I asked this a different way but haven’t got an answer yet. I think I didin’t ask the question well enough and was to vague.
Does anyone know how far the magazine feed lips can spread before the magazine is no good? The reason I ask is that a rifle at work had a cartridge jamb between the charging handle and bolt. The rifle was stored in a car rack with the bolt locked open. I think the round was just jarred loose from driving but wanted to eliminate the magazine as the issue.
Thanks,
Aaron
If it popped out from road bumps–chuck it–it’s done.
A general test is to “pop” the bottom of the mag with your hand and if a round(s) pop out the feed lips are spread and the mag spring is weak.
I can usually “eyeball” the mag and tell.
You can also measure a few new ones and have an idea of what they should be.
The Army actually has a gauge out now for checking the spread. But I’ll be damned if I can find info on the specs of the gauge!
Two things should make you stomp on a mag…
… mag causes a malfunction.
or
… mag feedlips are “noticably” spread… if you can notice it… you need to throw it away.
You can also get a pmag cover and it has an built in “gauge” I’m sure someone has one laying around from one. Not sure, but it should be close as a G.I.
Once you measure a a couple new GI’s for a cross reference, make one if you need it.
The PMAG cover came to mind, but are the specs the same for both PMAG and GI aluminum mag openings?
I believe Kyle Lamb teaches to load a 30 rd magazine with 15 rds and then slap the bottom of the magazine.
If a round pops out then the magazine is bad, doesn’t exactly answer the feed lip dimension question but may help with troubleshooting bad magazines.
You can never spread any lips too wide!!
Oooh, you were talking about MAGAZINES…uh, what Quib and the others said!
Sparky;)
for the lips I dont see why they would be different, they all have to fit in the same magwell.
Yeah, this is pretty much the easiest way to tell if they’re worn out. I’ve never used or even seen an actual guage. The method Lamb teaches is just fine.
To ensure the magazines that are in the system are up to standard, PM Soldier Weapons will be making a magazine wear tool available this fall that eliminates guess work when it comes to identifying unserviceable magazines. The tool will enable armorers and supply supply sergeants to precisely gauge whether the separation between the magazine feed lips are within specifications – a critical parameter for magazine performance.
Outer mag dimensions effecting the magwell fit, are different than those of the feed lips.
Doing a quick measurement of a new GI mag verses a PMAG of the latest revision, the GI mag measures in at approx. .474", while the PMAG measures in at approx. .450". A difference of .024"
At first glance, there seems to be a difference. One would tend to think the dimensions would be the same. I guess that would be a good question for a rep of Magpul.
A general test is to “pop” the bottom of the mag with your hand and if a round(s) pop out the feed lips are spread and the mag spring is weak.
hmmmm-----
Tango Down–.425
newpmags-.445-.450
old pmags–.460-.470
GI-old ones, no new ones out–.460-.480, had one at .490–could tell it’s wider
This my batch
Good info Mark…lots of variance there!
Specs of the new feed lip tool…