Move back to GI magazines - a journey

[supermoto917]

Got 6 USGI mags myself and they seem to work without issues and I like the fact that they can click on the carbine even when the bolt is closed. My magpul and tangodown mags doesn't like it when the bolt is closed and you try and put a fresh mag on.

[PA PATRIOT]

Back in the day while working in the armory I seen a old Gunny Sgt who had a steel form in the shape of a AR magazine who used to lube the form and slide a AR magazine onto it. Using a set of small hammers he could repair feed lips that were slightly bend to perfect shape.

Has anyone else ever seen this metal AR form for repairing magazines feed lips?

[ucrt]

...
...
...NHMTG is the colt/okay brand supplier.
....

=================================

From what I under stand, OKay is the maker of NHMTG and Colt.

I think NHMTG is the civilian side of OKay.

But maybe it's just me...

.

[scottryan]

Back in the day while working in the armory I seen a old Gunny Sgt who had a steel form in the shape of a AR magazine who used to lube the form and slide a AR magazine onto it. Using a set of small hammers he could repair feed lips that were slightly bend to perfect shape.

Has anyone else ever seen this metal AR form for repairing magazines feed lips?

I don't think this is worth anyones time to beat a magazine back to shape on an anvil.

[Eurodriver]

I don't think this is worth anyones time to beat a magazine back to shape on an anvil.

Edit: You wouldn't understand.

[PA PATRIOT]

I received 10 D&H built magazines that DSG Arms sells under their house brand and found that four of the ten have binding issues. The six good magazines are as smooth as one could expect feeding perfectly with solid lock and minimal wobble while seated.

The four problem magazines all have factory installed Magpul gen three followers that jam roughly 65% down the tube when hand cycled with a wooden dowel. I have not had the time to pull the magazines a part to find the cause but will do so shortly.

Never assume new magazines from a known vendor/manufacturer are good to go as something as simple as hand cycling the follower with a wide flat dowel can help find issues before wasting time at the range when they fail.

[SteadyUp]

I received 10 D&H built magazines that DSG Arms sells under their house brand and found that four of the ten have binding issues. The six good magazines are as smooth as one could expect feeding perfectly with solid lock and minimal wobble while seated.

The four problem magazines all have factory installed Magpul gen three followers that jam roughly 65% down the tube when hand cycled with a wooden dowel. I have not had the time to pull the magazines a part to find the cause but will do so shortly.

Never assume new magazines from a known vendor/manufacturer are good to go as something as simple as hand cycling the follower with a wide flat dowel can help find issues before wasting time at the range when they fail.

Just out of curiousity, have you actually loaded and used the ones that have binding issues at the range? I'm just wondering if the dowel rod might be applying force differently than a stack of cartridges?

I also bought the 10 pack of mags with the magpul followers, and all 10 of them have functioned without incident (each one has been loaded and unloaded 3-4 times). But a sample size of 1 doesn't mean much.

[MSteele]

Great Post, I live in MA so my options are easy pre-ban only. I have bought about 35 pre-bans in the last 2 months mostly Colt's, Okay's, FN's and a few others and after switching to the Magpul followers they work great. I added some ranger plates to about 12 of them and find that it's hard to load with the bolt closed. Otherwise then that they are all GTG after some cleaning. Some of these pre-bans I bought I swear haven't been touched since the early 90's which is fine because they look new.

[PA PATRIOT]

Just out of curiousity, have you actually loaded and used the ones that have binding issues at the range? I'm just wondering if the dowel rod might be applying force differently than a stack of cartridges?

I also bought the 10 pack of mags with the magpul followers, and all 10 of them have functioned without incident (each one has been loaded and unloaded 3-4 times). But a sample size of 1 doesn't mean much.

I also used dummy rounds with the same results, sorry I didn't mention it in my first post. The wooden dowel I use is basically a paint stirring stick that one would get for free at Home Depot that has been slightly angled on the flat that contacts the follower. I also left a nub on the flat that rides in the small cut out on the follower so the dowel contacts the follower the same way ever time.

As I posted six of the magazines are perfect using this method and four not, so if the idea was flawed then the results should be the same for all the magazines.

Not very scientific but it at lease it can give a early indication of possible problems.

[msr]

While we're at it, I'm going to need to source more Range Plates than I currently have. I like to use the plates themselves to indicate the ammo that they contain within. This is a system I've been using for a long time that I'd like to expand on.

With the good guy pricing the Ranger Plates are $5.64/ea+ shipping from Brownells or $6.32 shipped from 44mag.com, and my guess is that's going to work out to about the same thing either way. I'm in the market for ~20 OD Green.

Any update on finding a better deal on these?