Funny you should ask, and I appreciate you taking the time to check back! I actually just did this, here was my experience:
- I've wanted a "full mag" indicator for awhile, because I'm a little neurotic about having a fully loaded mag going into a stage and I often lose count. So, then I have to unload the whole mag and reload it...anywho. I decided to go very low-tech, and just figured out where the follower spine is when the mag is fully loaded, with the intent of drilling through the mag wall and into the spine to leave a little neon dot.
- Much to my surprise, the feet of the follower protrude
well past the bottom of the mag when it's fully loaded. The spring isn't the issue, it's that the magazine literally does not have enough room for 12 rounds plus the follower; the way you "fit" 12 rounds in there is by swelling the mag body as
@terrell35744 notes. The follower sticks out about 3/8" of an inch from the bottom of the mag, I'd say.
- So, I cut off about 1/4" of the four follower feet and checked function, seemed to work fine so I did it to my other mag, then went back to my original plan. Drilled the holes, painted a little dot of neon on the follower, and now I can fit 12 rounds without a pry bar and can also tell when I'm all full.
- Haven't had a chance to run the mags in a match or practice yet as I just yanked the BR barrel, but I'll update when I do.
I appreciate MDT following up, but do you mind if I ask why you issued a design with dimensions that clearly can't truly fit the advertised round count? You've shipped updated mag followers (for free, I'll add, many thanks), did MDT just experience follower tipping when the feet were shortened?
ETA: If anyone's interested in my little DIY mod, I can post pics