Empty magazine will work, magazine with ammo won't go in

velodog455~ · 02-06-2025, 09:48 AM

Remove the grips and try inserting the mag. Gunbugs is correct that grip screws can be too long if the wood has shrunk any in the last 80-100 years which can keep the mag from fully inserting. Also, have you tightened your grip screws in the last week or so?

If it still won't go in then remove the entire upper and try inserting the mag. If it won't go in using the above test but goes in after removing the upper then at least you know the problem is somewhere in the upper assembly.
-Bob

Robert in NC · 02-06-2025, 10:24 AM

Thanks to everyone for suggestions.

The mysterious problem, which I worked on for an hour and a half and not find a cause, has just as mysteriously solved itself. I took off the grips and still couldn't see anything wrong, and the problem persisted, so at a growing frustration level put the gun on the work bench and left it for several hours. When I decided to look at it again inexplicably everything worked fine.
Basically it didn't work, I left it on the work bench for several hours, and without doing anything else it did work.

While I'm glad the issue is solved I would have liked to know what the problem actually was and how it suddenly resolved itself. Operator error springs to mind, but it's not like inserting a magazine is a difficult operation.

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02-06-2025, 09:48 AM	#1
velodog455~ User Join Date: Aug 2023 Posts: 100 Thanks: 28 Thanked 90 Times in 52 Posts	Remove the grips and try inserting the mag. Gunbugs is correct that grip screws can be too long if the wood has shrunk any in the last 80-100 years which can keep the mag from fully inserting. Also, have you tightened your grip screws in the last week or so? If it still won't go in then remove the entire upper and try inserting the mag. If it won't go in using the above test but goes in after removing the upper then at least you know the problem is somewhere in the upper assembly. -Bob

02-06-2025, 10:24 AM	#2
Robert in NC User Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: North Carolina Posts: 35 Thanks: 32 Thanked 23 Times in 12 Posts	Thanks to everyone for suggestions. The mysterious problem, which I worked on for an hour and a half and not find a cause, has just as mysteriously solved itself. I took off the grips and still couldn't see anything wrong, and the problem persisted, so at a growing frustration level put the gun on the work bench and left it for several hours. When I decided to look at it again inexplicably everything worked fine. Basically it didn't work, I left it on the work bench for several hours, and without doing anything else it did work. While I'm glad the issue is solved I would have liked to know what the problem actually was and how it suddenly resolved itself. Operator error springs to mind, but it's not like inserting a magazine is a difficult operation.