Daniel Defense - Mags and Feeding

vancouverbc

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I picked up a new V5 and just finishing cleaning and oiling it. I noticed that new out of the box it is a little picky with feeding from the mags I have. You really have to jam the mag up hard into the well or it won't feed a round at all, and the bolt needs to hit under full pressure or the 223 rounds get caught up in the grooves of the feed ramp. I tried LAR and E-lander mags with the same result and they feed fine in my other AR. Is / was your DD like that? Not really a big deal just curious.
 
I agree with you. I have a new DD M4A1 (MilSpec+ brown), and I have also had many first-round stoppages because I haven't slammed the mag in hard enough.

02-088-15126-011_m4a1_mil_spec_plus.jpg


It's enough that I'm even starting to amend my drills to include a mandatory press check prior to shooting.

1. ####
2. Pull the handle back an inch to take a look and ensure there's a round in there.
If there is, reset and smash the forward assist.
If there isn't, hard tap rack and re press-check.

It doesn't seem to matter which mag, either. I have the steel 5/30 that came with it, a plastic 5rd Beowolf 50, and a 5/10 steel from my Mossberg MVP. It doesn't like any of them unless I smash the sh!t out of it.
 
For proper feeding the mag needs to be fully seated, if doing it on a closed bolt that may take a good smack. Try inserting it on an open bolt and you'll probably find it will seat much easier. The rifle was also designed to feed using the full momentum of the BCG, if you "ride" the bolt it will not feed properly, it's not how it was designed.
My DD has been flawless in the 500-600 rounds I have thru it now, they're great rifles.
 
I figured this was the case. Just haven't had to do it with other "lesser" rifles so was curious
No worries, my "lesser" rifle tended to be rather loose and more forgiving as well, now that I have some rounds thru my DD it has broken in and smoothed out quite nicely, it was tight right out of the box. What badboybeeson said is a great suggestion as well, it will loosen up the mag catch a little.
 
I have a DDm4 V7 and have had the same issues on occasion. A few fail to feeds from LAR and PMags, always when I don't need them. I will try Badboybeeson's trick and see if it helps. Seem like they have very tight tolerances.
 
My V5 runs like clockwork with PMAGs, LAR, or Beowulf magazines, provided that all rounds are properly seated all the way to the rear of the magazine. Some fine-tuning may be required (trimming follower or re-pinning) to allow the LAR or PMAGs to seat with the bolt forward with 10 or 5 rounds, respectively.

I strongly prefer that LAR magazines be fitted with a Magpul Ranger Plate or equal for ease of handling. This WILL require trimming the rear follower leg to allow a full 10 rounds.
 
My V5 runs like clockwork with PMAGs, LAR, or Beowulf magazines, provided that all rounds are properly seated all the way to the rear of the magazine. Some fine-tuning may be required (trimming follower or re-pinning) to allow the LAR or PMAGs to seat with the bolt forward with 10 or 5 rounds, respectively.

I strongly prefer that LAR magazines be fitted with a Magpul Ranger Plate or equal for ease of handling. This WILL require trimming the rear follower leg to allow a full 10 rounds.


I prefer my LAR mags to be fitted with......more LAR mags!

IMG-20130807-00819_zps51ce79ce.jpg


my MK18 seats all mags I've tried equally easy, even 4 LARS
 
Yes, I have the same problem with unmodified mags. Many need to be cut down (looks like the shape of a fingernail when cut where the round feeds out) with a dremel on the front until the round slides straight out without pressure from the mag angling it. I have LAR mags and ATS pistol 10/20 mags.

Also have a look at the back where the bolt loads the next round...I usually cut that straight down (I take the thickness of a dime out usually-same profile as factory cut...just lower). Once I do that my V5 loads fine, even on a closed bolt load.

I do still find I have to seat my mags really hard for them to lock in but I haven't figured out how to solve that problem. Anyone solved that mystery? I get tired of bruised palms feeding the darn thing during a match, clinic or practice.
 
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I had the same problem with my DDm4v1, only with the elander mag that came with it though. My Pmags worked fine.

Same, I hated the Elander mag. Didn't feed properly and it caused a double feed so bad that the feed lips bent.. Since i switched to pmags i havent had any issues.
 
Alrighty gun working flawlessly thanks guys. They are built to tight specs! Working with E-lander, Lar and PMags.

PS picked up a BCM Gunfighter charge handle and Magpul B.A.D - awesome little additions.
 
That is one sweet rifle brother!

