XDM Elite OSP Mag Release

[straydoglogic]

Hi all,
I was playing around a bit to familiarize myself with the grip and posture and noticed that the mag release can be a bit finicky. I'm not sure if it's the length of my thumb or the angle in which my thumb presses on the release, but I can't get it to drop easily. I have to bring it closer to the body or angle it slightly to hit the release just right. Not a huge deal but it does bug me a bit. Anyone else have a similar issue? Does it get any easier with use? It's brand new so I'm hoping it will loosen up a bit. I was also considering putting on the slimmer backstrap to see if that helps. TIA.

 

[Annihilator]

Hi all,
I was playing around a bit to familiarize myself with the grip and posture and noticed that the mag release can be a bit finicky. I'm not sure if it's the length of my thumb or the angle in which my thumb presses on the release, but I can't get it to drop easily. I have to bring it closer to the body or angle it slightly to hit the release just right. Not a huge deal but it does bug me a bit. Anyone else have a similar issue? Does it get any easier with use? It's brand new so I'm hoping it will loosen up a bit. I was also considering putting on the slimmer backstrap to see if that helps. TIA.

My original XDm 4.5 9mm which I got many years ago when they were first introduced does about the same thing, annoying, but my opinion it’s pretty normal, it may get better with usage.

 

[TSiWRX]

@straydoglogic - Do you mean that the release is physically hard to push in, or that you are having trouble reaching it?

Is it that when you've moved so that you can physically depress the switch, that it's hard to do so.....

Or is it that you are having trouble reaching that control surface, without physically "breaking" your dominant grip?

 

[straydoglogic]

@straydoglogic - Do you mean that the release is physically hard to push in, or that you are having trouble reaching it?

Is it that when you've moved so that you can physically depress the switch, that it's hard to do so.....

Or is it that you are having trouble reaching that control surface, without physically "breaking" your dominant grip?

Thanks for the reply. What I mean is that it's physically difficult to push in. I'm 6' 4" and have proportionate hands to my body, meaning they aren't small and I can reach, but there seems to be the slightest of angles so that no matter how much pressure I put on it it doesn't go in. BUT, if I move it in a manner as though I were dropping the mag to insert another (bringing it toward my body at a slight angle and grabbing the new mag with my left hand) I have no issue. Realistically, I'd be doing the latter in most scenarios, so it doesn't bother me a ton, but my old school XD drops easily.
Short answer I guess is a combination of it being difficult to push in (only in that specific position) and doing so without breaking my dominant grip.

 

[David N.]

Is this with an empty mag?

 

[straydoglogic]

Is this with an empty mag?

Full. I've attempted an empty mag drop, but because you bring it up I can't recall whether or not I had the same trouble. I'll give it a try when I get home and see if it's any different. Thanks for that.

 

[David N.]

Full. I've attempted an empty mag drop, but because you bring it up I can't recall whether or not I had the same trouble. I'll give it a try when I get home and see if it's any different. Thanks for that.

I ask because I had the same issue on my Ruger American Compact pistol with a full magazine. It would not drop when full without extraordinary pressure applied to the mag release.

 

[TSiWRX]

Ah!

When the magazine stack is full and the slide is forward ("in-battery"), significant downward pressure is placed on the magazine body in-entirety as the top cartridge in the stack is pushing against the bottom of the slide, which further compresses the already compressed magazine spring.

This "cams" the lip of the magazine's catch for the mag release against that latter component, and it's a force that's quite difficult to overcome, even for those who can crush-out a #2 Captains of Crush grip-strength exerciser.

This also means that newer the magazine - the more tension still available from the magazine spring - the harder this can be.

Overall, don't see this as a problem: after all, who wants to accidentally drop a full mag.

The question then becomes how to overcome this issue when performing administrative loading/unloading and/or for stoppage remediation.

The answer is quite simple: relieve that "camming"......

