How to clean magazines

[BlackJackJoe]

After 40 yrs of shooting I SHOULD know this but I don't
How do you clean pistol magazines, especially the .45 ACP? Do you soak them in something? I can take apart my Glock magazines and others with that plastic floor plate but the Colt mags have spot welded plates. Thanks for the help!

 

[ugaarguy]

I found a youtube video which will show it far better than I can describe it, but as you'll see it's pretty simple. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9vqdLl7vik

 

[BlackJackJoe]

Wow, that's too logical!
Thanks for your help. That's what I needed.

 

[JTQ]

My technique is to use a paint stirrer to depress the follower and spring. The stirrer fits right between the feed lips and is long enough, front to back, to provide even pressure on the follower. The stirrer is plenty long enough to depress the spring deep enough and still have plenty of stirrer to hold on to.

I then insert a golf tee into the witness hole to hold the spring in place. I feel safer using a piece of wood or plastic rather than a piece of steel like a hex wrench or nail in the witness hole.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

Compress the follower 1/3 way, and insert a punch or whatever in a witness hole to retain the spring.

Then shake the follower out, followed by the spring.

I clean with a nylon bottle brush, followed by clean patches on a cleaning rod.
Followed by re-lubing with Remington Dry-Lube spray.

It will not kill primers, and dirt doesn't stick to it so you don't have to clean them as often.

To re-assemble, insert the spring, the feed the follower in over it until it is inside the feed lips.
Then hook the spring with something to pull the top back under the follower until it snaps in place.

rc

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

And, when you remove the spring, put your thumb over the open end of the magazine before releasing it, then ease it out slowly. Otherwise it could fly out, and even hit you in the face if you have it turned that way. Note which way it came out, so you can put it back in the same way.

 

[JTQ]

The Lone Haranguer wrote,
Note which way it came out, so you can put it back in the same way.

An excellent point. There are quite a few posts that you can find about folks with an unreliable magazine, only to find out they reinstalled their mag spring upside down or backwards. It makes a difference.

 

[BlackJackJoe]

I appreciate the advice from you guys. Everyone had a piece there that was very useful. I didn't know Remington made a Dri-Lube so I bought a can yesterday. Got all the mags cleaned last night without any problem. I found that when I was ready to remove the spring it worked best just to hold the mag upside down against an old towel (that I keep on the cleaning bench) and then pull out the allen wrench I was using to retain it. Thanks guys for the help!