Mitchell Arms American Eagle 9mm Luger jams

[BigFatKen]

I bought a like new 1993 pistol. When I got it I noticed that one mag could be loaded by hand and the other required a tool. I used a cartridge rim down to push on the sharply knurled button to depress the spring. The checkering is very sharp yet. Since it looks like it was hardly shot, I suspect that one mag was kept loaded in a nightstand for 15 years. Both mags jammed at first.

I have now lubed the pistol, let the mags rest, and only fired new, white box Winchester 9mm Luger ammo. The weak spring mag jammed the three times I tried it and the strong spring mag shot 7+1 perfectly.

Can a spring be fixed by stretching it? Are there sources for replacement mags or springs?

 

[rcmodel]

No.
You cannot stretch a spring.
Past the yield strength of the steel, it will only make it weaker after it cycles a few times.

Wolff should have new Luger mag springs.

http://gunsprings.com/SemiAuto/LugerNF.html#Magazine

rc

 

[Jim Watson]

You can get a reproduction of the Luger tool which gives you a better grip on that little button than a cartridge rim. (The screwdriver end is to take out the striker and remove the grips if needed.)

http://www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/products_id/228
Cheaper if you don't need Nazi markings at:
http://www.northridgeinc.com/I_luger_pistol.htm

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Have you, by any chance, isolated the stoppages to a single magazine? I am suspicious of the mag that does not need the loading tool to load. One was supplied with original Lugers, precisely because the spring is very stiff.

 

[BigFatKen]

yesl one good mag

Yes, the hard to load mag works fine now. It had problems at first. The pistol needed factory ammo and some oil to make it run right. I have some reloads with 4.2 grains of Accurate #2 that I am unsure of yet.

You are right about the weak spring in the mag. It is the one to jam every time; well at least 3-0.

Is there any trick to removing the mag bottom?

 

[outerlimit]

You can't "rest" a mag spring. I highly recommend some new magazine springs, it's amazing what new magazine springs will do for a malfunctioning gun.

 

[BigFatKen]

thank you

I am going to buy at least one new spring as soon as I figure out how to take them apart. It is not exactly like a 1911 that I am used to. I must know if they are round or rectangular. There are some little pins but I think they are too small to be a field operation, but then spring replacement may not have been considered at the time.

Here is the trick; it is in youtube.com

 

[BigFatKen]

I just need to remove the pins as below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67XrP3cUf6U