HOW TO INSTALL the ZEV MR-SM-3G-B MAGAZINE RELEASE (MAGAZINE CATCH) on a Glock 17.
VIDEO DIALOG: This grooved piece is the magazine release or magazine catch as some people call it, and what we will be removing.
Here you can see the magazine release as I depress it, and the silver metal spring below that which allows the magazine release to spring back.
To give you a better idea of what we'll be doing, this is a stock Glock magazine release.
On the bottom, there are several openings. The one we're concerned with is this one here.
This groove has an L-shaped notch where the magazine release spring sits.
I'm using a paper clip to simulate the release spring. When the spring is set in the groove, and the release is pressed, the spring keeps tension on the lever so that it returns to the "Catch" position after removing your thumb.
Before I pry-out the spring, I'll want to keep one of my fingers on the right side of the magazine release - this will keep the magazine release from sliding.
To remove the spring from the magazine release I'll use a long flat blade screw driver. Or, you can use a metal pick.
As you can see, when sliding the spring, I'm using the inside of the frame for leverage. As shown here by the yellow arrow.
Be careful not to use the ejector for leverage. The ejector this metal piece, as shown by the blue arrow. BE CAREFUL. DO NOT BEND THE EJECTOR!!!
With steady-even pressure, the spring is now removed from the magazine release's slot.
All that remains is to pull-out the magazine release towards the right.
Next, we'll get ready to install our new magazine release.
It's a ZEV MR-SM-3G-B / BLK ZT-MAGRELEASE-S-B. This is an extended release with a over-sized textured button. It comes with an allen wrench to remove and install the button. Both pieces are CNC machined from aircraft billet aluminum (not factory polymer), then hard anodized.
The "S" stands for small as in small frame guns.
Next is the process of installing our new release. Using our sample release and paper clip to show the process, the goal is to slide the spring into the slot.
This will capture the spring, and allow it to, again, keep tension on the release when it's pushed.
Here you can see the tension spring through the opening. We'll need to move the spring out of the way before fully inserting the magazine release.
Next we insert the magazine release, going from right to left, making sure that the notch side is facing downward.
Gently prying the magazine release towards the back of the gun will allow the magazine release to be fully inserted.
While keeping one of your fingers pressed against the right side of the magazine release so that it doesn't move, we'll use our small screw driver to slide the retention spring to the right. The goal is to have it fall into the notch.
The final step is to install the button cap, with the supplied screw and allen key. We want to position the cap with the more narrow side towards the back of the gun.
To make sure that the screw doesn't back itself out, we'll place a small drop of BLUE threadlocker (or Locktite) on the threads of the screw. Then using our allen key, we'll tighten down the screw.
You don't need to apply a lot of torque if you use the threadlocker.
If some of the threadlocker oozes-out, just wipe it off.
Our replacement magazine release is now fully installed!
