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Posted: 12/29/2003 2:37:39 PM EDT
| New M1A, 5 mags bought same place(20 rounders) 3work fine, 2 tend to function fine for 10 rounds, then let bullet points stay so low that bolt pushes point into edge of mag instead of chambering. How do I tune these mags? |
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Buy some more, this time buy USGI: www.coledistributing.com/ www.ammoman.com/ |
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USGI M14 mgazines have the following distinguishing features: 1. They cost about $35 in excellent condition. Low price is an instant tip off, unless you routinely find WW2 jeeps still in the crates. 2. All steel welded construction with slide off floor plates. 3. Steel magazine retaining plate spot welded (5 or 6 little welds) to the top back edge. Embossed are a give away. 3. Parkerized finish. No paint. 4. Maker's mark will be visible on the lower back edge. May have to wipe the mag with CLP to make it shiny enough to show up. Non-USGI M14 magazines are usually just junk. -- Chuck |
| Thanks again for the suggestions. Yes I have taken the problem mags apart and can't find burrs or other problems, I am suspicious of a weak spring of misshaped spring or slightly out of spec feed lips. Cartridges just don't seem to be pushed up strong enough at the bullet end especially when one half full or less. Especially liked the descriptions of GI mags. My problem mags don't have a manufacturers mark and the lug is embossed to appear spot welded when it is not. I am new to the M1A but have 15 plus years with the AR. |
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todd, One reason e veryone assumes you bought aftermarket mags is - USGI hardly ever fail. I have tried something like 15 different mags in my rifle with zero failures. So 2 out of 5 failure indicates (strongly) that you bought USA or some other aftermarket mags. I recommend you visit www.battlerifles.com If you indeed have aftermarket, I have no clue how to make them reliable. Typically they are just not built well enough and nothing you can do. |
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todd, One reason e veryone assumes you bought aftermarket mags is - USGI hardly ever fail. I have tried something like 15 different mags in my rifle with zero failures. So 2 out of 5 failure indicates (strongly) that you bought USA or some other aftermarket mags. I recommend you visit www.battlerifles.com If you indeed have aftermarket, I have no clue how to make them reliable. Typically they are just not built well enough and nothing you can do. |
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Did you buy the light grey parkerized magazines that have recently hit the market? If yes, when you took them apart did you notice that the springs had rounded corners like M16 Mags.? If your mags are as I describe, get some USGI replacement springs. They should solve your problems. If your Mags are blued with a stamped rather than welded locking tab, they are hopeless but not useless. Since they are pre-ban, they can be replaced/rebuilt with post ban components. So, if somehow your magazines got accidently ran over and were unusable, you could buy USGI replacement components and build new magazines. You just need to keep the remains of the destroyed pre ban mags. Building your mags this way will cost you less than $30.00 each. Get your components from Elite firearms and Sarco. |
| Additional information on M14 magazines can be found at this link: m14.freeservers.com/custom2.html |
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Not to beat a dead horse, but get like new USGI 30 rounders from fulton armory or another reputable retailer. you won't regret the $. If your rifle has a problem with USGI mags, it is likely a rifle or ammunition problem. By the way, what ammuntion are you using? Start with some M80 Ball from CMP or other NATO 7.62 x 51. That is what an M14/M1A is designed to fire. |
| I bought some of those "el cheapo" mags. Stamped catch, plastic follower and such. They worked fine, but most of the time with ANY mag that doesn't send the nose of the bullet up, it is USUALLY spring related (weak). Another trick....works with both GI and aftermarket, after loading the the mag, tap the back of the mag on your hand to seat the rounds all the way back. |
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I saw some magazines from Argentina this weekend at a gunshow in Orlando. The "man" said they were made to USGI specs. They looked just like GI to me. Does anybody have any experience with this mag? They were selling for $27 each, new. I hate to take a chance on anything other than GI. |
These are the ones I mentioned. So far I have heard they are from Italy, China by way of Canada, Taiwan, Greece and now Argentina. One person even told me that they have been in storage in the US since before the ban.  Nobody seems to know or want to say for sure where they are from. They look similar to G.I. but they have the wrong type of spring. I found this out after I bought one. I replaced it with a GI spring and so far it works fine.
