FTF 380 Small metal mags in stock

[strobro32]

Just got the email. Let's hope the share the wealth and ship some to other sellers.

Hi,

We know that there are alot of you guys who have been waiting for a long time for the M-11/380 30 round magazines. We finally have those back in stock and they are beautiful. Be sure and jump onboard pretty quick as we expect these to go fast. We have another run coming right behind this one but hopefully we will have enough for everybody that has been waiting in this first run. Here is the link https://www.ftfindustries.com/product/RP-380MG.html

(note: this link is for the M-11/380 SMG but same mags work in the M-12/380 Semi Auto) Thanks a lot for hanging with us on these ! We hope that you find the wait well worth it. Any questions just let us know.



Thanks & Regards,

FTF Industries Customer Service

 

[llamasabound]

Thank you! Ordered, and still had a 10% off laying around.

 

[Fishman]

Id never buy magazines from a company called "failure to feed" industries lol

 

[challenger70rt]

LoL... they’re good magazines though. I bought some of the 10/9 ones previously and they fit and function just as well as the extremely expensive originals.

 

[slimshady]

LoL... they’re good magazines though. I bought some of the 10/9 ones previously and they fit and function just as well as the extremely expensive originals.

If $70 mags are "cheap", how much does an original go for these days?

 

[llamasabound]

If $70 mags are "cheap", how much does an original go for these days?

130-200 for a PS original, 70-150 for an 80s original, at least from my auction stalking.

 

[fortyfive1911a1]

These mags are great. I have two and both are flawless.

 

[Hill Raiser]

Thank you! Ordered, and still had a 10% off laying around.

Got the email and ordered a dozen...forgot that I had a 10% coupon offer...would have been a coupe of free trips to the range.


Surprised more people aren’t chomping at the big for these. Was a lot of interest on an earlier thread.

 

[tlrgsxr]

Anyone care to share the coupon?

 

[gun.bro]

I think they are one time use coupons. If you spend enough money. Maybe like 100 bucks, you’ll get a coupon for your next purchase. Just buy minimum amount of mags and get the coupon and order the bulk in 2nd order.

 

[strobro32]

I just opened the 3 mags I ordered from FTF. I cleaned the heavy oil off the mags. I compared the new FTF mags to the ten or so MAC stamped mags I have and a earlier FTF mag. I have not had a change to test fire them but this is what I noticed so far.

The mag body finish is different than the MAC or earlier FTF small metal mags. It's a rougher parkerized finish inside and out, not the smoother black oxide finish of the MAC mags. The floor plates and plate retainers still have the smooth oxide finish. The new mag finish perfectly matches the OEM finish of the RPB M11A1 guns.

The bodies of the earlier tubes are .790" wide. The new ones are .780". The followers are tighter and do not slide as smooth in the body. There is some weld puddle inside the tube at the seam. The rear seem of the tubes are very tight. The RPM/MAC mags often have a space at the back between the 2 resistance welded plates.

The springs are of a larger diameter. The older spring diameter is .045". The new ones are .055". The bottom of the coils have been cut down to a sharp point without a finished loop. I'm guessing they are not proprietary springs.

With the added spring diameter and force, it is more difficult to load the mags. My cartridges are .980" coal. Loading factory Federal ammo and my PC handloads with the OEM loader is difficult. I bent the plunger on the loader. The tips of bullets rub on the front inside of the mag bodies. Unloading them by hand, the brass cartridges tend to nose dive and jam. It seems to make no difference if the bullets are FMJ or PC bullets. I will leave them loaded for a few days before testing.

I will be testing this weekend.

 

[ScottinTexas]

This does not sound good.

Glad my RPB M11 came with 6 or so probably 1980's Cobray-marked mags.

 

[tlk]

Just got the 2 mags I ordered. strobro's observations are spot on, mine are exactly the same. There's so much friction inside these mags that one of my followers can't even be pushed down by hand. It seems to be the result of tighter tolerance on the mag body together with the unusually rough finish on the inside. I think the only way these things will work is if the inside is polished. I certainly don't want to attempt to load them by hand in the condition that they arrived I'll wait to hear how things go with strobro's testing this weekend but it looks like step 1 for me will be to flex hone and polish the inside of the mags...

 

[strobro32]

I took the 3 new mags out today. I let the CF-W A bolt shave some material from the feed lips to get clearance by repeatedly charging the bolt. I loaded 30 rounds in each mag. They worked perfectly for the 90 rounds.

I will continue to test them and report back.

 

[strobro32]

I've now run 150 rounds through each of the 3 mags. I only had one FTE which I can not attribute to the mag. I will probably buy more of them.

Loading is still difficult. It requires using the plunger on the OEM loader in my left and pushing the bullet down with the fingers on my right hand to insert the next cartridge. The front, top of the mags are very sharp.

I think a less strong spring and a metal follower, like the OEM, would definitely be an improvement. I remember Russell telling me the owner of the follower dies had a grudge against him and would not sell it to him. Maybe they would sell it to FTF. I would love to get the full 32 rounds loaded.

 

[Schwabee1]

Will these work in a small magwell .380 m11-a1?
Thanks Matt

 

[strobro32]

Yes. That's what they fit.

 

[Hill Raiser]

Finally had a chance to pick up the dozen I ordered the day the email dropped. I’d have to say that I’m feeling somewhere between disappointment and aggravation.

I actually received a mix of heavier park’ed mags as described and smoother ones that are more similar to the finish on my original mags.

They are a bear to load. I used my Cobray mag loader and also bent the plunger by the third mag. I only noticed it when the process went from difficult to impossible. First 2 mags loaded 25, then 21 and 19. Plunger kept bending which rendering operation impossible.

Hopefully they feed as well as Strobo has found. Even if they do, i am not sure the fun of emptying will justify the effort to load them. I just may not be cut out for Mac life lol. I just want to load and let fly...not constantly tinker and flex hone or file my mags. I’ll let them sit a couple of days and report back. Maybe FTF can also develop a hydraulic press reinforced stainless steal loading tool in the meantime.

 

[strobro32]

I contacted their CS directly and gave them my opinion and suggestions for improvement. I hope they offer a future upgrade of better springs or use less stiff springs on the next batch.

I'm going to try to locate better springs. Who did they get to make the coffin mags springs?

 

[llamasabound]

Just another update — I tried an OEM follower in place of the the 3-D printed plastic blocks that ship with these. I had to reshape the top couple coils of the wider springs to get them to fit inside the follower. Despite the greater spring pressure, the metal follower moved much easier than than the plastic block follower. It was easy to load with a mag-lula (like other I bent my cobray loader on these mags).

On other examples the follower material was shaving itself and leaving black plastic flakes, so I suspect working the mags a few times will fit these plastic followers to the tubes better. I also think they will likely deteriorate quickly.

Look forward to finding out how they unload at 1700rpm instead of by thumb into an ammo box.