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Posted: 5/26/2003 8:56:39 AM EDT
| I was at the range testing the function of a 20 round Colt mag I was given. When I load 20 rounds, any attempt to close the bolt fails, and the cartridge just jams into the receiver without being stripped from the mag. When I remove 2 cartridges (a load of 18), it works fine. Is this the classic reassembly problem they had in the military, i.e. don't remove the follower from the spring? How do I correct it? |
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Are the last two rounds hard to load into the mag? If so, that's an indication that the follower is on the spring backwards, which was a fairly common problem with GIs cleaning their mags and reassembling them incorrectly. And, yes, it is what led to the dumb "only load 18 in a 20" rule. The part of the spring that goes through the eye on the bottom of the follower should be the very end of the spring; the portion just before the spring is cut off. It's easy to rotate the spring 180 degrees even with the follower still attached, but that places the spring too far to one side, and jams up the mag when fully loaded. They corrected this problem when they designed the springs for 30-rounders, by making the spring have a clearly off-set leg that doesn't allow it to be attached backwards. -Troy |
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Well, I opened it up, as you suggested, and I was surprised to find that the spring was installed correctly to the follower. FWIW, I don't see how GIs managed to keep the follower attached when disassembling them; I ended up taking the whole thing apart. I did notice, however, that the bottom 1 1/2 coils are bent, aka, not in line with the other coils. That seems to suggest that the spring is damaged and needs replacement. I have some extras; maybe I should give one a try? Edited tot add: I compared the old spring to a new one; it's definitely damaged, so I replaced it. I also noticed a very small dent in one of the feed lips. If the lips were damaged, it wouldn't go at all with any reliability, right? |
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