Are there any other mags that will work with a KJW M9?

[Crunchmeister]

I have a full metal KJW M9. I absolutely LOVE that gun. It feels great and shoots fast, hard and accurate. The issue I have with it is the magazines.

KJW magazines are known to be problematic. I've taken care of my mags. I've never overfilled them (about 5-6 seconds worth of propane), use silicone oil every 8 fills or so, don't drop them, etc. The initial mag I've had for a while now was problematic almost from the start. The pins holding the base on have fallen out a couple of times. I've had the mag apart to reset that little copper tubing what connected to the fill valve (don't know what the part is called), and now the actual fill valve started leaking.

I have 3 other KJ mags, and I'm expecting this will also be their fate sometime down the road. So I'd like to know what other band of mags, if any, will work in my gun. I know TM mags don't work. I bought a TM. It fits the gun perfectly. And it seems much more solid. Its pins seem stronger and I don't think it would fall apart like the KJ. But with the TM mag after a full 8 second propane fill, I get 2 low-power shots out of it (with the second not even strong enough to cycle the slide all the way back), then the third shot will hold the valve open and the propane just vents off, similar to if I had filled my regular KJ mags with duster instead of propane.

So can anyone point me to alternate mags that positively work with this gun? I don't want to keep spending money on KJ mags only to have them all fail on me miserably.

[Styrak]

With the ones that aren't leaking, try to keep them filled with gas all the time. KJW mags don't like sitting around empty. If I leave my KJW P229 mag without gas in it for a day or two (yes, that short amount of time!) they leak (sometimes horribly) and I have to replace the o-ring. I've now kept it filled all the time and it hasn't leaked on me.

[Crunchmeister]

I learned that pretty early on, and I always leave at least a bit of gas in there to hold a positive internal pressure. The original mag is only a month old and it's basically falling apart. It's leaking around its base and now leaking from the fill valve too. I just can't keep these damn pins in the mag either.

The inside of my gun's mag well is pretty scratched up from these pins too. I think I need some new ones, but don't know where to find them. Haven't found any on any of the airsoft part supplier sites. I got a second mag from A&A (they were out of mags when I had placed the original order, just shipped it to me) last week, and yesterday I received 2 more mags I bought from Redwolf (yay! $24 each rather than $50 @ A&A and $65 @ 007). I'm just afraid the same will happen to these. My first mag is now unuseable unless I can repair it.

Hence why I would rather use an alternate mag that works with this gun if there is one.

[The Saint]

Originally Posted by Crunchmeister

I know TM mags don't work. I bought a TM. It fits the gun perfectly. And it seems much more solid. Its pins seem stronger and I don't think it would fall apart like the KJ. But with the TM mag after a full 8 second propane fill, I get 2 low-power shots out of it (with the second not even strong enough to cycle the slide all the way back), then the third shot will hold the valve open and the propane just vents off, similar to if I had filled my regular KJ mags with duster instead of propane.

Are you sure your TM mag wasn't a lemon or your M9 wasn't light striking the TM valve? I've read conflicting reports on TM M9 and KJW M9 magazine compatibility. Some say straight swap, some say mod required, some say TM mag sits too low to work. Same with HFC and KJW compatibility. The inconsistency leads me to suspect manufacturing changes over time by KJW and HFC. I'd recommend borrowing a confirmed working TM M9 mag and a HFC M9 mag and doing some more testing on your part.

[Crunchmeister]

armed with this new info, I just compared the 2 mags standing them up side by side on my desk. Everything looks identical at first glance. The bases are the same thickness, angle, etc. Every notch in the mags all the way up are identical.

However, when looking at the top of the mags at the feed lips, the TM appear to be between 1 and 2 mm shorter than the KJW mag. It's just a TOUCH lo That would probably explain it.

So I tried something. I filled it with propane and BBs, but it in the gun, and pressed it tight from the bottom. Lo and behold, I managed to get about 20 shots off before there wasn't enough pressure to cycle the slide back all the way to recock and load a new BB.

So that settles it. Standard capacity TM mags don't work because they're a bit too short. I wonder what I'd have to do in order to make it fit without having to hold it in tight like that...

[Styrak]

Duct tape! :P

[Wilson]

Uhm buy KJW mags?

[Crunchmeister]

Originally Posted by Wilson

Uhm buy KJW mags?

I'd like mags that don't fall apart, as I explained in my previous posts. KJW mags are known to do that, and my first mag, only about a month old and used only for plinking in my basement is already failing miserably in many ways.

So the question still stands. Does anyone know of any mags that will work with a KJW M9?

[The Saint]

It could be that the KJW mag catch is off spec. Try borrowing a TM M9, swapping the mag catch and then testing the TM M9 mag in the KJW.

Also, is there a difference in height between the gas rubber? If the KJW rubber is higher, try swapping that into the TM.