Replacement Magazine Question

[Trunk Monkey]

I found some magazines I was looking for on CDNN yesterday.

I have the option of buying 3 brand new magazines at 30.00$ Ea. which would come to something over 100.00$ or I can take the same 100.00$ and buy 4 or 5 used magazines 17.00$ Ea. and a pack of Wolf replacement springs and rebuilding the magazines I buy .

I am also considering getting an extra pack of springs and just rebuilding all of my 4006 magazines.

The magazines for sale are all S&W factory 4006 11 round magazines if that changes anything.

I’d like to know if anyone here has ever rebuilt a 4006 magazine with Wolf Springs and did you have problems with it?

Does my idea sound feasible or am I better off with the brand new magazines

 

[el Godfather]

1. $30 ea x3= $90 not $100
2. Buy new.
3. Get the 4th and it will cost you $120 total all new no hassles instead if spending $117+ for 5.

 

[obturator]

The correct factory bend or angle on the feed lips is something that springs cannot fix.
That is why new is the only way to go as far as I am concerned.

 

[tomrkba]

I never buy used magazines. Magazines are expendable items that wear out. You should evaluate the ones you have to make sure the tubes are serviceable and the feed lips are within spec. I would replace the springs and followers on the used mags since you already have them. I would mark them and would dispose of them at the first sign of trouble.

 

[Tommygunn]

1. $30 ea x3= $90 + tax =$100
2. Buy new.
3. Get the 4th and it will cost you $120 total all new no hassles instead if spending $117+ for 5.

fify.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

1. $30 ea x3= $90 not $100

You forget tax and shipping

 

[HammsBeer]

Considering that magazines are the heart of an autoloader, don't skimp and buy questionable used mags, just pony up for new FACTORY mags. I refuse to buy third party mags since they often have issues, and only buy used factory mags if new ones are no longer made.

 

[me26245]

I would buy and use new magazines that you have tested for when it matters.
I'd also buy the used magazines to use as range magazines and see how they work.
I've rebuilt AR and 1911 magazines with out issues and have tweaked Galil, AR, 1911, p38magazine feed lips.

 

[ozarkhillbilly]

If you buy OEM and can inspect the used mags, then I see nothing wrong with used mags. If you buy a used gun you get used mags.

 

[jmr40]

I've never had any issues with buying used magazines from CDNN. They will gladly let you return any that don't function. Unless someone stepped on them there isn't much to go wrong. The 4006 guns and magazines can't be much over 20 years old. The springs MIGHT need replacing, but the bodies should be good for a VERY long time. If you get one that doesn't work return it.

These are most likely police trade ins. Which means they were carried a lot and used little. I wouldn't even purchase springs unless a problem came up.

 

[el Godfather]

You forget tax and shipping

Tax and shipping is not relevant because that you will have to pay for the used items as well.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

OK, even though it’s going to make me look incredibly stupid I’m going to explain where my question comes from.

I purchased my 4006 used and It only came with 2 magazines and I bought another brand new and that’s all the magazines I have.

So, I’m at the range one day with some church friends and the guy that does our training says that he has different magazines that he uses for training and carry. His rationale is he doesn’t want to drop a carry magazine at the range and damage it such that it would fail him if he ever actually needed it.

So his carry magazines get tested, and used periodically to ensure that they still work properly and moved to the range magazine pile as needed but for training he only uses old magazines and when he’s practicing reloads and such he just lets the empty magazine drop and if it gets damaged so what?

Believe it or not I never thought of that so I wanted to get three more magazines to use for carry and keep the ones I have now for range/training duty.

And if I choose to go with new magazines ( I may not have 100+ bucks to spend when it’s time) I may still do exactly that.

But after reading your responses here it occurs to me that I can keep my three known good magazines for carry and put the used ones aside for range /training duty or get used and decide on three that are the best and set those aside for carry and use the rest at the range.

Anyone think that’s OTF? (Out There Flappin’)

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Tax and shipping is not relevant because that you will have to pay for the used items as well.

But I added estimated tax and shipping to both totals which is why 3 X 90 came out to 100 + and that's what you were questioning.

