Anyone know what the story is on the redesigned mag bases? Had qualification today and we swapped out our 10 month old mags for new and the explanation was that there was a high instance of the original bases breaking from impact. This was prompted by Sig apparently as we've not experienced any, just really chewed up.

New on the right.

in your pic which mag is which?
Carl

The one on the left, with the round retaining hole and the "Sig Sauer" logo, is the older version.

The one on the right, with the rectangular retaining hole and the SIG logo, is newer.

The older mag base had a tendency to slide off unintentionally. The new design is to prevent that.

Maybe something to do with the upcoming military contract?

I was thinking it might be redesigned to work with the 320 X series grip modules...??

I have read in a couple of different places that the reason the FBI rejected the P320 is because of the magazines coming apart when the magazine was dropped, or when the entire pistol was dropped with a magazine in it.

I can't confirm the truth of that as it is only internet chatter, but if true it would certainly explain the design change.

Jeez. At this rate my Jan 2015 P320C 9mm will be obsolete. I've lost track of all the changes.

Two questions:

1) Is the mag body itself different? In the pics (rear view) it seems to have a notch cut out and is filled by a base plate tab.

2) Is the new base plate wider than the old? Or is that just the pics?

I've never had any P320 mags disassemble on our concrete indoor range floor. That's FS .40, C .40, C 9mm and SC 9mm. As for dropping the entire gun on the floor...haven't tried that yet. When I drop my gun on the floor, I always take the mag out first.

Unrelated, Wilson 8 round mags had a base plate pop off problem when they first came out. Within a year they fixed the problem.

The mag body differs only in the notch in the rear bottom. The base dimensions seem to be the same along with the material. I had hoped the new ones would be rubberized to take impact better.

The older design base plate locking tab has a raised stud that grips the last coil of the spring while the new is almost smooth with a slight ridge. Seems like the old set up would be more resistant to just popping off.

Both of my examples are Mecgar made factory mags.

quote:

The older mag base had a tendency to slide off unintentionally. The new design is to prevent that.

Maybe caused by the thin plastic spring bases in the "Made in USA" mags?

I made a post recently about the differences in the 21rd mag baseplates also. In that case, the new ones are to accommodate the differences in the X5 grip module.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...780008324#4780008324

quote:

Originally posted by pblanc:
I have read in a couple of different places that the reason the FBI rejected the P320 is because of the magazines coming apart when the magazine was dropped, or when the entire pistol was dropped with a magazine in it.

I can't confirm the truth of that as it is only internet chatter, but if true it would certainly explain the design change.

The mag spillage was a part of why it was rejected. There were other issues.

The mag base redesign is several upgrades packed into one roll out. Compatibility with the X Series, spillage issues, contract requirements, etc.

Also interesting to note that Smith and Wesson had the same issue with the M&P. They had to redesign the base pad and retainer at about the same place in time that SIG did.

Is the notch on the back of the new mag body to clear a reinforcing rib that runs from the front of the base plate to the rear? If it is, then the locking insert would have a lot more material to engage.

Can you show us the underside of the new baseplate?

It's redesigned to fit in the X series frames per Sigarms.

I realize this is ann old thread, but I just got a X5 Legion and the mag base plates dislodge or pop off when dropping the mag on concrete. SIG sent me replacements which had the same problem. I purchased some SIG mags from an online reseller and they were stamped Made in Italy. Those worked fine, but the original and replaced mags were stamped Made in USA…. I’m replacing the base plates with Henings which I hear stay put.

I would be interested to learn about your experience with whatever alternative you go with.
I am, however, surprised that the floor plates for the US-made magazines come off easier when dropped than the Mec-Gar (Italian) versions. I have found the US version to be much harder to remove when I want them off. I have only “standard” model P320 pistols and am not interested in extra capacity bases, and for training I like the aluminum replacements that Grayguns offers. I don’t, however, have any experiences dropping them on concrete.

https://grayguns.com/product/h...-magazine-base-pads/

Just took a class on co concrete floors using new 21 rnd mags. 3 came with gun and have witness marks on back (21 holes) and 3 with holes on side at 5,10,17,and 21. All marked made in Italy. All dropped numerous times. No issues.