To do so, simply push up on the base of the magazine, shoving the magazine in towards the top of the gun, to the limit that the interaction between the base-plate and the gun's grip-frame allows. This will further compress the magazine spring (as the cartridge stack will also be compressed) - and while holding the magazine in, simultaneously depress the magazine release. The release should actuate just as easily as it will when you only have a partial or empty magazine.

To confirm that this "camming" is indeed the issue, you can insert a full magazine into the gun - but with the slide locked back. Keeping the slide locked back, actuate the magazine release: the magazine should fall almost as easily (remember that gravity itself will still cause the heavier magazine to "cam" against the mag-release, so a slight "hitch" or increase in force may still be necessary) versus an empty magazine.

Typically, double-stack magazines will incite this trait more than either single-stack or even the modern "1-and-1/2 stack" up-capacity micro-9s. There's just more spring tension to overcome with the double-stack format. Add in a full cartridge-stack of weight and furthermore the use of a new magazine for which the mag spring may have yet to reach its initial set point, the apparent difficulty just compounds.

 

[straydoglogic]

Ah!

When the magazine stack is full and the slide is forward ("in-battery"), significant downward pressure is placed on the magazine body in-entirety as the top cartridge in the stack is pushing against the bottom of the slide, which further compresses the already compressed magazine spring.

This "cams" the lip of the magazine's catch for the mag release against that latter component, and it's a force that's quite difficult to overcome, even for those who can crush-out a #2 Captains of Crush grip-strength exerciser.

This also means that newer the magazine - the more tension still available from the magazine spring - the harder this can be.

Overall, don't see this as a problem: after all, who wants to accidentally drop a full mag.

The question then becomes how to overcome this issue when performing administrative loading/unloading and/or for stoppage remediation.

The answer is quite simple: relieve that "camming"......

To do so, simply push up on the base of the magazine, shoving the magazine in towards the top of the gun, to the limit that the interaction between the base-plate and the gun's grip-frame allows. This will further compress the magazine spring (as the cartridge stack will also be compressed) - and while holding the magazine in, simultaneously depress the magazine release. The release should actuate just as easily as it will when you only have a partial or empty magazine.

To confirm that this "camming" is indeed the issue, you can insert a full magazine into the gun - but with the slide locked back. Keeping the slide locked back, actuate the magazine release: the magazine should fall almost as easily (remember that gravity itself will still cause the heavier magazine to "cam" against the mag-release, so a slight "hitch" or increase in force may still be necessary) versus an empty magazine.

Typically, double-stack magazines will incite this trait more than either single-stack or even the modern "1-and-1/2 stack" up-capacity micro-9s. There's just more spring tension to overcome with the double-stack format. Add in a full cartridge-stack of weight and furthermore the use of a new magazine for which the mag spring may have yet to reach its initial set point, the apparent difficulty just compounds.

Well then....thank you for the succinct explanation. I'll go to work on this. Since you mentioned the spring a few times I have to admit; I couldn't even load the mags to capacity with the amount of resistance the springs have. I appreciate the response.

 

[TSiWRX]

^ No problem! Glad to help.

Yup, until the 19 (or more)-rounder double-stack XDm mags takes their initial working set, it's often really hard to load the mags to-capacity, even with the help of a loading tool like the one that SA markets or the awesome UpLULA.

The good thing is that the factory XDm magazine springs tend to last quite a while, after they take their initial set - https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?179626-Springfield-xdm-9mm-mags&p=2257949#post2257949

^ That's my post on the M4C.net Forums. I use the same screen-name throughout.

 

[Keystone19250]

Ah!

When the magazine stack is full and the slide is forward ("in-battery"), significant downward pressure is placed on the magazine body in-entirety as the top cartridge in the stack is pushing against the bottom of the slide, which further compresses the already compressed magazine spring.

This "cams" the lip of the magazine's catch for the mag release against that latter component, and it's a force that's quite difficult to overcome, even for those who can crush-out a #2 Captains of Crush grip-strength exerciser.