 

[fastbolt]

I'm another vote in favor of buying new magazines.

As a firearms instructor & armorer (including for S&W 3rd gen's) I've seen at least my fair share of magazines get dropped onto hard surfaces and otherwise abused.

Sometimes damage isn't easily seen to the naked eye (especially when it comes to feed lips knocked out of spec).

Magazines are assemblies of parts, and once the main component (the mag body/tube) is damaged, discard the mag and replace it.

Magazines are the very heart of reliable & optimal feeding & functioning. NOT somewhere to scrimp to save a couple bucks.

Just my thoughts.

 

[HammsBeer]

Now that you stated the source of your question, I see nothing wrong with used mags for practice and range use.

For serious defensive/carry use however, use fresh new factory mags after testing for reliablility. Every few months I'll shoot the ammo in my carry gun with the carry mag. It verifies that everything is working fine, and then I load up with fresh ammo.

 

[PRM]

Most problems with semi-auto pistols are magazine related. If you are buying new, get OEM or other high quality manufacture. You get what you pay for.

If the magazine itself is in good condition, new springs work wonders if they need replacing. Most don't, I'd go to the range first and see how they function.

Anytime your buying sight unseen, its a gamble.

 

[bannockburn]

If possible I prefer to get new factory magazines. When used is the only way to go I still would rather go with a factory mag versus an aftermarket one.

 

[fastbolt]

BTW, did your used 4006 mags come with yellow or blue followers?

The current ones are the blue ones, and S&W might well send you a couple upon request if you got yellow ones with your used gun. Give them a call after their Christmas/New Year break and ask.

If you're unfamiliar with disassembling & reassembling the mags, don't reinstall the follower backwards. I've seen it done with duty 4006TSW's a few times. The guns still fed & fired, oddly enough, but the followers wouldn't lock the slides back on an empty mag (which is why they brought them to me, thinking it was a "gun" problem ).

Make sure the top coil is oriented to the follower properly, too. In these pics the front of the follower is on the right. It's rounded, with "legs" extending downward. The front of the top coil slips between the front post and the front legs. The back of the follower (left ion pics) is flat/squared off.

The front of the follower, spring's top coil and the mag lips should all have an upward angle in common when assembled.




It's not a bad idea to replace the recoil & mag springs on a used gun, since you can't know how long & hard they've been used.

The factory 11-rd mag spring is S&W part# 204550000 ($5.40); Recoil spring is part# 895240000 ($1.45); & the Blue follower is # 239500000 ($3.29). Prices are from the S&W retail parts list earlier this year (without tax or shipping & handling).

FWIW, S&W recommends that its LE armorers replace recoil & mag springs either every 5K rounds or every 5 years, whichever occurs first. This will help extend the useful service life of the .40 guns (recoil springs).

I once knew an agency that decided they didn't want to spend the money to replace springs in their 4006's at the recommended point. I was good friends with their armorer, and I learned that when they reached the 7 year point they started experiencing wide spread failures-to-feed during range quals. Money quickly became available and new springs fixed the problems.

The .40 S&W is generally acknowledged by various gun companies as being harder on guns than 9's/.45's (I've heard it said in many armorer classes across brands), and replacing recoil springs in reasonable intervals can help unnecessary prevent excessive wear & tear on the guns.

Enjoy the new 4006.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

BTW, did your used 4006 mags come with yellow or blue followers?

What I have is all blue followers. What is shown on CDNN is yellow followers including the brand new magazines.

Obviously there is a difference or you wouldn't have asked me that can you tell me what it is?

FWIW the gun itself looks pretty pristine I know , by definition, it's more than five years old but I doubt very seriously that is has anything like 5000 rounds through it. I suspect it once belonged to the Colorado State Patrol

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I want to take a moment to thank you all for your input and for not treating this like a stupid question

 

[tomrkba]

OK, even though it’s going to make me look incredibly stupid I’m going to explain where my question comes from.

I purchased my 4006 used and It only came with 2 magazines and I bought another brand new and that’s all the magazines I have.

So, I’m at the range one day with some church friends and the guy that does our training says that he has different magazines that he uses for training and carry. His rationale is he doesn’t want to drop a carry magazine at the range and damage it such that it would fail him if he ever actually needed it.

