magazine spring modification

[rodgervich]

I hope someone here has experience that can help me. I have a Savage 340 in 22 Hornet, it's kind of a beater but it is so fun to shoot! Problem started with the magazine coming apart in the middle of a rabbit shoot, the sides came loose when the wimpy stakes wore out. I restaked it and it held up but the magazine stopped feeding correctly. In trying to fix it I broke the spring, grrr. I bought 2 new magazines at a gun show and neither of them fed correctly either, the rim dips down and the bullet end points way up so the bolt can't catch the rim. It seemed that the spring force was on the wrong end so I turned the spring around. One of them fed right and one did not. After switching components one at a time I determined that the springs were what made the difference. The shorter spring works and the slightly longer spring does not. I want to modify the longer spring to match the shorter spring but to duplicate it exactly I will have to slightly rebend the long spring.
I have read "Gunsmith Kinks" and found a couple articles that say to anneal, bend then quench in water and then temper at 600 deg either on an electric stove or submerging in molten pure lead. Since I broke the first one (not following these directions) I am hesitant to do more bending. On the other hand I am confident in my abilities to carry this out successfully if these instructions are correct. Can anyone verify this procedure? If anyone has modified flat springs like this I would like to hear about any tips or troubles you had. It's a standard zig/zag flat magazine spring.
Thanks in advance!

[gunnut69]

Annealing a spring sounds simple.  It most certainly is NOT...  Springs are so small that reaching and holding the correct tempering tempurature for the required time is difficult, plus you have to guess at the material used in the spring.  Making small springs is not easy, it can be done but is not easy..  In any case the problem you describe is not a spring problem.  The feed lips of the mag should be a bit closer together to hold the round down until caught by the bolt.  If the spring is in the magazine body in the correct attitude, it is very likely doing what it needs to do.  The feed lips on the other hand often need minor adjustment to feed just right.  On bolt action magazine(detachable) rifles this is not too hard.  Use bar nose or round nose pliers.  I use some made for bending wire into loops in electrical applications.  Smooth the lips, not grind, not polish, just smooth them a very very little bit.  The height the mag is held in the rifle and the feed angle(as set by the feed lips, are all that usually need any adjustment..

[rodgervich]

What I have done so far is adjust the feed lips in and out using smooth needle nose pliers just a little at a time and I have been able to get the case to almost feed correctly. The front of the feed lips are located just a little bit BEHIND the pivot point of the cartridge so with the spring force distributed front/rear the way it is in original configuration the follower will push the nose of the cartridge up first. The closest I have been able to get it correctly is by opening the front of the lips to the point that it barely grips the sides of the case, this allows the rear of the case to move up further. Trouble is that the lips are so far apart that the cases start to push out of the lips and of course go nose up/rim down. When the lips are narrower in the front then they still nose up but at least they stay in the magazine. I will continue to play with lip geometry but it's really driving me crazy! Any additional ideas?
I'll hold off on spring work, I might go ahead and cut the long one ends off, it's only about .100" to long at each end. Dremel cutoff wheel should do nicely.

[gunnut69]

Does the follower have guide tails to keep it verticle?  This is a leaf style 'W' shaped spring??  If so be certain the orientation is correct..  The cut in the feed lips is to provide clearance for the cartridge rim as the round is released from the magazine.  That means the lip in front of that clearance cut needs to be tapered such that the round is held down as it is pushed forward until the rim reaches the clearance cut and is released also.  The real problem is the very tapered nature of the round combined with the rim..  Most of these mags that I've worked with before, not a great number to be sure, had tails that rode inside the magazine body to control tipping of the follower forward and back..  It can be a pain but patitence will win..  Good luck and keep us apprised of your progress..

[rodgervich]

gunnut69! Your extensive knowledge and willingness to share it has been a real blessing for me and I appreciate your help. I'll fiddle with it some more and see what I can do, once I get it worked out I'll post my solution.

[gunnut69]

I'll look forward to it!!  Magazine troubles are very common and it's usually in the liming of the releaase or the presentation angle of the round...  Good luck!