This also means that newer the magazine - the more tension still available from the magazine spring - the harder this can be.

Overall, don't see this as a problem: after all, who wants to accidentally drop a full mag.

The question then becomes how to overcome this issue when performing administrative loading/unloading and/or for stoppage remediation.

The answer is quite simple: relieve that "camming"......

To do so, simply push up on the base of the magazine, shoving the magazine in towards the top of the gun, to the limit that the interaction between the base-plate and the gun's grip-frame allows. This will further compress the magazine spring (as the cartridge stack will also be compressed) - and while holding the magazine in, simultaneously depress the magazine release. The release should actuate just as easily as it will when you only have a partial or empty magazine.

To confirm that this "camming" is indeed the issue, you can insert a full magazine into the gun - but with the slide locked back. Keeping the slide locked back, actuate the magazine release: the magazine should fall almost as easily (remember that gravity itself will still cause the heavier magazine to "cam" against the mag-release, so a slight "hitch" or increase in force may still be necessary) versus an empty magazine.

Typically, double-stack magazines will incite this trait more than either single-stack or even the modern "1-and-1/2 stack" up-capacity micro-9s. There's just more spring tension to overcome with the double-stack format. Add in a full cartridge-stack of weight and furthermore the use of a new magazine for which the mag spring may have yet to reach its initial set point, the apparent difficulty just compounds.

Exactly what I’m finding with my new XDM 45 also like you mentioned I didn’t notice this while shooting the gun last week as I was dropping an empty mag, when I got home and cleaned the gun and then loaded it, one in the chamber and a full mag I couldn’t depress the mag release without pushing up slightly on the mag base. There is a lot of downward pressure on the full mag with the slide in it’s in battery position. Getting a full mag to lock in when inserted is also tough with the slide closed. Training and repetition will overcome this so you know what you need to do in all situations.

 

[TSiWRX]

Getting a full mag to lock in when inserted is also tough with the slide closed.

^ I prefer the "smush/smash" method, versus the "tap/slap." For me, slapping/tapping the magazine in to attempt to seat it after it's been inserted fights against that full-stack pressure and makes the latch catching on the magazine a timing issue, as the mag -because of spring force- wants to "bounce."

I instead "grind" or "smush/smash" the palm of my support hand in which the basepad is cradled against the heel of my dominant hand - i.e. the grip frame. This allows the spring to compress without the "bounce."

For administrative "topping off" while under hot-range rules, with the gun still safely holstered, I twist my torso and "C-clamp" the top of the slide in one palm versus the based in the other, smashing/crushing it together until I hear that "click" where the magazine seats against the latch.

Regardless of how I achieve full-stack reloads on the closed slide, I always try to insure that I have properly seated the magazine by pulling down on the mag immediately after seating (in-holster, I "flick" or hook the basepad to try to get the magazine to come out), to insure that it's properly seated.

Depending on one's outlook on this issue, down-loading the magazine by one or even two cartridges has traditionally been seen as an acceptable compromise. The following video has the triumvirate of Vickers, Hackathorn, and "Super" Dave Harrington discussing their personal preferences in terms of modifications to the Glock platform.

^ ...and one part of the discussion is about down-loading of the magazine in order to help with in-battery reloads.

 

[Keystone19250]

Also agree that a round or two less then a full mag helps with in battery reloads, carrying concealed always full mags. I was impressed that my new XDM locked the slide back on every empty mag.
The range I shoot at is a cold range, no holstered loaded guns while you’re shooting.

 

[straydoglogic]

^ I prefer the "smush/smash" method, versus the "tap/slap”.

I instead "grind" or "smush/smash" the palm of my support hand in which the basepad is cradled against the heel of my dominant hand - i.e. the grip frame.

I definitely prefer this method with this particular piece as well. The first time I tried tap/slap I raised it up and the mag fell out because it wasn’t seated. Mushing works every time. Slapping hard works as well, so I’m hoping it will loosen up a bit over time. Mines brand new with 0 range time btw.