Snapdragon wrote:Well, my goat blood lost its power. I took the rifle back to the range and could not get through one of my four dedicated 450 magazines without a jam. The top round would strip out of the magazine and the second round would go far enough forward to jam the bolt before it returned to battery completely. I did not have a P-Mag with me to try one of them. These were the same magazines and the same ammo that worked perfectly last week. The rifle was well lubed, and the magazines were dry.
edit: I left out the nude moonlight dancing this time. Perhaps that is the cause.
Take some turns off the bottom of your magazine springs. They tend to have way too much lift force. Normally that is counteracted by the staggered feed of a 5.52 round but with a straight lift inline feed like the 450b it presses the top round up too hard. Now we're getting into remedies that are more often discussed around these parts. Polishing the bottom edge of the lips where the cases drag as they are stripped has merit as well. Everyone has their talisman for reliable mag function. I remove as many spring windings as will still allow a little upward pressure with the last round. Certainly not suitable for plunging the works in rice paddy muck and still being able to rely upon that last 5.56 round to save my life but I don't hunt under those conditions. Some, possibly many will differ with me on the following: If I get a magazine and it has those thin sheet metal plates on either side wall near the top, apparently to aid in centering the rounds, I yank them as well. The convex underside of the lips will serve to center the rounds as they lift into place. Using the proper follower also aids in centering. IMHO, those tabs drag on the rounds not only going up but also when you need that top round to
bob down a little so that it doesn't drag against the bottom of the bolt or the preceding round that is trying to strip, or when the bolt is on the way back. Don't forget to grind off any remaining spot weld pips left behind if you yank them, though they usually are not an issue. A lighter spring lift and a little top round
bob keeps everything fluid and able to more adequately yield the to the right of way.
That's my magic incantation for reliable magazines. If after having done those common sense preparatory steps, if my mags still are the source of a cycling issue, then I say "I have a mag problem."
Hoot