.......OVERNIGHT UPDATE.......
(But first, thanks everybody for all the good feedback -- I'm feelin' the luv.)
(Also for the record, these are four 30-round Pmags in FDE.)
After work yesterday I went over the mags in detail, with the following results:
(1) As assembled, the spring and follower in each mag appears to travel without any stickiness (as tested by slowly pressing downward with the end of a ruler). This was found to be true both empty and holding various quantities of ammo in 5-round increments.
(2) The mags were then disassembled. Right away I was surprised to find how dirty the springs were in these brand new mags (I have only shot a single mag-full of ammo through each one so far). My hands were covered in black by the time I had all four taken apart. First thing I did was to wipe down all four springs thoroughly.
(3) Flashing doesn't appear to be an issue. The interior of each mag body is clean and smooth.
(4) Follower-to-body fit was then tested without any spring tension. The followers fit loosely along most of their travel paths in all four mags. On three of the mags, the follower slightly snug-ups up gradually within a half inch to an inch of the feed lips. On the fourth mag though, there is a more abrupt grab at a point about two inches down from the feed lips. Switching among follower and bodies showed that the cause was from the follower and not the body. The effect isn't really noticable under spring tension, so I'm not sure this is anything significant other than showing that the mags are not exactly identical.
(5) With the mags re-assembled, I tested their fit to the rifle. All seemed to seat about the same, and not noticably different from my GI mags. The feed lips also appear to be clearing the bolt OK.
After all this, it was too late in the day to try calling Magpul. I am first going to take everything back to the range though (hopefully tomorrow afternoon), to investigate further under live-fire conditions. It would be good if I could clear this up without having to hassle with getting Magpul to provide replacements.
One thing I want to test on the seating question, is whether any difference takes place between inserting the mag with bolt open and then closing from slide lock, versus inserting against a closed bolt and then cycling the bolt to chamber the first round. The latter procedure might preclude a full seat.
After reading this, I recall from my first time with these mags a couple of shots that were followed just a moment later by a distinct "ker-chunk", feeling very much like a stack of rounds jumping up after clearing a snag. Something else I need to look for again.
If I'm lucky, maybe all of this trouble was just the result of those dirty springs. Shall report back after the range trip.


)
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks