Fixing AR-15 Magazine Issues

A few years ago at Gun Tests magazine we did an exhaustive test of AR-15 magazines. This included soaking magazines in water and mud, throwing loaded magazines a distance, and running over them with a vehicle. I learned a great deal about magazines. Some highly touted magazines were made to sell, not function in a harsh environment while others cracked and failed. Interestingly enough, feed issues were few. Load and insert the magazine and they ran; it was hard use that did them in.

The tests began with a properly lubricated AR-15 rifle. Loading was done with the bolt locked to the rear and a loaded magazine inserted, then the bolt was released. I went back and consulted this test and the original text recently when a good friend had problems with feeding issues with his AR-15. This wasn’t a cheap rifle but among the best manufactured. I checked my notes and found that, strangely enough, most issues occurred with high end rifles.

The cheaper rifles may not be accurate and the buttstock may rattle but they accept just about any old magazine and function. I suppose loose tolerances are at play. Still, this isn’t a definitive conclusion. It was time to delve more deeply into the problem. The rifle itself must be clean and well lubricated. There may be issues due to the construction of the rifle. A few years ago—and this may be hard to believe in present times—there was a glut of AR-15 rifles.

Many anticipated another Most magazines are not as long lived. "AR ban" if Komrade Klinton had been elected but this did not come to pass. Some folks were left with stocks of rifles that they speculated on and which did not sell. Little did they know panic buying would put them back in the black! I don’t like to bet on the Devil and I am a shooter, not a speculator. Just the same, it seems some rifles were built pretty quickly. At one time a major maker offered a base AR-15 rifle for $399.

It wasn’t the greatest rifle built as you may imagine. Build quality and tolerances and clearance certainly play a factor in reliability. The same is true with magazines. Once you inspect the magazine and find no obvious damage then

This gauge is well made and an essential tool. it stands to reason if the rifle malfunctions only with this magazine the magazine is the problem and should be discarded. Magazines area renewable resource and wear more quickly than a bolt or barrel. They may leave the factory with a defect. If you measure the various magazines you may have in the shop you will find variations in the magazine body, feed lips, and overall dimensions. Despite this, most work very well in most rifles.

One friend found his rifle only worked with aluminum magazines. While I felt it should run with everything he left well enough alone and did not use PMAGs but stuck with Brownells aluminum magazines. Proper loading cannot be stressed enough. When you fill an AR-15 magazine, load three to six cartridges, tap the rear of the magazine on a boot heel or wooden table. Continue until the magazine is filled. This will ensure the cartridges are properly seated to the rear of the magazine.

When you load the magazine into the rifle it will be difficult and perhaps not possible to seat a fully loaded magazine against a closed bolt. The AR is designed for the magazine to be loaded into a rifle with the bolt locked to the rear and the bolt then released. If you keep the rifle at ready with the bolt down and chamber empty, download the magazine two cartridges. Maintenance The AR-15 magazine is very easy to clean and maintain, yet few shooters take the magazine down and clean it.

The interior may pick up grit, particularly if you practice speed loads and drops. The interior should be brushed out. Magazines are compressed in storage and manhandled. The magazine lips are the most obvious area to check for dents. In my experience plastic magazines may crack while metal magazines will dent. Some magazines spread over time if left loaded. The best cure for this is to discard these magazines. I have encountered very few AR magazine

The tab that locks into the magazine latch is a more likely wear spot. problems with folks simply firing and using the magazine but I have encountered some. Sure there is a big difference in which magazine works after a hard fall with a full load of cartridges or being ran over but for range use all seem to work well. Lets look over some exceptions. A failure to drop free when the magazine release is hit is fairly common.

Most of the time all that is required is to grasp the magazine and tug it from the magazine well. Here is what is happening. The small shelf below the magazine lips may need to be lightly tapped Left and This sometimes has an effect on reliability. or hammered to bring it into specs. Do this a little at a time. With a polymer magazine a file is taken to the same area to reduce its size. A friend tells me that his magazine release needed adjustment as it was screwed in too tight. I can see this as well.

When I stack up a few AR magazines for the range they are usually well worn magazines that I have used for years. I have the greatest confidence in them. Conversely I would never trust a magazine broken out of new packing for critical use. Anew magazine sometimes

has tight feed lips or even sharp feed lips. Using the magazine is the best cure but lightly polishing some feed lips may be necessary. I am not certain I would make this polishing a standard procedure but it cannot hurt. If the magazine once worked and starts to give trouble the feed lips have probably been damaged. The magazine body may also be damaged. At the present price of magazines—very cheap to affordable—I would simply discard a dented aluminum magazine or offspec polymer magazine.

I am conservative by nature and sometimes save broken parts or assemblies for possible use and a follower or magazine spring may be salvaged. I may need a photo for anew book or something of that nature. I have a bin of parts marked "JUNK" for that reason. Some are in the bin in an envelope marked "BAD" so they aren’t inadvertently used. For the professional trainer or law officer, discarding these defective devices may be the better program. A related problem is a stiff magazine catch.

This usually occurs when there is some dimensional conflict between the magazine and the latch/catch mechanism. It cannot usually be detected unless the magazine is fully loaded. Look carefully at the top edge of the magazine latch where it meets the lockup point on the magazine. The magazine catch is first removed from the rifle. The latch is easily removed right to left, with the attitude facing the sights. At the very top of the magazine latch is the area that meets the magazine itself.

Very lightly polish this area. Falls Church VA 22041 There may be burrs. Even the best rifle may have a bargain basement part—they should not but sometimes they do, particularly home builds. Also, do not neglect to lubricate the bolt of the rifle. Don’t let a lack of lubrication confuse the issue. I am also leery of steel cased ammunition. While cheap, or at least once cheap, steel cases aren’t as resistant to the elements as I like and a poor choice for long term storage.

Often enough, a failure to feed or an extractor problem leads back to steel cased ammunition. A handy tool well worth the price is the Brownells AR-15 Magazine Lip Gauge which offers ago/ no go check. This gauge allows you to quickly check the proper feed lip specs. Slip the gauge over the back of the magazine and lightly press the gauge between the magazine feed lips. If the gauge passes through the feed lips then the magazine is off spec.

Brownells also offers a magazine feed lip tool which may be used to repair the magazine feed lips. I have no experience with this tool but it seems a good idea. I have used the Magazine Lip Gauge often and it is a neat tool. AG