"sticky" magazines in smith and wesson m&p

R

Renol

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Little new to guns so I don't know how common an issue this is. I'm looking for some advice. My wife and I both own m&p's in .40 and have had them for a little over a year. Probably put something like a couple thousand rounds through each. The problem is some of the magazines "stick" when trying to eject from her gun, even when loaded. Oddly the same magazines do not stick and eject cleanly from mine. Is this a matter of garbage magazines or maybe issues on the gun itself? The magazines are from Smith and Wesson and some of the sticky ones came with her gun.

Obviously it's not a huge deal, especially for target use as you can just grab it and pull it out rather than waiting what feels like 10min for it to eventually pop out. Best way to describe it is like pouring cold molasses.
 
Do YOUR mags stick in her gun?

There might be something different inside the grip of her gun -- something like some extra material that could be cleaned up with a flat file...
 
I've had the same problem and I've addressed it by periodically wiping down the outside of the mags and the inside of the mag well with silicone spray lubricant.

I believe that the problem is caused by gunk and powder fouling working its way into the mag well and getting caught between the mag body and the pistol frame. The silicone spray seems to both prevent the magazine from sticking to the gunk and prevent the gunk from building up too much in the first place.
 
A characteristic of magazines, especially double-stacks is that some have tendency to bow out from the pressure of the spring against the rounds when loaded. With some, they will stick when loaded and ejected but may fall free when ejected empty. A difference in a few thousandths between your and your wife's gun may mean the difference.

When I run into a sticky magazine, I look for wear/rub marks on it, or if none I coat the outside of the offending magazine with Machinist's Lay-Out Dye and work it in and out of the magazine housing to find where it rubs. Then I deal with it. The first step is to find out where the friction is, then you can consider a solution.
 
Ive gotten in the habit of ripping the mags out, fall free or not. I find it keeps things simple, offers more control, and eliminates the worry over the sticking issue all together.
 
My Kahrs have all done this to a point. I just wipe down the mags with a fair amount of Hopppes elite then oil the outside of the mags and then wipe down with a silicon cloth. Now they all fly right out. Worth a try?
 
I'm not conversant on S&W autos. Do they have magazine disconnects in them? This mechanism renders the pistol inoperative when there is no magazine in it. In addition to negating one of the advantages of an automatic over a revolver, this little piece of Nader-esque engineering may also make magazines drag when ejected, sometimes preventing them from fully departing the magazine well. Not a good thing if one's shooting suddenly goes social.
 
Pardon delay, stepped away from this thread for a few days. ;)
Kosh75287 said:
I'm not conversant on S&W autos. Do they have magazine disconnects in them? This mechanism renders the pistol inoperative when there is no magazine in it. In addition to negating one of the advantages of an automatic over a revolver, this little piece of Nader-esque engineering may also make magazines drag when ejected, sometimes preventing them from fully departing the magazine well.
Click to expand...
The mag disconnect on the M&P is optional and very uncommon, and I don't think it would cause the behavior you describe.

The optional mag disconnect consists of a second sear-disconnect tab on the the fire control assembly—known as the sear housing block (SHB)—at the top rear of the mag well. The first tab is manually pushed to lower the sear, allowing the pistol to be disassembled without pulling the trigger, per the instructions in the manual. The mag-disconnect tab essentially does the same thing as the takedown tab, but is spring-loaded; when a mag is inserted, the top of the mag contacts the tab and thus raises the sear. When the mag is ejected, the spring-loaded tab lowers the sear.

Since the tab only contacts the very top of the mag and requires very little force to actuate, I seriously doubt it would cause the mags to hang up.

FWIW mag-disconnect M&Ps may be identified by the absence of the "CAUTION-CAPABLE OF FIRING WITH MAGAZINE REMOVED" warning banner on the starboard side of the slide. I have seen VERY few such pistols and I've only examined one close up.
 
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