No more 10 rd mag rattle

[pocketgun]

I have two 10 round mags for my P11. To my lasting dismay, one of these was plagued by the infamous 9mm magazine rattle, and one was not. The original mag that came with my P11 (in nickel for my stainless steel model) was the culprit. Beginning with the seventh round, the thing would start making noise like a baby toy.

I finally found another nickel mag that was new in the wrapper, but after purchasing it and opening the bag I realized it was dented (just a little bit) in two places. As it held all ten rounds and seemed to feed just fine, I ignored the imperfection, especially since my chances of finding another nickel mag were/are pretty slim. To my surprise, the dented mag did not rattle regardless of the number of rounds it contained. It then occurred to me that the dents must somehow be the difference.

Denting my magazines did not impress me as the best solution, so I started messing around, and found that upon loading the seventh round, the plastic follower was tilting, causing the rattle. Let me illustrate with some pics I took:



This pic show the approximate position of the rounds and follower after 6 rounds. This is the way it should load, and it does not rattle.



After 7-8 rounds, the follower begins tilting to the right, leaving a gap on the left side. This round is no longer under tension along its length, and will rattle when moved.



Here is the mag with all 10 rounds in place. While the positions in the pics are obviously exaggerated, you can see the rounds at the bottom of the mag are not tight fitting due to the incorrect angle of the follower, and thus will rattle.

CONTINUED

[pocketgun]

The way to stop the rattling is to reposition the follower with the mag partially loaded; in my case, after the seventh round goes in. On the left side of the tube is a small hole. It is actually aligned with the round 10 witness hole on the other side of the tube. It was no coincidence that my non-rattling mag was slightly dented around each of these holes.



To reposition the follower, load the mag until it rattles, then use the hole on the left side (or the notch for the mag release) to access the follower with a small tool. I used a q-tip with one end snapped off.




Stick the small end into the hole, with it angled toward the top of the mag.



Push the follower in and down by levering the tip toward the bottom of the mag.

With the follower reoriented, the mag should no longer rattle. Sometimes it is necessary to reposition the follower after each round is added (once the rattling starts) so test after loading a cartridge by shaking to see if it is still rattle free. If it isn't, just use the q-tip again. While this process may seem a bit tedious, it really doesn't take long. You probably won't want to do it at the range, but for carry, it is well worth the extra 30 seconds or so!

[drm428]

When my Mag rattle's I push down onthe top round a few time's and that always fixes my Mag rattle.

Dan

[pocketgun]

That seems to work on some magazines, but on others all the pushing and palm smacking in the world won't work.

[mgr]

I thought I had escaped the mag rattle until today. I was pulling the mag from my P11 and it happened That is so loud LOLOLOL

[pocketgun]

Go get that q-tip!

[rhinokrk]

When my Mag rattle's I push down onthe top round a few time's and that always fixes my Mag rattle.

Dan

When my mag rattles, I stop shaking them>
Nice post PG.

[pocketgun]

Thanks rhinokrk!

[carek]

Thank you so much for this simple fix. It works perfectly and involves no bending or shaping.

[murph50]

Thanks pocketgun
I have 3 mags and all of them rattle sometimes. I usually push down on the top bullet in the fully loaded mag and shake it around until the rattle stops. Sometimes I have to empty and reload several times before that works. Thanks for this great find--I will try this.
Jack