Majorlk
Member
I'm having a hard time visualizing where you did the shaping. Any chance for a photo?
Reload problems!
- Thread starter OliRage
- Start date
I was just thinking about that. I will put a stock mag next to the one with the modified follower for a picture, I hope by this evening. I used to be a news photographer but I'm embarrassed to say I'll have to wait for my daughter to get home from school to help me with the close-up! 
In the meantime, if you're having this problem I suggest putting an empty mag in place and pressing and releasing the follower with your finger to see whether it pops all the way up to fully actuate the bolt catch. To me it seems obvious that the problem is caused by binding between the follower finger and the surface it contacts on the catch rocker.
Having said that, I don't want to discount tacticool22's fix. It seems to have worked very well for many.
In the meantime, if you're having this problem I suggest putting an empty mag in place and pressing and releasing the follower with your finger to see whether it pops all the way up to fully actuate the bolt catch. To me it seems obvious that the problem is caused by binding between the follower finger and the surface it contacts on the catch rocker.
Having said that, I don't want to discount tacticool22's fix. It seems to have worked very well for many.
Arrow points to the 45-degree angle I sanded on the left edge of the magazine follower finger end. This is shot from the back of the mags. The mag on the right is as-manufactured, with a square top on the finger.
I have not yet fired the rifle with this magazine but the binding between the finger tip and the bolt catch rocker seems to have been eliminated.
I have not yet fired the rifle with this magazine but the binding between the finger tip and the bolt catch rocker seems to have been eliminated.
Attachments
Majorlk
Member
It will be interesting to see if this solves the problem. It only happens to me about once or twice every ten magazines, so I don't give it a whole lot of thought. It never happens with my 10-rounders, though.
Thanks for the photo.
I shot with just two rounds in the magazine with the modified follower today (repeated perhaps a dozen times) and the bolt held open on the last shot every time. Then again, so did my other stock mags. That's not too surprising since the failure to hold open always has been intermittent.
I'm pretty confident this has fixed the problem, but only time will tell. I probably will do my other mags too, but will use a hand file and remove only as much material as necessary to get the follower to actuate the bolt catch reliably when I push it down and release it gently. The stock ones definitely stick when I do that.
@Majorlk, thanks much for the advice on pistol sighting.
I'm pretty confident this has fixed the problem, but only time will tell. I probably will do my other mags too, but will use a hand file and remove only as much material as necessary to get the follower to actuate the bolt catch reliably when I push it down and release it gently. The stock ones definitely stick when I do that.
@Majorlk, thanks much for the advice on pistol sighting.
@OliRage, did you trim the bolt release spring per tacticool22's instructions before this last outing when you said you had two or three failures to hold open? How has it been working since then?
I've had this problem quite a lot lately, shooting Federal 550 bulk packs from Walmart (the only cartridges I've used in this rifle so far). I cringe every time I hear that click, since the book warns about damage from dry firing. Thinking of trimming my spring.
BTW, in case you haven't noticed, there's a cat on your head.
Haven't been on here in awhile but since then ive have shot about 1000 rounds without cleaning and ive only had the bolt close once, maybe twice. I never touched the spring
