S&W Magazine Jams

[Gussler]

Hey there. Today I FINALLY managed to shoot my newest airgun with the proper 0.20G BB's that I got yesterday. Sadly, my day was ruined by my malfunctioning magazine. I kept shooting blanks for a while, took out the mag for a sec and noticed the BB's weren't coming up anymore - they were jammed.

http://i5.tinypic.com/16c8c5u.jpg
(Even with the clip straight up, or upsidedown, BB's still stuck)

If this is the case, I know they're not all smoothly inserted (all nicely stacked is what I mean) but even so they stay jammed up.

http://i5.tinypic.com/16c8d5l.jpg
(No BB at the top)

http://i3.tinypic.com/16c8enk.jpg
(My thumb is off the spring holder thingy)

Is this simply a matter of lubing it up a bit on the insideof the mag??

[active1x0]

Originally Posted by Gussler

Is this simply a matter of lubing it up a bit on the insideof the mag??

I personally would not recommend this. It gives your BB's a nice little coating of lube themselves, which plays hell with the airborne ballistics when fired. You're just not loading them correctly.

When you are first starting out, you need to hand load each one, one at a time. Make sure each bb you put in stacks in the right place on the opposite side of the magazine of the bb you just inserted before it. Put in exactly the correct number of BB's the magazine was made for, then release the spring catch. You should get a perfectly stacked magazine with no gaps.

It's just a slow process until you learn to tilt the magazine at the right angle every other BB so you get a perfect stack. It may also help to quickly shake the mag up and down when a bb doesn't stack on the correct side - this, I have found, will often cause the BB's to miraculously settle in their appropriate spots.

If you get a perfect stack and your BB's are still not feeding well, you may need to replace the follower spring.

*Edit* In case you haven't caught on yet, the "spring holder thingy" is called the spring catch.

[Autumn]

How does the spring move without the rounds in it?
If it doesn't seem to catch and moves just fine, the BB's might be the culprit. They should have a rather smooth surface. I recently had a problem with some questionable .25g that had a rather rough exterior and it made the BB's jam in my mag. I suspect that you have the same problem.

I have never heard of anyone needing to oil that part of there mag before, but I doubt it could hurt if nothing else is working. Just go lightly, maybe a Q-tip with just a drop of silicon on it.

It will also help a lot it you always make sure that the rounds are stacked properly. It can make the mag or the gun jam if they are not, and you get the added bonus of more shots that way. :-D

Best of luck with your problem.

[Gussler]

Thanks Autumn.

I looked at the BB's carefully and I think I found the problem. The BB's are in fact, not necessarily low quality, but just not finished well. Some of the BB's have those tiny little chunks sticking out at each end, just makes me wanna sand those down or something, and it better not be scratching the hell out of my mag! lol.

[Unseen_Shadow]

I told you , ya shoulda got some bbs from bb bastard or airsoft kelowna Guus!. If they have bits sticking out and arent perfect shiney spheres they are crap quality.

[Greylocks]

Lube the mag properly, and dont use crappy BBs.