I have recently acquired a 1976 BLR in .358 Win. Gun is 98% overall. For perspective, it is difficult to tell the mag that came with it from 3 extra new ones that came with the deal. Loaded up some Horaday FTX 200 gr pointy boolits into once fired commercial reformed .308 brass and headed out to the range. Loaded original mag with a single round , racked, shot, extracted perfectly. After getting comfortable with it I proceeded to load up the mag and shoot as one might in the field. Second round jumps out of the mag and hangs everything up. Clear it and the third round does the same. Inspect mag. Looks great. Go home and take the extra three New In The Wrap mags out for comparison. Miked and measured very close to original all the way around. Take them all out to the range and they all do the same thing. Now I have been shooting and reloading for a long time and I cannot help but feel, and a gunsmith friend of mine feels the same, that the lips on these mags need some minute adjustment. What puzzles me is why would all FOUR of these do essentially the same thing-especially when three are brand new? Now if these were AR-15 mags at $5 a pop I'd just wade on in. As expensive as these things are I want to treat them as if I were going to be doing brain surgery on them - thus a request for consultation from any of you Reasonably Knowledgeable Individuals (RKI's). My Email addy is
ac47@acsalaska.net if anybody would like to comment or assist in surgery.