Just got my new Dagger. Seems like a good gun except that the magazine release button spring is far too stiff. I can barely push it even after breaking my shooting grip. I have a M&P that I have no trouble at all pressing the mag release button.
Is the spring inside the grip that holds the magazine release button somehow adjustable, or can PSA maybe send me another one? Maybe I just got one that wasn’t up to specs.
Anyone else have this issue?
They’re all like that. Just how it is.
Is the response to this issue that ’ they are all like that’ for real? I just received my first PSA Dagger lower frame and it takes almost two thumbs to push in the mag release! Are you kidding me! This is just how it is, suck it up and be happy cause this pistol is simply fantastic! Really? With all the threads on this forum about issues with this Dagger pistol and in this thread, there is only one complaint and one person that answered the issue being raised. That can only mean that everyone else is just plum happy with this ‘feature’. I am an accomplished shooter and owner of several Glocks and many other handguns. If I have a lot of trouble getting a mag out of this pistol how are others, including the many women and young shooters, going to deal with this ‘non-issue’? If this is the way this pistol is designed, save your money and run elsewhere, you are kidding yourself. If the shooter can’t operate all of the controls on the pistol with one hand it becomes a play toy for the foolish regardless of the cost! I simply came to this thread to find an answer to a problem I was sure was an issue for many. I have not found many. Are there that many gullible folks that simply don’t understand how a firearm is supposed to function? So, not finding what I think is a good answer, I have to ask it again. Is the very heavy mag release just the way it was designed and I will simply just have to deal with it? What say PSA?
It’s how it is… There exists a reduced power magazine spring I’ve seen at least one person try. But he wasn’t impressed with the results. Maybe an extended magazine release or an aftermarket one with a larger pad would make it a bit easier for you?
Thanks, I will look into that. I am still amazed that after looking at many pistol reviews, none that I watched even mentioned this as a concern. Everyone loves this inexpensive pistol, so I purchased one. So much for gun reviews and honest gun reviewers. I wonder if this is the fix for the issue of the mags falling out or some attempt to get around some California type of compliance thing. Great idea! Let’s just design it to take two hands and 12 seconds to get the mag out of your gun. At this point, it might as well not have a removable magazine. Yeah, I could see that! A removable magazine that isn’t really removable friendly. Thanks again for the info. I will see what I can do to help this issue. All the best!
My Daggers do not require two hands to drop a mag. They’re a little stiff but nothing outrageous. I’d either contact PSA or disassemble the mag release and see if there’s an obvious reason why it’s so stiff.
I just pulled out two Daggers and 4 different mags. 1 OEM G19, 1 OEM G17, 1 PMAG 15 rd and 1 PMAG 21 rd. None of them were overly difficult to release in either Dagger but the PMAGs seemed to take a little less effort. In case mags are a factor in your situation.
I have one of the earliest Daggers, purchased last July. Mag release isn’t any stiffer than any other pistol that I own.
If you are experiencing a problem with a PSA product, you can contact customer service for a warranty fix at no cost to you.
Well, I am glad everyone here, except the original post, original given answer, and the fact that I have purchased two (2) pistols in the last month have no issues. Both of my pistols have a hard mag release. That’s correct, I actually ordered a second one just to see if this pistol is being made this way. I also know one other shooter that has one on order and should get it any day now giving another point of data. I am glad that a group of Dagger owners have pistols that have what they call a correctly functioning mag release.
However, if someone else on this forum has a Dagger with a hard-to-push magazine release, I have worked on two solutions. First, a look at the design. If you look into a Glock grip where the mag release spring resides, you will notice that on the Glock the spring is being held in a hole at the very bottom and is being pushed on at the very top with no contact with anything along its travel. The Dagger work in a similar manner. However, in the Dagger, this spring channel is not shaped like a ‘V’. Instead, it has a circular curved right-hand side of what should be a V-shaped area. As the Dagger’s mag release is pushed it moves a little bit until the spring wire touches the inward curved area. At this point, the leverage goes away and it takes more pressure to bend the spring wire around the circular area. Thus, producing a much harder mag release. Look inside your pistol. How hard is this release on my pistol? Well, I used my trigger pull gauge and pulled on the unmodified mag release. It dropped at 8.1 lbs on average with a Glock mag and a Magpul mag was about 0.5 lb lighter.
