Magazine Catch and 1911 Conversion kits

I have a Chambers SSG and a AA Marvel kit and on my Les Baer I think the magazine catch is too high as the magazines do not engage well with the catch. Both units run 100% on my Caspian dedicated lower. 

I figure either the ejector is too low or the mag catch is too high. 

Has anyone run into the same problem and did changing the catch work? 

If so, which catch would you recommend? and did it drop in?

My Les Baer lower works great on my Nelson and Marvel and 4 different mags.  My buddy had trouble with his LB.  Turns out he had the EGW high mag release installed either by the factory or the original owner.

He replaced it with the std. EGW and it did take some fitting to operate smoothly, just a light stoning. 

- Dave

The Kimber, Nelson, etc. plastic magazines work fine on my Baer lower. The GSG/Sig mags do not. Something about the way the back ofthe magazine well is cut does not support the back of the magazine and the can rotate a little bit. Mine used to drop the magazine out as I shot. I made a spacer and glued it to the back of the mags and they work fine. 

Also, with the plastic and soft metal magazines, if I do not push the mag release button when inserting the magazine (I.e. slam the magazine in) the notch in the magazine wears and the magazine no longer seats properly.

The only issue I have with my mags is that they rarely lock open at the end of the string. When they do, I have had them drop when I push in the mag so I lower the slide anyway before I insert a mag. I manually lock it open to put in the ECI in between targets. I suppose it is something I could resolve, but I am used to how they operate and don't have any issues with it.

I think I remember Larry @ Nelson saying something about if you use a high mag catch to shave a little bit off the on the plastic mag where the mag catch the magazine. Like 3 swipes of a needle file.  Don't quote me though.

I installed a Nelson Conversion on my Springfield Armory SS Trophy Match lower. Had the same problem. The 2 Nelson supplied mags sat too high in the mag well and the rear left lip of the mag contacted the ejector causing many malfunctions. Filing the notch in the mag so the mag sat lower basically solved the problem. But I did do a few other things. I ordered a Dawson Precision mag catch which had the lip machined appox. (?) .010 lower. I don't remember if that helped much but it didn't hurt. But what really helped was using GSG mags. They fit well and although they were close to the ejector that cured the problem and it didn't require any filing or fitting. Although when inserting the  mag I always have to depress the mag catch to seat the mag. A small inconvenience  to pay for reliable functioning.    

I think the Nelson Conversion is a beautifully machined, accurate and first rate unit with my limited experience knowledge.

I always to have check back and forth to see what magazine catch to use.  Placement of the hole for the mag catch, to a point, dictates which catch you have to use.  Also the forward lip at the bottom of the mag may be the problem.  The magazine well on the receiver won't allow the mag to go fully into the gun creating a hard stop on the magazine lip.

It's a matter of trial and error to find the correct catch looking at everything that is involved.  I want the mag as high as possible to aid in a smoother transition of cartridge from magazine to feed ramp to chamber.

Has anyone had positive results using a gsg mag with a les Baer lower?

previous post by KC hits the main issues. Sometimes i think factory guns just grab whats lying around and its either a high or low catch.

Telewreck wrote:Has anyone had positive results using a gsg mag with a les Baer lower?

Mine used to drop the magazine out as I shot. I made spacers and glued them to the back of the mags and now they work fine.

https://2img.net/h/i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y500/gregg26/SAM_0446_zpssbi1oenh.jpg

Yes I have had good luck with the EGW high mag catch in Baer lowers.