Help for problem with ar15 magazine

[realmswalker]

Hello,

Finally built My first AR, and being a CA native, you gotta jump through stupid hoops to do it.

I Tried running a magazine through to test for feeding and it jams on the second round every time. It's an 8 round Colt magazine with some kind of plastic bottom that restricts putting in two more make 10.

So here what it looks like when I put the magazine in, 8 rounds of golden bear, or golden tiger i can't remember i Bought it years ago, loaded.



Then I eject the second round, lock the bolt back and the next round is at this angle, every time, in the magazine.



The bolt just rides right over it and jams it. Is there anything I can do to correct this?

 

[wideym]

Throw it away and buy new magazines. Mags are probably the weakest, most failure prone part of ARs. Having a few reliable spare mags ensures you won't be carrying an expensive club.

 

[Jimmie]

Yep. Like a 1911, the gun can run perfect, but old/cheap/worn/faulty mags make it useless. Get some good GI/green-follower or PMag (does PMag have 10 rounders?) mags and use that one to level your kitchen table.

 

[Sylvan-Forge]

Indeed.

Of course if you are interesting in knowing exactly what is wrong you could try throwing parts at it. Perhaps start with the follower .. assuming you can find one. Then again, it could be the spring. Or .. the body could be dented in ..

.

 

[woodfiend]

I have to say buddy, that I would get new mags and different ammo. I have used that lacquer coated ammo before and it befouls and AR. The new polymer coated WOLF is magic, but I would seriously get rid of that stuff. I had to get a ramrod to push the casings out of the chamber when it got stuck. God Speed!

 

[realmswalker]

actually box o truth did a range report on this stuff and that wasnt the case at all. here is the link.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu18.htm

 

[kcshooter]

actually box o truth did a range report on this stuff and that wasnt the case at all.

No, but what they did find still leads to changing ammo. I won't shoot wolf in anything but my AK's. The steel case just isn't a good thing in an AR.

As said above, don't mess with that magazine, trash it and buy a new one, and don't skimp. I don't know if Magpul makes a 10rd'r but Colt and Brownells do.

 

[realmswalker]

OK cool, but I have 500 rounds of this stiff and it's not wolf. The magazines that I have are Colt, thats why I was suprised.

 

[Loomis]

Lemme take a wild guess here...

Did you by any chance try to FORCE two more rounds into it because you forgot it was only an 8 rounder?

If so, you may have bowed out the sides of the magazine. empty it, then lay it on the floor and try pushing the sides back in with your foot.

 

[realmswalker]

Tried pushing it back in with my foot. No good

 

[foghornl]

I'm not very well versed in AR stuff, but I will say I solved issues with a 1911-A1 magazine with an {ahem} "Liberal" application of a 9-Lb sledgehammer.

 

[243winxb]

realmswalker , You need to adjust the lips of the magazine, bend the lip on the left that holds the 2nd round. Bend it up(a few .001's at a time), until it lets the back of the round be picked up by the bolt. Also, with the magazine empty and inserted in the rifle, run the bolt back and forth making sure the bolt face is not hitting the lips of the magazine. If they are making contact, adjust the lips so they dont contact the bolt . If you bend the lips up too much, the rounds will pop out when you cycle the action. Most magazine are not faulty, just need adjustment.

 

[FN5.7shooter]

I don't usually recommend ProMag but in this case they have a reasonable priced 10 round mag. Toss the offender.

 

[alistaire]

When the cartridges are at that funny angle, the follower has stuck. Try cleaning and lubricating the mag with Break Free CLP. If this does not work, get a new mag.

Also while testing the AR, use full power ammo likeFederal x193, Privi Partizan or Lake City surplus if you can find it. DO NOT use Remington UMC 55gr or Wolf because they are under powered and can cause problems if you rifle is not working perfectly.

I'm assuming you have lubricated the insides of the bolt carrier and inside the receiver, right?

 

[Wolfgang2000]

Trash the magazine get a good one.

Your picture shows that your mag has unsupported feed lips. This was the same as the 20 rounds mag originally issued during the Viet-Nam era. Those mags were ONE of the problems with the early M16 / AR 15 system.

Yes you can bend the lips back into shape but they will bend out again. BUY A GOOD MAGAZINE!

I'll never understand why some people will buy a $1000.00 rifle, then want to scrimp on ammo and magazines.

I'm sure that you can get quality 10 rounds mags that conform to your states laws.

 

[Tarvis]

Most of you are right as far as the fix to the problem, but you're missing a critical step: take that POS mag and either put a bunch of holes in it or smash it flat with a really big hammer before you throw it out. Worst thing you could do is get it mixed up with the good mags. Also, this will give some stress relief .

 

[243winxb]

The magazines that I have are Colt, thats why I was suprised.

New colt magazines that come with new colt rifles sometimes will not feed without adjustment.

 

[realmswalker]

I'll never understand why some people will buy a $1000.00 rifle, then want to scrimp on ammo and magazines

I guess I should have mentioned that these Magazines were given to me at no cost.

 

[Oohrah]

Replace the followers with MagPs I would replace them if
that doesn't work. Should not need lips adjustment unless
bent