Worn out mags (2nd update with fix in OP)

[JLK*]

I'm new to the 15-22 but have very high round counts thru other guns over the years. Metal magazine bodies though.

Still I'm wondering if there are things that we can do to help prolong the life of these polymer types.

Would it help to not store the magazine loaded so that the lips wouldn't be under constant, long term pressure from the full pressure of the magazine spring?

Maybe be careful what we clean them with. Maybe spraying automotive brake cleaner or similar chemicals on the lips softens or weakens them?

Or how about some kind of plastic friendly lube applied lightly with a Q-Tip once in awhile?

Just throwing stuff out there. I have no idea what I'm talking about but I'm worried these things may be difficult to replace someday.
Thanks!
JLK

 

[Scopes]

ve tried alot to fix the iossue to no avail so far, im considering sending my mags back to smith and wesson to see if thier warranty will cover it.

Directly from the manual.

The Lifetime Service Policy covers functional defects; it
does not include the firearm's finish, grips, magazines or sights.

 

[Scottydoo]

I have same issue with one of my mags. Probably 2-3k rounds through it. I used a toothpick and jb weld to build up lips that were worn. Manually cycled them and showing good results. Keeping fingers crossed on live fire test soon.

 

[evnash]

I work on a shooting range, we have a rental 15-22 and we have had 2 mags do that so far...they wear out after so many rounds go through them (thousands)

its a common problem with us....if you heat them up with a heat gun (NOT A TORCH AS STATED ABOVE) then you can squeeze them back together, but make sure not to squeeze too much, that will fix your problem 100%

worked! see OP

 

[Majorlk]

Like a couple of others, I am curious as to what, if anything, the OP and others claiming this problem have put on the magazines. Contrary to popular Internet legend, brake cleaner is NOT safe for most polymers - it softens them.

On the other hand, if one never bothers to clean the inside of the feed lips, a coating of powder residue will accelerate wear as the cartridge head rubs across them. A quick wipe with a rag with some CLP on it pretty much eliminates the problem.

Contrary to what some "experts" will tell you, .22 rifles AND their magazines DO need regular cleaning and maintenance.

 

[evnash]

Like a couple of others, I am curious as to what, if anything, the OP and others claiming this problem have put on the magazines. Contrary to popular Internet legend, brake cleaner is NOT safe for most polymers - it softens them.

On the other hand, if one never bothers to clean the inside of the feed lips, a coating of powder residue will accelerate wear as the cartridge head rubs across them. A quick wipe with a rag with some CLP on it pretty much eliminates the problem.

Contrary to what some "experts" will tell you, .22 rifles AND their magazines DO need regular cleaning and maintenance.

i dont use brake cleaner. i use Remington spray cleaner. I use bulk 22 ammo and clean my guns after i shoot them (i have a range in my backyard) which includes breaking down the mags and scrubbing them with a nylon brush. The wear comes from running 1000s of rounds thru the gun.

 

[tlm3210]

Might want to baby those 25 rounders until we see what happens.

 

[photoracer]

They make ultrasonic "welders" for plastic that would probably be useful for making an effective repair, however the one time I saw one demonstrated it looked like it would require a fair bit of talent in the hands of the person doing the work. If you know someone with one of these units and the skill to use it that might be an area to explore.

Some motorcycle repair shops use them to repair the fairings on sport and racebikes. I know one that has just the equipment.

 

[photoracer]

i dont use brake cleaner. i use Remington spray cleaner. I use bulk 22 ammo and clean my guns after i shoot them (i have a range in my backyard) which includes breaking down the mags and scrubbing them with a nylon brush. The wear comes from running 1000s of rounds thru the gun.

Thanks for the video evnash. Good to see a quantitative analysis of the problem. I have lots of heat generating stuff including heat guns so I might try to fix the worn out ones I have also.
I don't use "bulk" ammo that much, prefering to use CCI-Tactical or Mini-Mags most of the time, except for practice and right now I am using M-22 for practice ammo.

 

[photoracer]

i dont use brake cleaner. i use Remington spray cleaner. I use bulk 22 ammo and clean my guns after i shoot them (i have a range in my backyard) which includes breaking down the mags and scrubbing them with a nylon brush. The wear comes from running 1000s of rounds thru the gun.

I agree cleaning .22 mags is highly overrated. About the only thing I do it clean the followers and maybe run a brush thru the interior of a mag once a year.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I'm still a little in shock that a few bricks of ammo can ruin these mags. Mags wearing that fast seem like a design flaw. Until very recently I would say I can go through that much ammo in a year's time easy. So does this mean some of us will be replacing mags or getting crazy with heat guns and epoxy on a regular? Meh. Unhappy.

 

[Daniel Cox]

similar experience but a lot less rounds

So here is the story. Got my 15-22 just before Christmas. Went out with the Nephew to do some shooting. We only had a single 25 round magazine. So we had to keep reloading a single mag. Not fun. We were shooting down by Lake Cumberland in KY and we were on a lot of rocks and by a huge hill. I do not remember who dropped the mag but it hit the concrete on the loading end. The mag looked fine to me. After this point we had some FTF. I was not sure what was going on but now I know exactly. I got two more 10 round mags in and converted to 25 last week. I went to the range last Sunday. I continued to have issues with the original 25 round mag. I found this thread and starting looking at my mag. The bullet would go vertical where it feeds from the magazine. After further investigation it appears the top of the magazine was spreading apart just enough causing the bullet to not feed properly. It was the same issue as the video in this thread. It appeared that the seam on the magazine where it feeds was broken or glue came loose when it was dropped. I have since glued the mag on the seam and used a hair dryer and bent the lips. I tested the mag last night on my couch. I would just pull the charge handle back and let it go. I could feed 25 rounds through with no issues. It seems to feed properly now. If the bullets can flip up vertical on the feeding part of the magazine you are going to get FTF. I hope my mag is fixed now but I will have to put a few 100 rounds through it to know.

FYI. my mag only had < 300 rounds through it so the feed lips were not worn but when the seam was spreading because of the drop it looked to have the same issue as in this video. I suggest you inspect your seams when cleaning your gun and if you see an issue then just get some Gorilla Glue. My seam would not spread until it was under load from being fully loaded. I disassembled the magazine. I wedged a plastic pen in from the top and the seam was spread. I then added the gorilla glue and removed the pen and let it sit for several hours. I cleaned up the remaining glue with some high grit sand paper and now off to the range. FYI. I used less than a tear drop of Gorilla Glue.

 

[Majorlk]

This is a perfect example of why one should NOT drop mags on the ground - especially on concrete!

 

[Maximumbob54]

Update?

Or is this a dead issue and we should just expect to have to replace the mags every couple of years???

 

[Blaster22]

This is a perfect example of why one should NOT drop mags on the ground - especially on concrete!

Kinda hard to avoid in tactical training!

 

[jacksrbtr46]

Pm sent

Jack