Thank you. That's just the stock rifle photo, though. I've added a few more toys since then. I am seriously regretting my grip/bipod purchase, though. As much as the idea sounded great on paper to have both a grip and a bipod in one piece of kit, in reality it looks like a monstrosity as well as not being a good grip or a good bipod. At minimum I have to paint it black, then we'll see.

DD_zps51c9c2b3.jpg


Everything else I highly recommend, though. ACOG is great although I would get one with a bigger reticle, flashlight is great, 45 degree iron sights are great.
 
I have a DD MK18 had the same problem with the Elander Mag that came with it, just wouldn't latch. I have two Pmags tho and have no problems with them. Gun only has about 300 rounds through it though.
 
...Catching up on threads and saw this now. I'm having similar failure to feeds with my DDM4 V3. Failure could be the first round (which then I blame the mag and/ or the seating of the mag), however I also have this happen mid-mag, ie. after firing 7 or 8 rounds on my LAR mags, I get a failure to feed on my 8th/9th round. Thoughts for this symptom?

"Vancouverbc", if you don't mind me asking, which one of the solutions listed above, did you implement and feel was the cause of the issue? (I'm still diagnosing my issue).
 
My DDM4V5 needed some file work on the rivets on the PMags. The magwell is so tight that you could not get a tight mag seating until the rivets had been filed flat. Once this was done it feeds and runs flawlessly.
 
I picked up a new V5 and just finishing cleaning and oiling it. I noticed that new out of the box it is a little picky with feeding from the mags I have. You really have to jam the mag up hard into the well or it won't feed a round at all, and the bolt needs to hit under full pressure or the 223 rounds get caught up in the grooves of the feed ramp. I tried LAR and E-lander mags with the same result and they feed fine in my other AR. Is / was your DD like that? Not really a big deal just curious.

Although you've corrected the issue, the problem can also be caused by improperly pinned magazines. At five rounds of capacity the magazine needs to be pinned at 5.5 rounds, that is there should be enough room to push all five rounds down into the magazine without inserting a sixth. As mentioned the loading on a closed bolt can be problematic as the rounds would be unable to depress which would make seating the magazine difficult.

I agree with you. I have a new DD M4A1 (MilSpec+ brown), and I have also had many first-round stoppages because I haven't slammed the mag in hard enough.

02-088-15126-011_m4a1_mil_spec_plus.jpg


It's enough that I'm even starting to amend my drills to include a mandatory press check prior to shooting.

1. ####
2. Pull the handle back an inch to take a look and ensure there's a round in there.
If there is, reset and smash the forward assist.
If there isn't, hard tap rack and re press-check.

It doesn't seem to matter which mag, either. I have the steel 5/30 that came with it, a plastic 5rd Beowolf 50, and a 5/10 steel from my Mossberg MVP. It doesn't like any of them unless I smash the sh!t out of it.

I'm betting you're either mil or ex mil based on your manual of arms. Nevertheless its your choice how you operate but there is a much simpler method that requires less effort.

For starters your immediate action should include "TAP TUG RACK". This ensure the magazine has seated before you waste the time and effort operating the charge handle. Most failures to fire are caused by empty chambers which is a direct result of unseated magazines which as noted above is the result of improperly pinned magazines(or over tightened mag releases as mentioned by BBB).

For administrative loads its much easier to note the location of the top round either left or right side. This can be done both visually and tactually by touching the round with your finger/thumb. After you TAP TUG RACK, remove magazine and note whether or not the top round has shifted to the opposite side. Obviously if the top round has switched sides you have indeed chambered a round. TAP TUG and drive on. A press check introduces the potential for an out of battery condition which does nothing to alleviate the original problem. Releasing the bolt from a press check may not provide sufficient force to return to battery. This is where the forward assist gets used. The forward assist is a stupid control that serves no productive purpose. Anything that won't chamber under normal loading/firing forces is not something you want or need to be jamming into the chamber. Eliminate unnecessary use of the bolt/charge handle and you won't have an issue.

If you're reloading under stress/against the clock then you wont want to waste the time inserting then removing the magazine after charging the rifle let alone executing a chamber check(which doesn't work in the dark). Your manual of arms will be TAP TUG RACK, and if you experience a stoppage(failure to fire) execute another immediate action drill of TAP TUG RACK. Failure after this point means a transition to a remedial action which would be UNLOAD, RELOAD.

Number your magazines and keep track of the ones that cause issues. If it continues then toss the mags in the garbage, they're DISPOSABLE not repairable. A new magazine doesn't mean a functional magazine either. Pmags are the most reliable magazines ever offered and due to their injection molded design are very consistent dimensionally.

TDC
 
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