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Posted: 11/27/2004 6:48:15 PM EDT
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I realize that you load them using strippers, a LULA or one-by-one and then unload them with your trigger, but do you have a specific ritual that you go through? How many 'magfulls' do you run through it before you declare the mag worthy of defending your life with? Curious what others are doing. |
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A LULA speed unload can spot a problem mag with a sticky follower or a weak spring. It only takes me a couple of times before I designate one as requiring attention. If that mag has already shown signs of weakness on the range, the LULA drill confirms the diagnosis. |
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AR-15/M16 mag qual: 1. Insert empty mag in gun with bolt forward. Pull charging handle to rear - bolt should lock open. 2. Push mag release - mag should drop free. 3. Load one round in mag and insert into gun. Gently release the bolt with the charging handle and allow the bolt to go forward only until it touches the base of the cartridge. Release the charging handle - the round should chamber fully. 4. Load the mag to capacity and insert into gun with the bolt still forward - it should seat. 5. Pull the charging handle all the way to the rear ejecting the round that is in the chamber. Gently let the bolt go forward just until it touches the base of the top cartridge in the mag. Release the charging handle - the round should chamber. 6. Press the mag release - the loaded mag should drop free. 7. Re-insert loaded mag and shoot until empty - all rounds should chamber correctly and the bolt should lock open after last round. If a mag passes all these tests, then it gets a number and gets put into range use. If there are no problems after 5 cycles of load/shoot, then it gets another mark and is ready for carry use. HTH |
| When I buy a used magazine I give it a good visual inspection, checking the feedlips and overall dimensions with a pair of dial calipers... sometimes due to age and use the feedlips will bend upwards enough to cause the round to not feed properly. 20 round mags are more likely to have bent lips than 30 rounders due to the improved design of the 30 round feedlips. |
| I pretty much don't. I carry about 13 mags or so depending on what I am doing, some in my bag and some on my person, so to test all of them from full capacity would be a mountain of ammo that I don't have and can't get. I just inspect them, make sure the spring has good tension and that the mag is clean and dry, then I load up and go... Plus, I get new mags about once a year. |
El_Roto, I assume by "speed unload", you mean tilting the nose of the mag down and cycling the LULA handle back and forth so that the rounds fall free? If so, how does that test for a weak spring? The top round doesn't fall out until the LULA pushes down on the second round. There is no spring tension on that top round and even if the spring is weak, your pushing the rest of the stack in the opposite direction. I'm not knocking your methods for testing. I'm just trying to figure out if there's an easier (read sittin' on my ass in the living room watching T.V.) method of testing mags. I don't mind going out and shooting them, it's the keeping track of the little buggers that I don't like. 
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AR-15/M16 mag qual: 1. Insert empty mag in gun with bolt forward. Pull charging handle to rear - bolt should lock open. 2. Push mag release - mag should drop free. 3. Load one round in mag and insert into gun. Gently release the bolt with the charging handle and allow the bolt to go forward only until it touches the base of the cartridge. Release the charging handle - the round should chamber fully. 4. Load the mag to capacity and insert into gun with the bolt still forward - it should seat. 5. Pull the charging handle all the way to the rear ejecting the round that is in the chamber. Gently let the bolt go forward just until it touches the base of the top cartridge in the mag. Release the charging handle - the round should chamber. 6. Press the mag release - the loaded mag should drop free. 7. Re-insert loaded mag and shoot until empty - all rounds should chamber correctly and the bolt should lock open after last round. If a mag passes all these tests, then it gets a number and gets put into range use. If there are no problems after 5 cycles of load/shoot, then it gets another mark and is ready for carry use. HTH I do simily to Gaijin, but I specifically test fire the mag 4 or 5 times with only 5 rounds in the mag. This is the best test for spring strength. When the mag is near empty the spring is exerting the minimum force. Then I will go on to firing full mags. In addition, I test to see if the mag will drop free with the bolt locked back. Ones that do not drop free, I check with a .015" feeler around it, and see if I can spot the problem. Usually puckers in the overlap on the seams. These puckers can be filed slightly, and new dry moly sprayed on. I mark all of my mags on the baseplate, usually with flat gray, or if out, OD model paint. I have them simply numered, 1, 2, 3, ... 68, 69, 70. If one mag gives problems it is set aside, and if the issue is not resolved... well, they get resolved. |
Not quite, I have the LULA pointed parallel to the floor, not straight down. What this does is catches any mags where the follower snags in the mag body. I know when it happens because suddenly rounds stop pouring out of the mag. Follower catches in mag = weak spring/bad follower/dirty mag. |
I'm not quite sure what you mean by the LULA being parallel to the floor. Please use the actual rounds as a reference. I assume that the nose of the bullets in the mag are pointing at the floor. Actually, I don't think there is another position where the rounds would fall free from the mags. |
When I first read your post I though you wrote the magazine was upside down and I got confused
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