So his carry magazines get tested, and used periodically to ensure that they still work properly and moved to the range magazine pile as needed but for training he only uses old magazines and when he’s practicing reloads and such he just lets the empty magazine drop and if it gets damaged so what?

Believe it or not I never thought of that so I wanted to get three more magazines to use for carry and keep the ones I have now for range/training duty.

And if I choose to go with new magazines ( I may not have 100+ bucks to spend when it’s time) I may still do exactly that.

But after reading your responses here it occurs to me that I can keep my three known good magazines for carry and put the used ones aside for range /training duty or get used and decide on three that are the best and set those aside for carry and use the rest at the range.

Anyone think that’s OTF? (Out There Flappin’)

He is not the only one who does that. I tried it with Glock mags and it became too much of a hassle to keep them straight. Suddenly I was doing inventories and keeping records.

I now just do a shotgun replacement of magazine springs every other year unless it has been a heavy range year. I do not use 1911 pistols. Infrequently used guns do not get this treatment. I do a full inspection at the beginning of each year and set aside suspect mags (suspect means anything I want it to and I am very suspicious of mags). I also inspect any mags used during the last range trip when cleaning the gun.

 

[fastbolt]

What I have is all blue followers. What is shown on CDNN is yellow followers including the brand new magazines.

Obviously there is a difference or you wouldn't have asked me that can you tell me what it is?

FWIW the gun itself looks pretty pristine I know , by definition, it's more than five years old but I doubt very seriously that is has anything like 5000 rounds through it. I suspect it once belonged to the Colorado State Patrol

The blue followers are the revised, current ones. I've never seen any easily visible difference between them and the previous, yellow followers. Might be something about the plastic compound. Might be a subtle not-so-visible spec change to the material. Might even just be a different vendor. The blue followers ARE the current ones, though, so it's an easy change to make to make sure dedicated defensive/service mags have the current parts.

Don't discount how often a former agency weapon may have been fired (or maintained/serviced, for that matter). The state patrol here (CHP) shoots at least 1200 rounds per year, and a LOT more than that during their academy, just for normal quals/practice (they shoot every month, and are scored every 90 days, last I knew). That doesn't count any extra range time, training or classes any particular officer might attend. Or, being assigned to an outside task force, where an officer might have to meet not only the state's qual requirements, but also those of the allied task force to which the officer is assigned. (I've seen that happen.)

Sure, it's always possible to end up getting a LE trade-in on the used market that was either previously unissued or not issued long enough to have seen much use, but those are often a rather small percentage of trade-in's. How lucky are you?

 

[Walt Sherrill]

So... what do you guys recommend when you've used a magazine for several years and the spring starts to weaken -- and you get feed problems? Toss it and buy new, or get new springs?

Buying used, if done locally (or bought from a vendor who allows returns), can make sense -- if the mag price is low enough to justify buying replacement springs -- and you can/send them back if they're crap. Used mags may be the only option for some guns.

If, after upgrading the used mag, it doesn't work right, you don't use it until it does.

Mags aren't magical -- it's generally pretty easy to figure out what's wrong, especially if you have good ones to use for comparison.

Re: LE trade-ins.

I've had maybe six LE guns. All of them showed some holster wear, but seemed almost new otherwise. (A couple I bought from my son, who was a city cop and is now a State Trooper; they're sometimes allowed to buy their old guns when the department upgrades or changes.) Relatively few cops fire their weapons a lot MORE than the minimum rounds required for periodic qualification. (For some departmens, that may be as little as 90 rounds a quarter.) This is especially true now that they're being more cheap about ammo costs, etc.; they are sometimes given ammo to use/practice, but not a lot.) The LEOs who are GUN enthusiasts, and there are some, generally shoot OTHER guns than their duty weapons, especially if they're into USPSA or IDPA.

I've never encountered or HEARD about a LEO weapon that wasn't in great shape. The department's armorers keep them in good shape while they're used, and unless they're abused later, they'll generally be in good condition.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

FWIW here is a picture of the gun. I don't know if you can see in this picture but it doesn't even have a bunch of holster wear.