For information only.
"Disclaimer - all the original magazines that came with my VZ purchases fit the firearms perfectly - It was only the surplus magazines I purchased in "bulk" that had this issue".
So I get my on sale "surplus" magazines from Wolverine today.
Take them out of the paper wrapper and while used they appear pretty good.
They've got the standard "gunk" in them indicating they've been sitting for a long time.
Exterior looks good with minor scuff marks. Several of them appear to have been repainted at one time in their lives.
However, only 1 of the 7 magazines fits the receiver (i.e. they are too wide).
Sitting down at my workshop bench I begin to examine them and observe the following:
1. Paint is pretty thick on some of the magazines.
2. Looks like grit and other crap got on the magazine body prior to inserting into the receiver. Softer aluminimum mags had embedded "scratches" where grit embedded itself in magazine while inserting/removing from firearm.
3. Some of the magazines appeared to have a sticky residue on them on the portion that mates to the receiver.
4. Most of the mags fit fine at the rear but had "issues" with the front of the magazine where it locks into the front of the receiver.
In order to get the magazines to fit (and not screw up the feed lips/bullet geometry) I performed the following on each "fat" mag.
1. Cleaned mag with gun solvent to remove the sticky residue. I suspect this was from magazines stored in the firearm over a period of time and the gun oil migrated into the painted magazine - softening it up somewhat.
2. Took a medium grit foam sanding pad and scuffed up the magazine (not removing any paint to bare metal) to take off any residual sticky stuff and knock down any high spots due to paint build-up and/or scratches.
3. Then took a small woodworking quickclamp and placing it near the front of the magazine (not any where near the feed lips) I proceeded to ratchet the clamp fairly tight. Note - the follower prevents you from over-tightening the sidewalls. At no time while clamping did the follower bind (I constantly moved it while I was clamping to determine when to stop).
4. On a couple of stubborn magazines I had to do this 2-3 times until it fit properly. Running a straight edge across the side of the magazine showed how much it was bowing out. Note - the rubber cushion on the clamp has a lot of give which prevents you from over-clamping the magazine. Make sure you use the smaller ones (6" travel). Repeated process until straight edge showed minimum bow - test fitted to rifle in order to get nice fit.
5. Final step was to give the outside of the magazine a quick wipe to clean any sanded residue.
Test fitting showed clean magazine insertions where before they wouldn't go in.
I suppose you might be able to tweak the magazines to allow for a sloppier fit (read: faster insertion) but I just did it enough to be able to insert the magazine with the same force as my other "good" mags.
As always, your mileage may vary, and I am not responsible for any ham-fisted mistakes trying to duplicate my efforts.
L
"Disclaimer - all the original magazines that came with my VZ purchases fit the firearms perfectly - It was only the surplus magazines I purchased in "bulk" that had this issue".
So I get my on sale "surplus" magazines from Wolverine today.
Take them out of the paper wrapper and while used they appear pretty good.
They've got the standard "gunk" in them indicating they've been sitting for a long time.
Exterior looks good with minor scuff marks. Several of them appear to have been repainted at one time in their lives.
However, only 1 of the 7 magazines fits the receiver (i.e. they are too wide).
Sitting down at my workshop bench I begin to examine them and observe the following:
1. Paint is pretty thick on some of the magazines.
2. Looks like grit and other crap got on the magazine body prior to inserting into the receiver. Softer aluminimum mags had embedded "scratches" where grit embedded itself in magazine while inserting/removing from firearm.
3. Some of the magazines appeared to have a sticky residue on them on the portion that mates to the receiver.
4. Most of the mags fit fine at the rear but had "issues" with the front of the magazine where it locks into the front of the receiver.
In order to get the magazines to fit (and not screw up the feed lips/bullet geometry) I performed the following on each "fat" mag.
1. Cleaned mag with gun solvent to remove the sticky residue. I suspect this was from magazines stored in the firearm over a period of time and the gun oil migrated into the painted magazine - softening it up somewhat.
2. Took a medium grit foam sanding pad and scuffed up the magazine (not removing any paint to bare metal) to take off any residual sticky stuff and knock down any high spots due to paint build-up and/or scratches.
3. Then took a small woodworking quickclamp and placing it near the front of the magazine (not any where near the feed lips) I proceeded to ratchet the clamp fairly tight. Note - the follower prevents you from over-tightening the sidewalls. At no time while clamping did the follower bind (I constantly moved it while I was clamping to determine when to stop).
4. On a couple of stubborn magazines I had to do this 2-3 times until it fit properly. Running a straight edge across the side of the magazine showed how much it was bowing out. Note - the rubber cushion on the clamp has a lot of give which prevents you from over-clamping the magazine. Make sure you use the smaller ones (6" travel). Repeated process until straight edge showed minimum bow - test fitted to rifle in order to get nice fit.
5. Final step was to give the outside of the magazine a quick wipe to clean any sanded residue.
Test fitting showed clean magazine insertions where before they wouldn't go in.
I suppose you might be able to tweak the magazines to allow for a sloppier fit (read: faster insertion) but I just did it enough to be able to insert the magazine with the same force as my other "good" mags.
As always, your mileage may vary, and I am not responsible for any ham-fisted mistakes trying to duplicate my efforts.
L
