Hard to work m1a bolt with mag in??

[pwrstrkd]

Basically I cant bring the bolt back all the way when I put a empty mag in and slowly bring bolt back or decently hard as well. ( The bolt is binding with the mag lips im guessing) When I put a snap cap however in, the bolt does not bind or have problems. The rifle is brand new. Does it need to get wore in/is this somewhat normal? there is no problems with operating the bolt with no mag as well.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Without photos, I'd suspect a tab at the rear fold of an outa spec metal follower in the magazine. Look too, where the follower is designed to engage the bolt stop.

 

[Float Pilot]

Apache is probably correct. Have you tried other magazines?
No semi-auto is really ready to shoot until you have fired a couple hundred rounds through it to break-in the action.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Hoe often do you pull the bolt back on a empty mag? Run a few hundred rounds through the rifle and then report back.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

The thing is, if it's binding due to the follower folds and/or the mag catch blocks on the front and rear of the mags causing the mag to present too high in the well (common on some modern mags) - he doesn't need the aggravation or abrasion causing further problems.

On an all military parts gun I wouldn't worry but on a civilian parts gun I'd get the mag right before proceeding.

Use a sharpee to identify the abrading surfaces. Normally, the magazine will be sacrificial to the bolt but why require the new bolt to force the magazine to conform when it's just a bit of time to determine and correct the problem?