magazine loading problem

[Sieger]

Originally posted by Alx
Sieger,
The spring seat of the wood bottom, on an original Imperial-style magazine, is deeply releived, and places the bottom of the spring more or less at the same level and in front of the pin. That pin actually being behind the spring seat, and there not being a pin in front, allows the spring pressure coupled with the firing shock to break off the part below the pin. The break occurs along the wood grain, at the pin hole, and leaves the uppper part of the rear leg inside the magazine, while the entire rest of the wood bottom is propelled out by the spring. It has happened to two magazines I have used, before I started using WW2 alum. bottom mags, or modern MecGar, or Erma's P08 mags.

Hi:

I've never had a wood bottom break, so I'll have to bow to your superior experience. If it happens, it happens, that's simple enough to believe and understand.

One thing though, the original bottoms were supposed to be cross-grain to the pin, so I still can't visualize the problem. The problem, as you describe it, is caused by poor engineering, and I am quite shocked that the DWM engineers didn't catch this defect very early on!

For heavy duty usage, obviously, a metal bottom or even a solid plastic one is superior, and with multiple pins to hold it in place.

Sieger