Clean your magazines?

[coachray]

A fellow shooter at the range I go to said he routinely cleans his magazines. I wasn't aware that was necessary. Does anyone else do that? Thanks for any input.

 

[pcgunner]

I don't clean mine really - I may blow it out with some air or dust it off a bit but not really "clean" it the way I clean my guns.

 

[Arik]

It's not. Once in a while it's ok just in case. I haven't touched the inside of a mag in years

 

[Muss Muggins]

Not all that necessary, unless you regularly shoot where you're dropping them in the dirt or water. Doesn't hurt to take 'em apart once in a while and knock the dust off. Don't use oil or solvent. They just need to be wiped off and reassembled.

 

[The Nothing]

I might wipe 'em down once in awhile, but that's about it.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I take all my mags apart and wipe the bodies down inside and out, wipe the followers off, and wipe the springs down, and reassemble them. It may not be necessary but it doesn't hurt anything.

Mags have gotten costly, and some have been discontinued. You may as well take care of them.

 

[Bakert]

As with all equipment with multiple pieces one should disassemble and clean mags to assure proper function. With the development of better materials and manufacturing process's this has become less critical, however if one is shooting in a match environment then every aspect needs to be addressed to assure this does not affect the outcome. Spent and unspent powder, grease and oil, dirt and other debris does tend to accumulate in areas not seen during casual inspection. It can't hurt to review the condition of a mag, especially when your life may depend on it for you EDC firearm. That said to each his own.

 

[loknload]

Everytime I strip a gun for cleaning I do the magazine as well! What's another 5 minutes to disassemble, wipe clean, lubricate and reassemble?
Just my way of cleaning!

 

[OKFC05]

First thing I do with a new magazine is to disassemble it, clean it with CRC silicone, wipe it dry and reassemble.

I also deburr as necessary and assure the spring is in the right way; I have found factory magazines that were NOT.

By the way, I've found the Shield magazines, which so many complain are hard to load, do much better after cleaning.

As to how often you need to clean: when they get dirty. We were shooting an IDPA match at Greenville, TX in 3 in of mud and using buckets of water at each stage to wash mud out of loaders and mags, when one shooter remarked "Well, think the internet shooters would believe how often we are cleaning our mags?"

 

[bigwheelzip]

Disassembled and cleaned after each use.

 

[Targets Guy]

First thing I do with a new magazine is to disassemble it, clean it with CRC silicone, wipe it dry and reassemble.

I also deburr as necessary and assure the spring is in the right way; I have found factory magazines that were NOT.

By the way, I've found the Shield magazines, which so many complain are hard to load, do much better after cleaning.

As to how often you need to clean: when they get dirty. We were shooting an IDPA match at Greenville, TX in 3 in of mud and using buckets of water at each stage to wash mud out of loaders and mags, when one shooter remarked "Well, think the internet shooters would believe how often we are cleaning our mags?"

Thanks for the tip on the Shield. I'll give that a try.

 

[Valmet]

Like "The Nothing" said- I wipe mine down on occasion (primarily Glock mags) but pretty much unnecessary to disassemble and clean magazines. I've known guys who shoot ARs a lot to disassemble PMags and run the bodies, baseplates and followers thru the dishwasher but they shoot A LOT. For the average shooter, I think it's unnecessary.

 

[S&W Rover]

My goal is to clean them about once a year... or when I notice the follower is getting grungy.

We used to talk about magazines causing a lot of problems, and I think there was a time when they really did. 1911's always seemed to have problems feeding, and magazines were often blamed. Things are better today with the current crop of great products (including the SD-family and M&Ps and their magazines).

And I always clean the magazines from any used gun I purchase -- and have found a lot of them are pretty dirty. In older used guns, the oil/dust/powder mixture can become pretty hardened in there and potentially affect function.

 

[The Nothing]

My goal is to clean them about once a year... or when I notice the follower is getting grungy.

Perfect IMO