Fair enough and understood, (one thumb over the other)
My other thoughts are exactly like you mentioned. Perhaps the effort required has nothing to do with spring pressure in pounds but rather binding of the button or friction. Of the button. Or even friction of the spring in the frame.
Thoughts:
Sand the button
Sand the hole where it sits
Sand the side of the spring or frame i side the magwell where the spring slidea across.
I will say I just picked up my Dagger frame (no slide yet) and although the pressure required was acceptable the button was somewhat sharp.
Off topic but it still applies. Has anyone seen the recent video of a police officer in a shootout and his mag literally FELL OUT of his gun SEVERAL times while he was shooting at the suspect? This discussion makes me think of that video as everyone wants a lighter mag release.
It will be interesting to learn the cause of the mag fallouts. Do we know what kind of firearm the officer was using? First guess that came to mind was recoil overcoming spring tension. First drop could be failure to fully latch magazine. Subsequent drops could be a mechanical problem. Or are all the drops caused by failure to make sure the mag is fully home? I guess the latter could be caused by need for more training?
I’m trying to get in habit of always slapping the magazines bottom, regardless of what I’m shooting. If it has a removable magazine, I try to remember to give it a tap and even a gentle pull. Huh: I think the instructions even recommend that practice. (Umm, instructions? Ya mean like, read and stuff? ) Of course I can’t pull on the Dagger magazine so easily now that I cobbled a flared mag well insert. Live and learn.
I just want to jump in and echo that I completely agree the magazine release button on the PSA dagger is way too stiff, it should not require so much force to release the mag…
I’d also love to see some ambidextrous mag release options
I went and looked at the Dagger and Dagger S today, and between them and a Glock the mag release was my biggest dislike about the Dagger. The guy was like, “it’s GEN3 based,” but I was like, “that’s what I own in terms of Glocks.” The Daggers mag release is just harder to press and get the mag to drop.
What I want to know is how Shadow Systems was able to base their guns off GEN4 Glock, but everyone else has to base theirs off GEN3 Glocks? A GEN4 mag release is the biggest improvement for a GEN4 Glock over a GEN3 Glock IMHO.
I agree it’s a terrible mag release. way too hard to depress, and the ridge around the button gets painful on the thumb after a while. I replaced the mag release on my two guns with NDZ extended ones. Now it releases much more smoothly, and positively. I had purchased a reduced power spring for it also, but didn’t need it with the new mag release button. I hope that PSA considers a redesign on the mag release. It takes away from an otherwise great gun.
I know this is an older topic but I figure some people are still interested. This week I put an extended/enhanced mag release on my Dagger. The larger surface area, about twice that of the standard button, might increase comfort. The kit comes with a standard size extended button, and an oversized one. I also put some dry graphite power on the release so it slides back and forth as easily as possible. See attached pics. (The silver is the graphite power, not just glare from a light reflection.)
Middle pic shows how much bigger the enhanced button is. Note sure if the large mag release would snag on clothing or something in a carry situation but for target shooting I am not aware of any faults with this setup. I’m probably failing to see something here but hopefully someone else with more experience has insights to share.
Bottom pic shows the mag release kit and some mag grip enhancement details that were originally intended for a different post. Then I realized this photo has the info about the mag release. Just ignore the irrelevant details. (I guess I could have cropped the photo but too late now and… yeah it’s getting late and I need to log off and get some sleep.)
I took an extended Glock mag release that I had filed and sanded on out of one of my P80’s, and swapped it in my Dagger, and put the Dagger mag release in the P80. I then added a reduced mag release spring. Huge improvement. BTW the Dagger mag release complements the P80 very well IMO. It’s look fits the P80 design very well.
My Dagger has stock Glock 19 internals, from the slide to the lower.
As others have noted, the OEM Glock magazine release stud sticks out a little further when it’s in the Dagger than it does when it’s in a Glock. And when someone is like me and shooting left handed, it digs into the fingers a bit.
