Increasing magazine capacity by one round . . . a new approach.

[TucsonMTB]

Yes, I know about the Kel-Tec one round extension. In fact, there is one in my spare parts box.

However, there may be a better way. I just installed the contents of the package I ordered from MagGuts | The Last Round's On Us!

The promise is an extra round without any extension of the magazine's length. After installing the parts as described in their instructional video, it seems to work while hand cycling. Tomorrow at the range will be the real test.

Look for results here soon.

[gunjunkie]

Let us know how it works for you. I don't like the idea of extended length mags, except maybe for a back up.

[rctxag]

I don't like the idea of extended length mags

This isn't an extended magazine. It is the same magazine with staggered springs and, presumably, a shorter follower.

[TucsonMTB]

Edited to add: Once assembled correctly, the MagGuts parts worked just fine!

It was fun to get out the old P-3AT and bang away at seven yards without bothering to aim carefully this morning. However, today's fun was interrupted by three point jams, just about every mag full, on the second from the last round. I had a couple full mags feed without incident but usually all three types of ammo I had at hand (including Golden Saber that is not pictured) jammed. Pictured is some old Santa Barbara (hot, truncated cone milsurp ammo) and milder American Eagle FMJ.

I had lots of ammo with me and took an extra magazine, which allowed me to try a second magazine tube and baseplate, but the results were the same. On a positive note, with the regular magazine internals in place the P-3AT ran great . . . as it has for hundreds (maybe thousands) of rounds.

Hey, if six plus one of .380 ACP won't handle the situation it will be time to draw the Kahr PM40.

Edited to add: If the P-3AT were still my primary carry gun, I would probably mess around and get this product to work perfeclty. It was promissing that several magazines did feed correctly. Three point jams usually mean the round was not pushed up onto the breach face quickly enough, so some polishing of the extractor or a bevel on the leading edge of the slide's pickup rail would probably do the trick. But, it is not my main carry these days and I weary of the game, especially since it runs perfectly with regular magazine internals.

[rctxag]

Unless I misread your post the jams were consistent with the 2nd to the last round. Could be a burr in the mag body, mag follower, or even one of the springs that catches just enough to mess things up.

I don't have a P-3AT so I won't worry about it much. Just throwing out possibilities in the event someone is inclined to make this work.

Of course your polishing idea would probably add enough margin back in the timing to solve things as well.

[TucsonMTB]

Unless I misread your post the jams were consistent with the 2nd to the last round. Could be a burr in the mag body, mag follower, or even one of the springs that catches just enough to mess things up.

I don't have a P-3AT so I won't worry about it much. Just throwing out possibilities in the event someone is inclined to make this work.

Of course your polishing idea would probably add enough margin back in the timing to solve things as well.

Thanks for the thoughts. You did read correctly and anything is possible. That is why I spent a fair amount of time at the range this morning trying to find a burr or some other obstruction at that point in the movement of the follower and springs. Wish I could say there were something for it to catch on, but I wasn't able to detect anything.

It might be worth mentioning that I chose the magazines to test the internal parts in with care and carefully cleaned both of them.

We have two P-3AT's. The other gun is the older of the two and almost impossible to make misfeed, even by riding the slide. So, I will probably throw the older gun in the range bag the next time I shoot, along with some additional ammo to test again. I have lots of magazines. Leaving one setup for the extra round is no biggie.

I would like this gadget to work. I'm just not going to obsess over it like I would if it were more important.

[TucsonMTB]

Edited to add: Once assembled correctly, the MagGuts parts worked just fine!

News flash . . . I just reviewed the installation video and paper instructions one more time and realize that I may have blown the step where the small spring is installed "end to end" with the large spring. Not really sure because I had taken everything apart again, but will test again tomorrow morning.

Fingers crossed for luck!

[rctxag]

I'm just not going to obsess over it like I would if it were more important.

Good luck with that. When I make such a statement I often wind up obsessing over it anyway.

[gunjunkie]

This isn't an extended magazine. It is the same magazine with staggered springs and, presumably, a shorter follower.

Yeah I know, that's why I wanted to know how the MagGuts worked for you because I don't want extended length, except maybe for a backup.

[TucsonMTB]

Ya' know, I broke tradition and RTFM (Read the Fine Manual) before starting. But, I still managed to reverse one of the springs the first time I assembled these parts.

During today's range session, no three point jams were experienced. Some other distractions prevented me from shooting as many rounds as I had planned, but with everything in place as designed . . . this is a neat way to add an additional round to your P-3AT magazine without adding any length. I'll probably have to add an additional witness hole just to keep track of this seven (7) round magazine.

Life is good!