Need help: 223AI mag lips spreading

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

Guys, looking for a solution.

My mags are spreading in the heat. This is causing the rounds to "point upwards" and not ride the lips to the chamber.

Shooting taking place today in PHX. 109F and the polymer mags are showing some weakness. Is there a way to shore up the lips?

 

[Bradu]

They had issues with the AI 223 mags and the solution was to send it off and they would replace them.

 

[Nortex]

Get some accurate mag made 223 mags. All that mine needed was a little trimming for oal.

If you can find ruger 223 scout mags they are rebadged accurate mags and sometimes cheaper.

 

[Bradu]

I forgot to mention I use MDT mags with my 223AI and they work great

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

I forgot to mention I use MDT mags with my 223AI and they work great

Thanks. This will be for 223AI. Doing fireforming at the moment.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

They had issues with the AI 223 mags and the solution was to send it off and they would replace them.

Email sent to AI. Hopefully they are able to replace. Thanks.

 

[shoot4fun]

Most of my AI 223 mags suffered from "loose lips" even when not hot.
MDT mags work better and Accurate Mag 223 mag even better. The later is a metal mag with a poly liner. I did carefully modify the insert so my COAL with 80 Bergers would function.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

Most of my AI 223 mags suffered from "loose lips" even when not hot.
MDT mags work better and Accurate Mag 223 mag even better. The later is a metal mag with a poly liner. I did carefully modify the insert so my COAL with 80 Bergers would function.

Yeah that's what I was hoping to avoid. Also planing to run 80's

I'll research the COAL mod necessary

 

[Nortex]

The oal mod is simple and easy. I'll take some pics later today of mine.

 

[Xander3Zero]

The oal mod is simple and easy. I'll take some pics later today of mine.

This may be a stupid question... but how do I disassemble the 223 Accurage Mag so that I can trim the insert? It looks like there is a little "button" on the bottom plate of the mag and if you disengage that, you should be able to slide the plate off, but it seems to take considerable force? I was unable to push hard enough to get the bottom plate to slide out.

 

[spife7980]

My aics have always given me fits so I finally bit the bullet and bought a 70 dollar accurate mag. It’s fucking amazing. Feeds so damn smooth I don’t trust that it’s chambering. After the aics double feeding and smashing them into the breech... I’m beside myself. Get the accurate mag.

Its simply a 308 mag with a plastic liner to take up the extra space between the round and the wall. The bottom plate slides off which allows the insides to slide down and out and then you just file the plastic a bit because for some reason it has a lip to restrict the length. 10 seconds with a dremel and I gained a good bit of length. .15-.2” maybe.

Oh, I see you mean it’s tight. Yeah, I take an old oak 2x2 board and smack the ear on it forward. It’s not hard like a hammer and doesn’t scratch but it’s still hard enough to knock that plate forward with a good solid whack.

 

[shoot4fun]

Yeah that's what I was hoping to avoid. Also planing to run 80's

I'll research the COAL mod necessary

I don't think AI sells the 223 mags any longer and there is good reason. They just never got them to work. Well, let me clarify; the original run of them did work. Then there was a long dry spell where there were none, followed by the ones that just weren't very good.

 

[Nortex]

Bottom plate slides off the same as other accurate or ai steel mags do. It is tapered so it's only one way. After that drop the insert trim very top forward part for oal clearance and reassemble.

 

[Dai Bando]

Put some fired cases in the mag and file away.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

I received a response from AI. Makes me think they are busy making a better magazine:

We stopped producing .223 magazines around two years ago. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do at this time, we can add you to the list though and replace it for you when .223 production resumes in the future.

For immediate need I would suggest (MDT) Modular Driven Technologies.



Thank You,
Accuracy International

 

[Geno C.]

Little notch. This is an 80vld in a chamber with a .100" throat.

 

[Bradu]

View attachment 6934913Little notch. This is an 80vld in a chamber with a .100" throat.