But, it’s extremely reliable and the magazines don’t spontaneously drop out of the lower anymore. If I were to build a completely new one, I’d go with the Shadow Systems Glock 19 internals.
I agree with the post above that the curved pocket or space for the mag release spring is too vertical and making the tension increasing to an uncomfortable stiffness. I have 2 of the daggers and 1 SCT frame. The SCT frame definitely has a different more aggressive curve allowing the mag to drop much easier. Come on PSA …Please address this problem. (* I see now how that curved part effectively puts a fulcrum higher up on the spring and thus makes it stiffer. Is it feasible to grind away some of the plastic in that curved area to change the fulcrum point? )
the curved part effectively puts the fulcrum higher up on the spring and makes it stiffer. I solved that issue for my pistols by taking a very sharp filet knife and cutting the middle of the arch a little at a time and that relieved the stiffness making the mag release function properly… This worked for my problem. I am not suggesting anyone do this, I am just stating what I did to solve the issue for my pistols. I removed the magazine, the slide , put the frame in my lap upside down and used a good headlamp to be able to see everything. I removed the mag release and the mag spring. I used a somewhat long very sharp kitchen boning knife. I leverage the blade against the frame and used hard pressure to cut slivers of plastic in the curved area where the mag spring is directed when applying the pressure. I kept at it a little at a time and tested the mag maybe 3 or 4 times until I got just the right feel for the mag to drop comfortably. This worked very well for me.
Just to follow up on the mag release stiffness, I took the recommendation of someone on this forum (sorry I don’t recall the name) and purchased a Glock extended mag release from NDZ Performance. Installed and it makes a huge difference. I did not have to adjust my grip to activate and the mag drops with ease. As a bonus, the Cerakote FDE matches my frame perfectly.
My new guy experience is the Dagger mag release is stiffer than a Glock. It may be a heavier gauge wire for the spring, or it may be the geometry of the v-shaped notch in which the spring resides. Someday I’ll swap a factory Glock to determine if its the wire or the notch. But neither of my Dagger frames require two fingers or much of a reposition.
It’s the spring and the v notch it sits in. The fulcrum seems to be too high so they spring doesn’t flex as well. Someone suggested shaving the fulcrum, but I found the extended mag release to be less invasive.
The extended mag release definitely takes care of it. I like the Vicker’s one as it’s not as excessive as others, and is rounded but has texturing. The Dagger release has no real texturing, and is sharp on the corners. Combined with it being hard to press, it can hurt the fingies without gloves.
My reduced power springs are lost in USPS world so i decided to go old school…I took the factory mag release spring and ground it flat on the sides and now mag release pressure is just right…not hard to do, just hold it in a pair of vise grips and touch it on a grind wheel a coupe of times…you don’t need to do the area of the spring that goes into the frame…don’t do too much just flatten each side a little and try it…you’ll be surprised
I found that the way I grip when pressing the mag release had me pushing the other side of the release into the base of my trigger finger and I was essentially squeezing it from both sides. Once I figured that out and changed my grip it got a lot better.
My light ones I ordered showed up after being put in the wrong box for a few day….
I installed one of them but I like my flattened one better so I put it back in with no ill effects so far…. I didn’t grind it hard enough to change the color or temper…
I just installed the reduced weight (2.5#) spring rods in my Daggers, made a huge difference in how hard I need to push the button to drop the mag. BTW the diameter thickness of the rod is 1.0mm vs 1.2mm original. (These reduced weight rod springs are available, cheap, on ebay).
While I had the mag release out, I also rounded the corners of the button, so not so sharp.
(I tried grinding on one of mine, but it changed color, as soon as the wheel touched it so I’m thinking that it changed the temper).
) Of course I can’t pull on the Dagger magazine so easily now that I cobbled a flared mag well insert. Live and learn.
(I guess I could have cropped the photo but too late now and… yeah it’s getting late and I need to log off and get some sleep.)
