Volquartsen 22/45 Mag Base

[mashjax]

Here are some photos of the Volquartsen Mag base on my 22/45. It is is CNC machined from an aluminum alloy and black hard anodized. It is spring loaded to "push" the mag out. I removed that since I had already done the Volquartsen trigger mod and did not need the spring assist. I was on the fence at first but now I like it a lot. I could not find any photos of it on a gun so I thought I would post a few. My SS Sparrow went pending June 21....

[shootertom]

That looks great, thank you for posting. I actually just ordered one yesterday so im glad to hear you like it!

[shootertom]

got it today and a bit disappointed. The mag will not catch and stay in the firearm anymore. Going to call VQ and see if there is a way to make it work.

[mashjax]

Please let me know what they say. If I just push mine in it will not catch either. I just bump the bottom of the mag and it seats OK. I am ok with that because I am used to "bumping" mags on automatics to ensure they don't fall out. I reinstalled the spring and pin on mine also. I really like the little extra length on the grip and in fact ordered a 2nd one for my other mag yesterday.

[shootertom]

Yeah, i pretty much have to slam it in! Once its in its great though. Comes out much better and is easy to grab.

[btb601]

Where all did you guys get them?
I just picked up the Lite model and noticed right off the bat the mag was a pain in the ass to get out.
Still much better than my P22

[Wahnsinn]

Here's the trick with the 22/45 and removing the mags. You have to do the mag safety mod to it. Once you do that mod, the mags will really fly out of the gun when you hit the mag release.

[rogerme]

Here's the trick with the 22/45 and removing the mags. You have to do the mag safety mod to it. Once you do that mod, the mags will really fly out of the gun when you hit the mag release.

Ditto that. The stupid mag safety thing is a pain in the ass. Take it out and all is well.

[Wahnsinn]

FYI, for new 22/45 owners, here's a little note I sent to somebody a couple years ago:

Here's a great site to start out with for 22/45 pistols. Has detailed instructions on disassembly/assembly complete with pictures, which are VERY helpful when pulling out all the guts.
http://www.guntalk-online.com/2245detailstripping.htm

There's a link on there to do the slingshot mod, it's very easy. Definitely not necessary, but I like it.

The other thing I did was to remove the magazine safety. This does two things supposedly (one for sure). First is to allow the magazines to drop free. Without doing this mod, they stick in the gun (bottom pokes out about an inch) and you have to manually pull it out. Once you do the mod, the mags fly outta there! Also it supposedly improves the trigger pull. I can't comment on that too much since I replaced my trigger stuff right away when I got it. Short explanation is that you need to remove the mag disconnect lever and the mag disconnect spring. In their place you can do two things, either put in a MkII hammer bushing (instead of the MkIII) or where the disconnect lever and spring were, put in two 5mm washers (this is what I did). When you do this, you'll need to ream out the inside of the washers a little so they fit around the end of the bushing since the bushing is slightly over 5mm. If you've got a dremel, I just used that.

There's a guy that did some great videos of how to do all this on youtube, here are the links for them in order:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWHEMJDFBSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E35jZoQKmUk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHvqApQTcss
He's doing it on a regular MkIII, but it's almost identical (except he uses one extra washer, which you won't need). He uses two 5mm washers and a #10 washer (don't need that one). I think a bag of 5mm washers is like 50 cents, or if you've got a couple lying around.

Let me know if you run into any issues with either of them. I can pull mine apart and take some detailed pictures if you find anything missing on that first site I gave you, or if you have questions about the mag safety mod. The hardest part is probably getting the 22/45 back together Once you do it a couple times though it gets easier, it can be a little tricky at first.

[btb601]

Thanks for the links Wahnsinn.

[shootertom]

What does this mod consist of?

[Wahnsinn]

Which mod, the magazine safety removal?

Short explanation is that you need to remove the mag disconnect lever and the mag disconnect spring. In their place you can do two things, either put in a MkII hammer bushing (instead of the MkIII) or where the disconnect lever and spring were, put in two 5mm washers (this is what I did). When you do this, you'll need to ream out the inside of the washers a little so they fit around the end of the bushing since the bushing is slightly over 5mm. If you've got a dremel, I just used that.

The hardest part of the whole modification and takes the longest, is disassembly/reassembly. You literally just take it apart, rip out those two parts, replace with two washers (after reaming out the inside) and put it back together. It's very easy and cheap and does WONDERS for the gun, I think so at least