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Magazine won't engage

Jig Stick

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 27, 2010
1,439
4
44
Pittsburgh PA
I have a Bushmaster CAR15. Old school style. Preban. In great shape though. Im having a problem with it though. With the bolt closed….if I try to insert a loaded magazine into the magwell, it will not "catch" and retain in the rifle….it will drop free to the ground. If I have the bolt rearward, the magazines lock up normally. Ive tried two different PMAGs and it happens with both of them. Any ideas of why the magazine won't engage with the bolt closed? Ive tried slapping the mag from the bottom but no joy. I will be taking a carbine course in a few weeks, and I am sure I will need to feed the rifle loaded magazines with the bolt closed
 
getting ready for nov 9th? lol me too!

are these loaded fully, loaded partially, or unloaded?

i know some pistols have this problem with a fully loaded mag, slide closed. i did read somewhere that some people like to down load their AR mag 1 or 2 to prevent this. i am not sure if this is an issue with ARs in general. i am not well versed in ARs.

maybe in stead of a "smack", try a good healthy "shove"?
 
Download the mag one or 2 rounds. The top round in the mag is being pushed up with enough force by the mag spring that you get too much interference with the bcg to seat the mag.
 
ok, i just tried fiddle fucking around.

Pmags will hold 31 rounds. the mag WILL NOT SEAT, obviously. so, if you are just loading mags to "capacity" while watching TV and not counting, i can see how this can happen. not enough room left in the mag with a fully compressed spring. it was taking me some effort with 30, 29, and 28 rounds. it seemed easier with the top round on the right-hand side, so round 30 and 28. it was easier to seat the mag with 30rnds than with 29??? i could be wrong.

for me, i was also easier to shove the mag, instead of smack it. again, i could be wrong.

i do remember watching a video of when you insert a mag, you are supposed to pull down to make sure it is seated. case in point, during a USPSA match earlier this year, i did a reload with slide closed, round in chamber, full mag. gun went bang, mag went thud to the ground.

i am not military or LEO. these are just my observations.

*edited for content*
 
This can happen to even more experienced shooters. If you shoot enough, this will happen... carry on!!

DK
 
bingo. I dropped down to 29 rounds and it seats…be it with a firm slap. Kinda sucks not to be able to run the mag at its stated capacity. Is their any way around this? Softer mag springs or something?

Nov 9 is gonna be really informative. I can't wait. Have to research single point slings for the AR….I don't have any slings at all
 
bingo. I dropped down to 29 rounds and it seats…be it with a firm slap. Kinda sucks not to be able to run the mag at its stated capacity. Is their any way around this? Softer mag springs or something?

Nov 9 is gonna be really informative. I can't wait. Have to research single point slings for the AR….I don't have any slings at all

Yep, seat mag with bolt open. It locks back on the last round for a reason...
 
Yep, seat mag with bolt open. It locks back on the last round for a reason...

not trying to be a smart ass, so please don't take it that way. but maybe sometimes you don't want to empty the mag. maybe you want the bolt closed, round in the chamber for a reload. retain the mag, insert new mag, and continue.
 
AR mags get downloaded 2 rounds, 28 in a 30, 18 in a 20. Mags insert with a 'push-pull'. Do not 'slap' magazines in place. If the bolt is in fact locked open, this can cause the magazine to 'volcano', dumping several rounds up into the receiver causing a malfunction.
 
not trying to be a smart ass, so please don't take it that way. but maybe sometimes you don't want to empty the mag. maybe you want the bolt closed, round in the chamber for a reload. retain the mag, insert new mag, and continue.

A friend of mine is in the coast guard and deployed to Afghanistan a few months ago. Http://www.army.mil/article/101430 His orders were to not fill the mags to capacity.
 
This is a common issue with magazines loaded full to 30 rounds. For this reason I tend to keep mine at 27-28 rounds. I have been to a couple tactical carbine courses where they also recommend loading a couple under the max limit. Even with 28 rounds loaded and a closed bolt, I still have to be firm when pushing the mag in. After pushing the mag in firmly, give it a little tug down to make sure it is locked in. In the heat of the moment during a course I have seen guys think they seated the mag propery during a tac reload, then when they move from cover their mag falls out of the rifle, no one wants to be that guy.

As far as a sling for your course, I recommend Savvy Sniper which can be used as a 1 or 2 point sling. The Savvy Sniper is comfortable, and I think they have the best length adjustments of any sling I have used. If you haven't already checked, make sure you have a single point sling attachment. I use a Magpul asap for the attachment.