While researching this issue with my pistols, I came across ads for lightweight (2.5lb) Glock mag release springs and ordered them. I measured the original Dagger spring wire and found it to be 1.28mm in diameter. More than likely a 1.3mm spring wire. The lighter spring wires that I received measured 1.09mm. Again, likely a 1.1mm spring wire. I installed this spring in one of my Dagger pistols and retested for mag release function. It was now a light 2.2 lb. I did not like the feel and I was thinking that the mag may fall free during recoil. This magazine release is now too light and it would need to be tested. Meanwhile, I ordered some stainless steel spring wire in a sample pack. Once I received these spring wires, I cut a spring from the 1.2mm spring sample and I made a second one from the 1.4mm spring sample. The 1.2mm measured 1.18mm and the 1.4 measured 1.38mm. I installed the 1.2mm spring and it actually did not change the feel and came in at only 2.4 lb of pressure needed to release the magazine. I installed the spring I made with the 1.4mm wire and I will say that I like what I feel as it is around 3 lbs. It is still light, but not as light as the 1.2mm spring.
Next, I needed to test both of these pistols at the range and test the two different springs. Well, my results were all positive. I fired 75 rounds out of each of these pistols without any issues. The mags did not give any trouble in any way. Both, worked just fine!
It seems the stainless steel spring wire that I ordered might not have the same tensile strength as the original Glock or even the PSA spring material. As such, it takes a slightly larger wire to give the same pressure. So, long-term testing will continue. This is just my observation and my results. It is being placed here for information only! So, my observation is that the PSA design is using a spring that might be the same as a Glock’s 5lb spring, but with the grip designed as it is, the results will be a mag release harder than need be. Love it or not!
Just wanted to put my 2cents in. I have two Daggers and a Glock 23 G4. The mag release on all of them have approximately the same force required. It doesn’t take much travel distance for the mag to drop free. Yes you can push harder and make the button depress further but it’s not necessary to get the magazine to drop.
I will say this, I am not a fan of the shape of the Dagger mag release button. It’s too small and sharp, my middle finger tends to dig into it while holding the gun. HOWEVER, this is not the fault of PSA as much as the fact that they copied the Glock Gen 3 design. Glock Gen 4 fixes this by adding a larger release button.
i showed my nephew how to flick his wrist when he eject the magazine to get it out his way, 13yo just saw John wick, he starts aiming for ■■■■ hitting it with the magazine out the dagger… so if a 13yo can aim where the magazine takes off flying and hit a side target with it… maybe people here really do just think you’re a wuss and do love the feature…
I’ve been firing semiautomatic pistols for over 40 years, in competition and on duty. I’ve never had a mag release as difficult as the Dagger I received. To say that’s the way they all are is a condescending specious response. Entertain the thought that there may be weapons that are, in fact, less than optimal. After reading these posts, I’m going to contact PSA for warranty. Clearly it’s not normal nor is it the way they are.
I don’t think it’s condescension… I have 5 frames, they all have quite stiff magazine releases. There are workarounds. Not sure what solution the warranty department will have… Especially if a replacement frame has the same stiff magazine release. Please update us. You can contact Eric Williams at [email protected] Eric is handling all psa pistol customer service issues.
….?? it’s the same release on every gen3… you could get an extended mag release button, even easier than swapping the trigger… both of which i don’t find necessary, but very easy to do.