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| I got some of the "Well built but no name probably Chinese" mags. They had problems but I took them apart and put a light coating of CLP inside. Fixed that problem but now the last round pops out of the mag as the bolt is ejecting the previous case. The follower locks the bolt back and I am left with the last round sitting oh so pretty on top of the follower. Maybe a USGI follower will fix that. Possible teflon or some such coating of the mag will help it run "dry." |
probably everyone has seen this link but... m14.freeservers.com/custom2.html it is the most definitive info on the M14 mag that I am aware of. |
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From the Fulton Armory site: 20 Round Capacity Magazines: Original U.S.G.I. contract 20 round magazines still in their original gray-black Parkerized finish are currently worth $25 to $50, depending on condition. There is currently a shortage of M14 magazines on the U.S. market, and prices are rising. Even the DCM-CMP has raised their prices, and now limits DCM shooters to purchasing a small quantity each year. (As of this posting, 31 August 1999, the CMP has discontinued M14 magazine sales and has no idea when, if ever, they might resume -- Editor) You can tell original U.S.G.I. magazines by their dark gray (almost black) phosphate finish, and the presence of a maker's code mark. This mark is stamped of the rear of the magazine, approximately 3/4-inch up from the baseplate. Here are the makers code marks that I've seen or heard of: BRW made by Borg-Warner BRW S-1 made by Borg-Warner C.M.I. made by Check Mate Industries of Long Island, New York Note: CMI was the last known military contract maker. (Circa 1990/1991.) This contract was reportedly done for the U.S. Navy for M14 deck rifles used during the Gulf War. According to Clint McKee of Fulton Armory, the quality of these magazines was not quite as good as from earlier contracts. HR made by Harrington and Richardson H-R made by Harrington and Richardson HR-R made by Harrington and Richardson KMT (A stylized logo with large K and the "M" and T" tucked in around the "K") made by Kileen Machine and Tool Company M made by ? Possibly mis-marked magazines made by Winchester (inverted M???) OM made by Winchester (Back when it was part of Olin-Matheson.) SA made by Springfield Armory (The original government arsenal, not the commercial firm that now uses the name.) These magazines are very scarce and command premium prices. TRW made by Thompson Ramo Woolridge UHC made by Union Hardware Company W made by Winchester WRA made by Winchester If you've seen any other code marks on M14 magazines, or the location of any of the factories, please let me know, even if you don't know who the maker was. Many thanks! Refinished magazines: As the supply of M14 magazines on the civilian market has dried up since the September 1994 ban, many dealers have turned to re-phosphating any worn-looking magazines to keep up their inventories. The quality of this work varies, but in general, if they start with the original U.S.G.I. article, the end result is a good functional magazine. (But once re-finished they of course have little or no collector's value.) In recent years Springfield Armory has refinished thousands of G.I. magazines. Some of them look a bit nasty, since the magazines show pitting beneath the re-phosphating. The supply of M14 magazines is currently so scarce that Springfield sell their re-finished magazines for more than $50 each! Notes on U.S.G.I. Wrappers: I have seen original U.S.G.I. contract 20 round magazines packed in a variety of wrappers. Most common is a 4-pack. But I've also seen them individually wrapped and even in a long box of two (end to end, lengthwise.) Earlier magazines were packed in a cream colored synthetic material that resembles canvas on the outside, but when torn open you can see a vapor barrier of a silvery-metallic material. The later contract magazines are wrapper in a heavy brownish paper, with the same a vapor barrier of a silvery-metallic material inside. Just a few were coated in Cosmoline before packaging. (The vast majority were packed "dry".) |
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