[me30]

hi everyone ive been searching my question & cant find an answer so here i am. i just bought a rock river ar-15 5.56 & the magazine it came with is a 30 round thermold magazine (its plastic in case you need that info) i can pull the charging handle back, release & it only goes forward about a half inch mayby less. the round wont come out of the mag & feed into the chamber. if i put pressure on the bottom of the magazine while i pull back the charging handle & release then it feeds fine. magazine is slightly loose in the well, idk how tight or loose an ar magazine should be in the well. all ive done is test its cycling hasnt had a round through it yet. i just hope someone knows what would cause this. thanks for any info

 

[CMonster]

Best bet would be to try a different magazine and see if that fixes it. Thermolds are about the least expensive magazine on the market, which would make me suspect the $5 magazine rather than the $1000 rifle. Make sure the rounds are in the magazine properly, not pushed too far forward, insert the magazine into the mag well, whack it fairly hard on the bottom of the mag to make sure it is seated, pull back the charging handle all the way, and let go. Do not try to ease a round into the chamber, it won't work with an AR. You might also inspect the feed lips of the magazine to make sure there is not a mold flaw or something else making the rounds hang up.

If you don't have another magazine, find someone else with one and borrow it to test.

 

[me30]

Best bet would be to try a different magazine and see if that fixes it. Thermolds are about the least expensive magazine on the market, which would make me suspect the $5 magazine rather than the $1000 rifle. Make sure the rounds are in the magazine properly, not pushed too far forward, insert the magazine into the mag well, whack it fairly hard on the bottom of the mag to make sure it is seated, pull back the charging handle all the way, and let go. Do not try to ease a round into the chamber, it won't work with an AR. You might also inspect the feed lips of the magazine to make sure there is not a mold flaw or something else making the rounds hang up.

If you don't have another magazine, find someone else with one and borrow it to test.

the first thing i planned on checking was a new magazine could you recommend a better quality mag. would also like to know on the ar platform should the magazine move even a little when seated firmly in the well or should it be tight & not move at all. thanks for the reply

 

[Dist. Expert]

Get a Magpul PMAG (if you can find one) or a newer USGI with the yellow follwer. If they're still loose you can try tightening up your mag catch by pulling it out on the left hand side of the gun and turning it.

 

[CMonster]

What he said ^

 

[KentuckyHiker]

Yep junk the thermold and purchase a magpul or a steel mag. I had the same problem with my DPMS LR308 when first purchased. With the stock mag, it would not feed correctly. This was an issue with the first gen LR308's. I fixed it by purchasing the magpul mags, it feed perfect! I have a ton of the magpul .556 mags and I have never had a problem with them. I like them!!

 

[jolly17]

I have a RRA and it feeds fine with the metal mag it came with and the x number of pmags i have for it... dont want big brother knowing how many of those scary 30 rounders i got lol will say that i saw this mess coming and i stocked up for resale but then I figured id just keep em

 

[Dianne]

Sometimes I buy mags at gun shows and pawn shops. Many times these are bent up and don't feed right like getting a stove pipe when loading on a pull - if I'm saying that correctly. What I find is some elbow grease and bending gets it working properly. Sounds bad, but it does work!

 

[me30]

Thanks everybody you have set my mind at ease that it's the mag & not the rifle. Now to the next problem everything I've looked at (& you folks) shows magpul pmags to be the best, but I might as well be looking for a unicorn cuz these damn things are GONE! Does anyone have a clue as to where I might actually find some in stock or should I just try to back order some. Thanks again guys

 

[Dianne]

You can look on gunbroker.com and some of the other sites online. Chances are you can find one...

 

[CavemanJim]

Your problem is definatly the plastic Thermold POS mag, toss it or sell it on CL even better & get a New mag.
I only buy New USGI 30 rnd mags, I can't for the life of me put any trust in a peice of plastic when it comes down to FTF confrontation with my AR, call me old fashioned but thats just me.

 

[Dist. Expert]

No offense, but PMAGs will outperform USGI mags in every conceivable test. There's a very good reason that they're used by the top shooters in the world, and its because they work every time, whereas USGI mags don't. I've had to replace 4 of my issued mags because they get too dented to work properly, but in 5 years I've never had an issue with a PMAG. While there are some bad ones out there (like the OP had), don't let that discourage you from giving them a shot. Just buy quality.

 

[me30]

I want to thank all of you for your help & info I bought a better quality magazine & now there's not any problem. Btw I have no idea what kind of mag this new one is, it's metal w/no brand name on it got it at my local shooting range. Thanks again