Failure to feed in my Husqvarna M38

[Patrick Chadwick]

There may be damage to the edge of the magazine box, the cutout in the system, or the follower itself. Impossible to tell from the photos - you just have to look at all edges that might snag the case, and remove any burrs.

But one very simple possibility (don't laugh - I've experienced it, having made the mix-up myself) is that at some time someone fitted a follower from a different caliber of Mauser! Although they look superficially the same, they are not identical, having subtle differences in the length, height, width and slope of the follower - especially the ridge that holds the first round to one side. The wrong shape here can cause the stack of cases to be at the wrong angle, resulting in a "nose-up" case that bangs on the top of the entrance to the chamber. The case, being forced in at a steeper angle than intended, then becomes scratched by the bottom of the entrance (feed ramp) or the magazine box, and the nose of the bullet may be deformed.

Even if this all sounds potty, please just humor my eccentricities and check that the follower a) has the Swedish crown stamped on it, and b) has not been reshaped in any way.

Patrick