Well, it is really easy to check your release. Simply use your trigger pull gauge. Hold your pistol in a vice and pass your trigger pull gauge through the trigger guard from right to left and place the tip of the trigger pull gauge on the mag release button. Pull on the trigger pull gauge until your mag drops. As I pointed out before, I have two of these pistols and I shoot with a friend that convinced me to purchase them. All three pistols have the mag drop at a little over 8 lbs. That is correct over 8 lbs of force. To give you a little info on this matter. I tested over 20 pistols in my safe and the vast majority of them will drop the mag with around 5 lbs. Most of my 1911 and 2011 pistols drop around 3 lbs and my 3 Sigs will drop around 4.5. So adding the Sigs with the other 15 or so various pistols from Glock, Walther, S&W, and even a Taurus the target mag release on average is around 5 lbs. Now, a gentleman shipped into the gun store a Dagger and an AR the other day and I checked his pistol when he came and picked it up and it was 5.5 lbs. So, some are not stiff, but others are. Everyone’s hands are different, with bigger hands and/or longer fingers and none of this might matter. Shorter fingers and/or smaller hands and if you get a stiff mag release you more than likely won’t like it. What is a little concerning is not that anyone likes or dislikes their pistols mag release, is that there is such a wide variance between them.
I dont see how two thumbs are needed. Granted 8 lbs is more than 4.5 to 5.5, but theres no way two thumbs are needed. Maybe its heavier than preferred or wanted but no way its unmanageable. It wouldnt take two fingers to pull an 8lb DA trigger on a revolver, so it absolutely cant require two thumbs to push a 8lb mag release. Btw, how can you get two thumbs on a tiny mag release button?
My personal opinion doesn’t mean much. So lets just say if someone where to ask me, I’d say this is all blown out of proportion and exaggerated. Again, my personal opinion doesn’t mean much.
I think he means putting one thumb on top of the other for increased pressure. Everyone seems in agreement that 8 lbs should not be needed to press a mag release on this pistol. Question now is, what causes this? The question is appreciated because it prompted me to become more familiar with my recently-acquired Dagger. I’ll post more on that separately.
I encountered this post while just trying to learn more about the Dagger. Just picked mine up last weekend. Thanks to the discussion here, I just removed my magazine release to see how it’s done. With my arthritic fingers, I have to use much bigger screwdrivers than the guy in the video! Btw, I found that shining a light up from bottom of mag well is better than trying to aim a light from the top side.
Anyway, after reading this discussion I pulled out my Dagger and tried releasing four different magazines: Glock brand 15, 17, and 33 round ones, and then pmag 15 rounders. I also ended up inserting and releasing mags with the slide on and off, and fwiw, the mag release behavior seems subtly different with slide off. Or I imagine it perhaps.
Due to my relatively large hand, my middle finger crowds the mag release button and I end up using the side of my thumb to sort of nudge the release. I was surprised at how little travel is needed to release the magazine. I’d say none of my magazines require excessive force with my Dagger. This pistol has about two hundred rounds of use total from some range shooting and dry firing (with snap caps of course).
I don’t have a lot of experience with pistols, having shot wheel guns years ago, but I now have four different 9mm pistols to evaluate and none of them require a great deal of force to operate the mag releases. FYI, the pistols are:
Some mag releases are a bit harder to reach or operate due factors like hand size or button protrusion and that does seem to affect the effort required to depress the release button.
So maybe you’ve been over these points already but I’ll just mention them.
I’ve include a pic of how my thumb lands on the release button. The point is that my thumb is positioned rather awkwardly and can’t apply a lot of force but it’s enough. And it should probably be adequate to operate any pistol magazine release subsystem that is working properly.
I like that the button sticks out farther on the Dagger than on a Glock but it is a bit sharp. So far I’ve done some light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper and taken down one sharp corner and two edges. I might go for an extended release for comfort. Also, the larger surface area could make it easier to press maybe?
On my Glock 17, the button does not protrude as far and I need to apply more force just to get my thumb planted on the button. Some of the force is just to compress the flesh on my thumb to the point where the pressure is transferred to the mag release. On the Glock 17, an extended release would change the geometry of thumb versus release button and make accessing the release easier. So for several reasons, an accessory mag release might help. If nothing else, it’s an excuse to buy a cool accessory and change something.
