I found this mag on crookBay yesterday and bought it. Paid $20 too much ($70) but it appears to be in great shape - much better shape than any I've seen around here lately. But, it has the dimple towards the top of the mag, and metal-reinforced follower. Never seen anything like it - did I pick up some kind of ProMag or something?

That a .380acp factory mag. I've had many in that style, plastic base and follower with nickle finished body.

The metal reinforced follower is simply the latest version of the follower. Nothing strange about that.

I remember these magazines showing up several years back but for the life of me I can't remember the reason for dimples.

I honestly don't recall if anybody tried loading .32 acp into one of these.

I had one of the Japanese police overrun P230's in .32 acp. It used the same magazines as the .380's. I tried .380 magazines in the .32 acp and they worked fine.

I also recall someone taking a dremel tool and drilling the dimples out. The magazine worked fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
... I can't remember the reason for dimples.

The apparent purpose of the same indentations in P220 magazines is to prevent the next round down from moving forward as the top round is chambered. With pre-dimple mags because the round is pushed forward slightly that prevents the partially-loaded magazine from dropping free if the magazine catch is pushed.

For some reason that was a major source of angst for some people.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
The apparent purpose of the same indentations in P220 magazines is to prevent the next round down from moving forward as the top round is chambered. With pre-dimple mags because the round is pushed forward slightly that prevents the partially-loaded magazine from dropping free if the magazine catch is pushed.

For some reason that was a major source of angst for some people.

Did it actually work?

It seems to me that for it to work the dimples would need to be perpendicular to the feed lips instead of parallel to the back side of the magazine.

I just seached for P220 magazines on ebay and I see a few with dimples, but the dimples appear to be perpendicular to the feedlips.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
Did it actually work?

With the P220 magazines it does; I have no experience with the P230 mags.

You are right about the orientation of the indentations on the P220 magazines; they are perpendicular to the feed lips. On the other hand, when loaded in the magazine, the base and extractor grooves of the cartridges are parallel to the back of the mag. That would seem to be a reason why the dimple would also be oriented that way. But as for the 220’s magazine, perhaps it has something to do with the large extractor groove of the 45 ACP case* that would accommodate the angled indentation whereas the 380 ACP case might not. I am, of course, just speculating.

* Several years ago I actually encountered some Fiocchi 45 cases that couldn’t be loaded into the dimpled P220 magazines because their extractor grooves were narrower than other manufacturers’. Later lots of Fiocchi ammunition had visibly larger grooves and didn’t have that problem.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
On the other hand, when loaded in the magazine, the base and extractor grooves of the cartridges are parallel to the back of the mag. That would seem to be a reason why the dimple would also be oriented that way.

sigfreund - I’m not trying to be difficult, but I’m having a hard time visualizing what you are saying here. A cartridge has to be either parallel to feedlips or perpendicular to the back of the magazine. It can’t be both.

I have one of those mags that's pictured and it will not go into a 230 or a 232 in .380.

I acquired it purchasing a used 232 off GunBroker. I have no idea what it for.

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
That a .380acp factory mag. I've had many in that style, plastic base and follower with nickle finished body.

Mustang - did the mags you have, or had, have the dimples on them? Now I’m starting to get worried based on what Genorogers says. It sure looks like a 230 mag to me ...

Edited to add: mag won’t be here until THU. I hope fleaBay has a return policy

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GeoJelly,

quote:

Originally posted by Genorogers:
I have one of those mags that's pictured and it will not go into a 230 or a 232 in .380.

I acquired it purchasing a used 232 off GunBroker. I have no idea what it for.

Geno - are you saying that the magazine won't fit into a P232? Or, are you saying that you can't load .380 acp ammo into the magazine? Or, are you saying something else?

quote:

Originally posted by GeoJelly:

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
That a .380acp factory mag. I've had many in that style, plastic base and follower with nickle finished body.

Mustang - did the mags you have, or had, have the dimples on them? Now I’m starting to get worried based on what Genorogers says. It sure looks like a 230 mag to me ...

Geo - do you have any .32 acp ammo you could try loading into the magazine?

I'm looking for the oddball mag now.

Could this possibly be a specific magazine for .32 ACP to prevent rimlock from occurring?

Rimlock:

Can happen with semi-rimmed cartridges like the .32 ACP if the overall cartridge length is short enough, the round below the top one in the magazine can move forward. Then, the rim of the top round can slip behind the rim of the lower round, locking it in the magazine.

I have not put my hands on the oddball mag with the elongated dimple yet but I took some measurements of a 232 380acp and 232 32acp mags and they are identical. I have a NIB P232 in 7.65 and my 380 acp mags go in the the same, no problem. No dimple on the 32acp mags either.

I can't post pics for some reason but I'll send some pics to Broadside or PASig with your permission if you think it will help in the discussion.

You can certainly send pics to me. But I’m kind of computer illiterate when it comes to posting pics.

Your experience matches mine when I had a P230 in .32 acp. The magazines for the .380 and .32 are interchangeable.

This speculation on my part. But I think the magazines were a mistake. I think the intent was to make the dimples perpendicular to the feedlips. But someone messed up on the design and ended up making them parallel to the back of the magazine.

Pics are on the way. Still looking for my oddball to refresh my memory on why I couldn't use it.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
sigfreund - I’m not trying to be difficult, but I’m having a hard time visualizing what you are saying here. A cartridge has to be either parallel to feedlips or perpendicular to the back of the magazine. It can’t be both.

You’re right. If it’s a straight wall case, the bases will be perpendicular to the follower/feed lips as they’re stacked in the mag, and not parallel to the back edge of the magazine. I wasn’t visualizing it correctly.

To return to the P220 magazines in case anyone’s still wondering about that, at one point the indentations were added to factory mags. All the ones I’ve seen since then (and that’s a lot) have had the dimples, and they do serve to keep the top round from moving forward and preventing a partially-loaded magazine from dropping free after a round is chambered.

I think this oddball mag is for 32ACP specifically. I remember now the trouble I had loading 380 in my oddball, the first round would go in but the dimple would keep the second one from going down. A 32ACP, shorter in length, would clear the dimple and keep the nose of the bullet in the front of the magazine.

If this is the only reason for the dimple you would have thought they would have dimpled the thing the depth of the magazine. This is a guess on my part but if I remember this episode correctly GeoBelly won't be able to load more than one 380 in that mag.

The rim diameter on a 32ACP rd is larger than the case body. With hollowpoint cartridges having a shorter OAL rimlock can occur. If the second cartridge in the mag goes forward slightly the rim can fall in the area in front of the top cartridge rim, causing the slide to lock or cause a double feed. The indentation is to help prevent that occurrence.

Thank you for the pics, Geno. It does seem like GeoJ's mag is specifically designed for .32 acp even though .380 mags appear to be able to function in both.

GeoJ - you might want to contact the seller and explain that you needed a .380 magazine and request a refund. I don't think you really want to hold onto a $70 magazine you can't use.