What's the max oal for that magazine?

 

[Geno C.]

I want to say it says 3.050" on it somewhere... I can pull one out and measure when I get home if you want. In theory; a guy could mill the back part of the insert and make it even longer than just notching out the front

 

[Twitchy]

You can get 2.5XX" out of an Accurate Mag that has the front/top filed down. As mentioned, it is the same body as the 308 sized mags, it just has an insert. You could in theory file the backside down too, but the insert is clamshelled together and filing the back would in my mind compromise the insert integrity and cause follower cant issues.

The 308 versions do say 3.050 but I cant get much over 2.87X". They do make a second version without the internal bracing that supposedly gives 2.9X", but I haven't seen them in person.

FYI, I use the accurate mag for my 223 prs and like spife said, it's so smooth it's almost as if you're not actually chambering a round. Smooth as a bare action. My 308 versions (I use it for 6 Creedmoor) have had issues. I took them apart and removed the base/spacer so I could actually load 10 rounds without having to have He-Man strength and/or damage the top round.

 

[NWnewguy]

I use a chainsaw sharpening file for the Accurate Mags and it works perfect, looks perfect and takes about 4 minutes total.

 

[Mordamer]

I have posted on here before a couple years ago on how to fix this problem. It was a lengthy post and I don't have the time to dig it up or repeat it right now. I have 6 of the .223 AI mags that I run in 3 different rifles for over 10,000 rounds through them and they still work well. If you end up going with other mags I'll buy your defective AI mags from you if your price is reasonable.

 

[RTH1800]

That repair post was good, I will try to find it.
RTH

 

[Mordamer]

That repair post was good, I will try to find it.
RTH

I bet it was on Scout. I'll try to recreate it to some extent on here if I get a chance.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

I bet it was on Scout. I'll try to recreate it to some extent on here if I get a chance.

Thanks. I'd like to run these if possible.

 

[Mordamer]

These .223 AI mags have 2 problems that I have experienced.

Problem 1: Mag seems split slightly on the front or back seam close to the top. This allows the feed lips to spread farther apart and rounds to slip out the top.

Problem 1 fix:
-Take mag base, spring and follower out.
-Wedge something between the feed lips to spread the seam open.
-Drip super glue into the seam.
-Take the wedge out of the mag lips and clamp the mag on the outside with a vise or a clamp of some type.
-Wipe off excess glue.
-Allow super glue to dry while the clamp is in place.

I have not had the seams split open again after doing this fix.

Problem 2: Mag feed lips either wear open over time, are too wide open from the factory, or get soft and spread open in hot conditions. This problem and the first problem may be happening at the same time.

Problem 2 fix:
-Take mag base, spring and follower out.
-Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a pot on the stove.
-Stick mag body in the boiling water with the feed lips pointed down for about 30 seconds. This will soften the plastic.
-Pull mag body out of the hot water and use some type of tool to grip the front half of the feed lips and bend it slightly inwards. It doesn't take much to permanently bend the mag lips inwards slightly. Ideally you grip pretty low on the feed lip where the feed lip leaves the vertical portion of the mag body. This will help bend the base of the feed lip instead of the tip of the lip. I use needle nose pliers, but if you use something with serrated jaws it will scar the plastic. I have had success with the gap between the front of the feed lips at about 0.31 inches. If you bend the lips too far inwards you will cause feeding issues because the tip of the bullet is pointed down too low.
-As soon as you are done forming the lips run cold water over the plastic to cool it down. Mine have retained good function for a long time after doing this.
-Repeat above process until you get it feeding perfect or if the symptoms return.

Good luck.

If anyone has any of these mags that they have problems with and they have given up on them I would be happy to take them off your hands.

Also, I have had good luck with the .223 Ruger Precision Rifle 10 round mags after taking off 1/4 inch from the front of the feed lips. They are dirt cheap and are another option for AICS style .223 mags.