Did you know that most of the failures in your rifle come from a poorly maintained magazine?
Your magazine completes your rifle and maintaining it is anything but a lazy person’s job. If you have been experiencing performance issues with your rifle, it’s probably time to check your magazines.
AR magazines maintenance: Dos
Whether you have just bought your first AR magazine or have been hoarding them for quite some time, you must know what it takes to maintain them. Here are a few things you ought to do if you wish to increase the durability of your magazines as well as significantly improve their performance.
· Lube your magazines
This is especially important if you have a metal magazine. Plastic magazines aren’t as demanding as the metal ones when it comes to maintenance. So, when you buy a metal magazine, go ahead and add a good lubricant to your cart, as well.
In fact, every part of your gun that moves should be oiled and kept well-lubricated. That’s the number one rule to maintaining your AR magazines. The reason? Metals need grease to perform smoothly. Deny them that and you are looking at a terrible day on the field.
All you need to do is disassemble your gun, wipe the magazine tube and pour a few drops of a suitable lube into the tube body. You will definitely save time when loading the gun, the next time you use it.
Also, don’t forget to wipe off any liquid that remains inside the magazine. The liquid will draw in more dirt, ruining its performance.
· Store your pellets in a tin
Did you get a fabric case with your rifle bag that’s equally exquisite and safe? Do yourself a favor and toss it out of the window.
Fabrics can’t save your pellets from getting wet. They aren’t waterproof. On the other hand, tin cases work just fine. They may not be as attractive as the fabric ones, but they serve the purpose. The same applies to leather pellet pouches. Once they are wet, they are no good.
Since a magazine is useless without the pellets, ensure to make them part of your AR maintenance routine, too.
· Clean the chamber
Why clean the chamber, you ask? Well, you can’t clean your magazine and expect your gun to work fine. This is yet another minor step that you ought to include in your maintenance routine.
While it could take some creative problem-solving and getting used to, the easiest way is to start from the rear. Insert your brush from the back and get rid of any dust and debris that could hinder the gun’s performance.
Now, you are good to go!
· Always place your magazine inside the pouch headfirst
You could be using your gun for hunting or sports. It doesn’t matter what you do with your gun or where you use it, you must keep your magazine accessible at all times. So, you just have to reach for the pouch whenever you need it. No need to wait and adjust it during emergencies.
· Keep more than one magazine for every gun
No matter how much you spend on magazines, they are eventually going to wear off. Magazines can be easily damaged. Ideally, you should have four magazines for each of your guns. You never know when you have to pull out a new one because your existing one has failed.
· Store your magazines in high-quality covers
Experts suggest keeping your magazines in pouches that have a sheepskin lining. Such pouches allow you to prevent any avoidable damages to the magazines. They also help you keep the moisture away from the equipment. So, unless you are willing to wake up to a red magazine, buy a high-quality cover for your magazines and protect them from corrosion.
· Tag your mags based on their reliability
Each magazine serves a different purpose. So, if you are a gun connoisseur, label your mags according to their use. You can determine their usefulness by considering how frequently you use your mags or overall reliability. Depending on your preferences, you can either label them using numbers or simply their purpose.
AR magazines maintenance: Don’ts
With power comes great responsibilities. If you don’t want your magazines to retire before their time has come, avoid making these common maintenance mistakes.
· Don’t cover your magazines using a camo wrap
Everybody loves to customize their guns. And why not? Rifle skins make your gun look so unique that you can spot them from a distance from among a pile of guns with similar make and model.
Camo wraps look really cool when you take them out on the field, and they are popular enough for us to measure their likeability in the market. But are they practical enough?
Even while being 100% waterproof, camo wraps do more damage to your gun and magazine than protect them. Try seeing what happens underneath the camo wrap after spending a day in the rain.
You will find that the camo wraps or rifle skins don’t allow the moisture to escape, which ruins the body of your magazine. So, be smart and keep your magazines away from the fancy stuff.
· Don’t deep clean without disassembling
The reason for not doing this is kind of obvious. You shouldn’t deep clean without disassembling your magazine because you won’t be able to do it properly. How can you? You can’t get into the depths of the magazine unless to take it apart. So, you will end up doing a bad job. Since maintaining an AR magazine is no minor feat, you need to practice until you master taking care of your magazines.
Get your hands dirty and look for those loose, rusty springs and buffer retaining pin that are failing. Replace the broken and eroded parts immediately to keep the performance unaffected.
· Never let your magazines get wet
When they come in contact with moisture, magazines get damaged. It doesn’t matter if they are made of plastic or metal. If you allow liquids to penetrate and set up camp inside the magazine tube, be ready to compromise on the functionality. It will become a dirt magnet and obstruct the potential of your equipment.
Besides, ensure that you don’t disassemble your magazines for cleaning too often. You might end up causing more harm than good.