Magazines not dropping free easily

[PaiN108]

Hey guys, I just finished putting together my first Black Rifle and I am officially hooked. My build consists of

*LMT 14.5 Upper w/ Perm attached Vortex FH
*LMT FA Bolt Carrier Group
*Magpul CTR Stock
*Magpul Extended Trigger Guard
*KNS Anti-Rotational Trigger Pins
*Larue BUIS
*TD Battlegrip
*Stag Arms Lower
*H-Buffer
*Vickers Blue Force Gear Sling

My main concern is that I am having problems with my magazines dropping free from the weapon. The mags all drop freely when they are only inserted into the lower when it is not attached to the upper. But when I put the upper and lower together none of the aluminum mags that I have will drop freely without giving them a tug. I have several different brands of aluminum mags (Brownells, C-Products, Okay) and the problem is present with all of them.

Do I have an out of spec mag well in my lower, some other issue, or am I just being anal?

Sorry for the simple question but I have been reading around on the subject and I would have thought if the lower was out of spec then the problem would be present with the mags when they were inserted into the lower alone.

Thanks again

[jets4321]

Hi, I went through the whole out of spec thing with my an RRA lower so I can try and help the best I can. Do the mags seat in the rifle ok? Or do you have to really slam them in? With mine it was almost impossible to fully seat a mag. Have you shot the rifle yet and if so does it work ok? Great job on the build by the way it sounds like a great rifle. One more thing, you could also call Stag with your serial number to see if they had a bad batch of lowers.

Jets

[PaiN108]

The mags seem to insert fairly easily although I haven't worked much with mag swaps while practicing at the range with this rifle. My first couple of trips to the range with it have mainly focused on sighting in, breaking in, and qualifying on our departmental course for patrol rifles.

So far the rifle has been working well with only one short stroke with Monarch ammo and some issues with .223 spec 62 grain Wolf ammo (Had to grab charging handle and slam stock on ground to remove unfired round from chamber). The issued with Wolf were after firing about 200 rounds of brass case ammo so the rifle was pretty hot.

With 5.56 spec ammo (Federal XM193, Lake City 62 grain) and GA Arms .223 (55 grain) it has functioned perfectly.

When I go back out to the range tomorrow I will check how easily the mags seat, but the main problem seems to be with dropping the mags on fully loaded or empty mags.

I do have one mag that will drop more easily than the other 4 I have right now, but it will not come completely out of the rifle without either a slight tug or a twist of the rifle to the side.

Thank you again for the assistance, if I can't narrow the problem down I will have to give Stag a call on Monday.

[jets4321]

Well the only other thing I can think of is the finish needs to smooth out a bit and this will happen naturally just by changing mags. But I am just speculating. There are people on here that know much more than I do. Hope you get this worked out. Sorry I could not help more. Good Luck

Jets

[PaiN108]

I was wondering if they may drop more freely with time and many mag changes. I guess that gives me a good excuse to sit around in the living room and practice changing mags... LOL

Thanks for your help you have given me a couple of good ideas to try out.

I don't have many posts on this sight but I have been reading posts on here for over a year getting ideas for my rifle (and the three of four more I want to build!) so I knew someone would be able to help out.

I was just curious about the problem because it only seems to occur when the upper and lower are connected together and not the lower by itself. This may be what occurs on all AR's with out of spec lowers, but I am no expert.

Thanks once again and any additional advise is appreciated.

[Parabellum9x19mm]

back out your mag catch one rotation.

tug to make sure the mags are seated securely. see if it drops free.

[PaiN108]

back out your mag catch one rotation.

tug to make sure the mags are seated securely. see if it drops free.


Well I gave it a try, it seemed to help some, but the mags still will not drop free easily. I also tried loosening it by two turns,but that did not offer any improvements over loosening one turn.

The part that I don't understand is why the mags will drop free fine when the upper and lower are separated but when they are placed together they will not drop free at all.

Does anyone know what the inside specs should be for the mag well? I need to go buy a digital caliper anyway so I will have to measure the inside specs are on my mag well.

Once again thanks for the help.

[G-lock]

Without the upper the mags drop free because the bolt catch is engaging the follower and the spring energy from the bolt catch and the mag spring assists the ejection.

Put the upper on, insert an empty mag, cycle with the charging handle, the bolt should lock back, then see if it drops free.

If it doesn't, either the lower is out of spec, or the mag is somehow binding on the upper.

Good luck.

Jeff

[Stickman]

I do have one mag that will drop more easily than the other 4 I have right now, but it will not come completely out of the rifle without either a slight tug or a twist of the rifle to the side.




Call CMT/Stag. Its not the end of the world if all mags don't drop free, but they shouldn't need to be yanked on. My duty weapon is a little tight, and it doesn't drop most mags, but they insert and remove with little effort.