Clean your mags!

[Col. Harrumph]

Finally found that round tuit I've been looking for and broke down the .22's mags. They both developed can't-shove-em-up-fast-enough-itis recently and I was getting jams, with the rim still in the feed lips and the boolit jammed against the chamber maw. One alibi in a string is bad enough, but three is dagnab umbarrassing.

Ugh, the crap I wiped out! Looked like they'd been living up Shrek's nose. Dirtier than the underside of a UPS truck. Last cleaned in the 20th century if memory serves (the mags I mean, not the truck).

So anyway, if your iron ain't barking, it might not be the expensive bits.

 

[ATLDave]

Yep. And sometimes the mag spring has to be replaced, particularly in mags that cram a lot of rounds into the space.

 

[Bartojc]

I just did this on my carry gun. Mags do not need constant attention but should get a going over and cleaning once in a while .

-Jeff

 

[Texas10mm]

Mags on blowback actions, almost every .22 LR, get dirty quick. What's amazing is they work as long and as well as they do.

 

[H&R Glock]

I did assemble, throw into a pot of boiling water and remove to a napkin to dry in a few minutes. Gets rid of wax , etc and has no effect on springs etc.

 

[tactikel]

Great post, mags are often the cause for a semi to malfunction. 3-4 times a year I drop the baseplate and clean and inspect the: spring , follower, mag body inside and out, a total of 16 mags for 5 autos. Just this little bit of attention makes a noticeable difference in reliability.

 

[Coal Dragger]

I clean magazines after every other range day unless mags are getting dropped on the ground in which case they get cleaned after that range day. Most of my mags are easy to disassemble so it takes no time at all, I just use an AR-15 upper receiver BCG raceway scrub brush in the mag bodies.

Carry gun magazines get new springs once a year. At $5/spring it’s cheap insurance.