Loading with Charger Clips

[Rastis]

G'day All,
When I load the magazine from charger clips the first 5 rounds generally go in OK, but the second 5 always has the top round behind the 2nd top round causing a jam. I have tried different magazines and different clips, but still have the same problem. I load the clips one up and one down as you are supposed to, and the rifle is a Lithgow No1 Mark III. Ammunition is reloaded PPU brass and pulled FMJ projectiles. Has anyone struck this before?

Thanks,
Rastis.

Information

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[Maxwell Smart]

Yes.

I have the same problem, unless I sweep my thumb forward as I push the last round into the magazine. This slight forward pressure at the last minute seems to keep the top round's rim in the right place.

[CINDERS]

Try this Thread from the other day;
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread....296#post359296
You also need to go through your clips and keep the ones that strip fairly easily for the shoots and the others just for play days.

[Rastis]

I have bent the clip out slightly to reduce the pressure required to strip the bullets out.

[Son]

IIt's all in the position and motion of the thumb doing the stripping. Away from my pics at the moment, but if you practice with your thumb as close to he charger as possible you will succeed every time. Then try stripping the rounds with your thumb a little forward and you will get rim over jams.
As for it happening with the last round in the second charger, that is likely because you are using a second effort, and not keeping your thumb back.
Stick your rifle in a rest or stand and stand over it watching what happens when you strip the rounds. You cannot see what happens with the butt in your shoulder on the mound, you need to understand that the round entering the magazine moves back as it leaves the charger making sure the next goes in front.... If you do it right!

Look, learn, practice and it won't go wrong on the mound again.

Will stick up pics later when I get home.

[Rastis]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I'll have to make some dummy rounds up (unless someone wants to sell me some originals), and practice. Got to get it right before the Anzac Day competition.

[henry r]

something to note. the new old stock ones being sold on aust ebay at the moment (KF? stamped indian made clips) aren't as nicely stamped as the others i have (a mixture, mainly Australian made). the indian made clips take more work to get them to strip smoothly and even when finished still aren't as nice as the others.

with mine i round off the leading and trailing edges of all of the holes with a jewelers rat tail file. i bend the tabs straight and smooth off and round off the top edges. then bend the tabs open past straight. next i take a flat mill file and smooth the sides being careful not to hit the bottom with the corner of the file. the bottom, the inside of the channel and any coating left on the sides is smoothed with sandpaper. finally i bend the clips back in.

with all this done, a loose clip (held in your hand not in the charger bridge aka no magazine spring force), will strip with about 1/2 to 1/3 the pressure that an unmodified one needs. it takes me the better part of an hour each and it is probably way over the top but i can get a bit obsessive.

edit. nothing to do with the feeding issues, it just makes them smoother.

[Son]

something to note. the new old stock ones being sold on aust ebay at the moment (KF? stamped indian made clips) aren't as nicely stamped as the others i have (a mixture, mainly Australian made). the indian made clips take more work to get them to strip smoothly and even when finished still aren't as nice as the others.

with mine i round off the leading and trailing edges of all of the holes with a jewelers rat tail file. i bend the tabs straight and smooth off and round off the top edges. then bend the tabs open past straight. next i take a flat mill file and smooth the sides being careful not to hit the bottom with the corner of the file. the bottom, the inside of the channel and any coating left on the sides is smoothed with sandpaper. finally i bend the clips back in.

with all this done, a loose clip (held in your hand not in the charger bridge aka no magazine spring force), will strip with about 1/2 to 1/3 the pressure that an unmodified one needs. it takes me the better part of an hour each and it is probably way over the top but i can get a bit obsessive.

edit. nothing to do with the feeding issues, it just makes them smoother.

I did the same with ten chargers for competition, called them my "race" chargers. I found that certain makers had little teardrop shaped nibs on the sides which fit tighter into the charger bridge than others that only had a circular nib to locate them.
The big part these days is to round the outer edges ( the forward facing edges when the charger is in the bridge) for a couple of reasons. Firstly to guard against gouging grooves into your expensive hand load cases and secondly, to make sure you don't cut the end off your thumb following my instructions above!

[Son]

Here are the pics... The first showing the thumb close to the charger, note the angle the rounds are sitting. The bottom one moves back as it comes out of the charger with it's rim in contact the the case below it cannot go over the rim underneath.

Attachment 71390

Pic 2, the thumb well away from the charger, note the angle of the rounds. The round exiting the charger comes in contact with the one in the magazine at the neck and wedges the rim up away from the one below as it goes back, over and behind the rim underneath.
The last round only rimlock is probably caused by a thumb position in between, and the last round being pushed back as the thumb has to go back to get into the recess for it on the left side to get the round into the feed lips.

Attachment 71389

Once you have practiced you can try every conceivable method of loading your chargers and they will still sort themselves going into the magazine... even if they are rim locked in the charger! Try it.

Look at the "nibs" on the sides of the charger if you havent seen the two types before, these are the bigger teardrop type.

[jmoore]

Once you have practiced you can try every conceivable method of loading your chargers and they will still sort themselves going into the magazine... even if they are rim locked in the charger! Try it.

That's been my experience with rifles that have properly "tuned" magazines. But if the soft feed lips, front and rear, have been battered by years of being knocked about whilst out of the rifle and aren't properly adjusted, then things get much more "twitchy".

After looking at the photos, also thinking that this is one instance where being a leftie has been an advantage. No swapping hands, etc.