where I have to use the gun to defend myself, take a shot or two and have a some malfunction, stove pipe or what ever. Need to drop the mag, clear the gun, load the back up mag, and get back in the fight. But the mag doesn't drop, so I have to manually pull it out before I can continue, losing valuable seconds in the middle of a firefight. That's assuming I see that it didn't fall while watching the bad guy and don't jam the back up mag into the stuck mag in the mag well, taking even more time. Not a good day. It's a pretty unlikely scenario, mostly, but if I can count on that mag to NOT drop a decent amount of the time when it is full or mostly full, it is a scenario that could easily happen. All I need is a bad round at the top of the mag. The fact that it has happened in the drills we run which are meant to be real world scenarios is even scarier. I'd rather just know the mag is going to drop when I hit the button regardless. I'm not comfortable knowing the gun I trust my life with needs a work around, easy or not, in a critical situation. At the range it's a minor issue. When your life is on the line that's a major issue. It needs to work all the time, every time, the way it's supposed to. From what I can tell it is a one off issue with this particular firearm. Other people I have spoken with the gun have no issues and it is a good shooter otherwise. I'm putting more rounds through it and hopefully that will help it over time and it will work itself out. In the meantime I can carry my M&P compact or Glock 43x, I just prefer to carry this, but I will not until I know it functions as it should.
TheHumbleMarksman
Operator
Realistically - I think your fears are unfounded. When you have a legitimate malfunction that requires you to strip the mag the offending case is going to cause the magazine to hang up. The malfunctions you staged in class are not the same as you would encounter as an undercharged round causing a stovepipe through a short cycle. No mags drop free in this scenario in any gun- they all have to be stripped manually.
This is not a major failing of the gun - and the likelihood of it happening on premium self defense rounds is extremely slim. The more likely manipulation this would affect is slide forward reloads where you let the magazine fall on the ground - which is not a skill used in self defense. Even on an admin reload you are pulling the mag from the gun.
This is not a major failing of the gun - and the likelihood of it happening on premium self defense rounds is extremely slim. The more likely manipulation this would affect is slide forward reloads where you let the magazine fall on the ground - which is not a skill used in self defense. Even on an admin reload you are pulling the mag from the gun.
But it has happened. Not just in the classes, it has happened while firing the gun normally. Fire a round or two, drop the mag, it sticks. That's the problem I am having, unlikely or not. To me, that's not acceptable.
TheHumbleMarksman
Operator
That's fine - it's not something that's going to affect a self defense scenario. Generally speaking when we optimize gear we do it for the stuff that matters - ability to shoot fast and accurately - optimizing the number of rounds that can be carried - optimizing for a solution that makes you more likely to carry via holster/gun/belt combos and concealment requirements.
If this was a competition gun - I could understand your concern because that'd cost you time in a match.
On competition guns I insist I can reach the mag release without too much of an issue in breaking my grip - in self defense guns I do not care because the odds of civilians performing reloads in self defense scenarios isn't documented - to my knowledge. Plus I've shot enough to understand the type of malfunction you're worried about and have cleared them on the clock in competition - mags dropping free is a none issue because ALL of them will have this issue. The short or sluggish cycle will pull all the rounds forward in the magazine - or at least the top 2/3. The magazine binds so tightly in the gun you literally have to rip it free. When you rip the magazine free usually the top round falls out of the gun because it was wedged against the frame/feedramp. The issue you're experiencing with your mag wouldn't register in this scenario - at all.
An administrative reload is the other scenario you could be referring to - and the way this is generally taught is to bring the new mag up to the gun, perform a mag exchange and stow the partially spent magazine. In this scenario if your mag hung up - it's not a big deal, because your hand is right there to pull it out of the gun. It's not like a speed load where your support hand is down on your belt when you hit the mag button.
Not intending to rag on you - so don't take it that way. Concealed carry is a personal choice so do something that makes sense for you personally - I just want to make sure you - and others who may read this thread - understand the situation because you're posting information like it's going to affect a scenario where it doesn't.
uspatriot1960
Custom
It may just be a kinky mag. You said it doesn't happen with the 11 round mag, but does with the 13. Maybe buy another 13 round mag and see if it still happens. Like I said earlier in the thread, both my mags drop fine.