Oiling Mags Causes Failure to Load Rounds?

[Drakejake]

I recently bought an Automag in .22 mag. I like this pistol. The first time out with it I had some failures to load the last round out of the mag (round nine) all the way in (failure to go into battery). This was the only problem I noticed. To help feeding, I oiled the insides of the mags. Today the Automag would not strip a round out of the mag and so the pistol became single shot. This happened with two kinds of ammo. How did I screw up?

Thanks,

Drakejake

 

[mete]

Mags should be cleaned and lightly oiled occasionally.I'm not familiar with the Automag but I think you might have reassembled the mag incorrectly or you didn't clean it and dirt is preventing the round from sitting as high as it should.

 

[Drakejake]

I have six Automag mags. I disassembled three to lube them but the other three were too difficult to get apart (diifferently designed bottom plate) and I merely applied some oil on the sides of the follower.

Drakejake

 

[MoNsTeR]

Never oil a magazine. Ever.

If you insist on lubricating it, try graphite or silicone, but never any kind of "wet" lube.

 

[Shorts]

I don't oil mags, it makes powder buildup and gunky residue even worse.

I clean my mags with a little soap and water, or gun cleaner. Everything gets wiped down good then put back together.

 

[SDC]

Oiling mags causes them to attract all sorts of crud, and that crud can then cause the mags to malfunction; in a centrefire mag, the oil can even penetrate the primer of a loaded round, causing a failure-to-fire. If I have to clean a mag, the most lube I'll ever put on it is the wipe the inside with a silicone cloth.

 

[Drakejake]

I suppose there are only two primary reasons that a pistol and mags that previously worked will now fire only one round because a round is not being stripped from the mag and loaded into the chamber. Either the slide is suddenly not going far enough back to strip the round or the round is sitting too low in the mag to be stripped. Neither possibility seems to be related to oily mags. I imagine that dirt in the mag had nothing to do with the problem because it occurred on the first round of each mag before any dirt could have entered the mag.

The .22 mag round is so small that only a tiny part of the rim sits up to contact the slide returning to battery. The mags must therefore be very precisely made. So I am still puzzled. When I first saw the mags, I didn't think they looked very functional.

More suggestions on the original question will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Drakejake