Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix: Try #2 – Dry Film Lubricants – Not a Good Fix – But Avoid 3-In-1 Dry Lube Because It Isn’t Dry!

Please note that there are three posts in this series.  The method in the third post would fix just about any magazine while the other two helped some of the magazines:

  1. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #1 – Loosen the Center Screw
  2. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #2 – Dry Film Lubricants – Not a Good Fix – But Avoid 3-In-1 Dry Lube Because It Isn’t Dry!
  3. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #3 – Change the Internal Spring Position – This is the best fix!

Now on to the post:


I am less than impressed with Marauder airgun magazines to be honest.  Their spring tension seems to be inconsistent.  The springs are in the same hole and in some cases, simply backing off the center screw was enough.  In other cases, I am finding that it helps to use a dry film lubricant in the magazine.  Why a dry lube?  If you use oil, it will attract dust and grit that will build up and cause problems down the road.  Dry films do not have a liquid that captures contaminants.

Dupont Non-Stick Dry Film Lubricant and 3-In-1 Dry Lube cans with airgun magazines

I experimented with two types of lubricants – 3-In-1 and also Dupont’s Non-Stick Dry Film Lubricant, which is an aerosol Teflon.  In 3 magazines, the 3-in-1 helped.  In the fourth magazine, tension improved with the use of the Dupont product.   In spraying some test pieces of black Kydex, you can see the Dupont product leaves a thick coat of Teflon behind.  The 3-in-1 leaves a greasy residue.  I am betting contaminants will stick to it. Reviewers of it are not mincing words – despite what the label says, it is not a true dry lube.  The first photo shows the Dupont Teflon powder on the left and the greasy/oily feeling residue of the 3-in-1 on the right.  The second photo is a close up of the 3-in-1 residue.

Two black squares with test swatches of "Bugon 1" and "3-In-1 Dry Lube" dry film lubricants. Dry film lubricant test on dark surface: 3-in-1 Dry Lube failure

After doing more reading and testing, I have changed all four magazines over to the Dupont product to avoid problems down the road.  To make a long story short, the magazines all turn much more freely and I would tell you do NOT to buy the supposed 3-in-1 dry lube because its greasy surface will likely be a problem down the road.  The next photo shows a magazine with the Teflon residue visible.

Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix attempt 2 with dry film lubricants, avoid 3-in-1

The magazines are better but do not feel as snappy as I think they should.  I’d say it helped some but my worst magazine, PA4, still feels way to light.   In my next post, I will adjust the spring position internally.



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Check out Derreck’s Yugo M72B1 with our handguards!!

Derreck’s Yugoslav/Zastava M72B1 with our M72 handguard set looks sweet!!

Yugo M72B1 rifle with black handguards Yugo M72B1 rifle with handguards on white paper

Click here to visit our M72 handguard page in our store.



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Video: Brownells’ Four Part Series on AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance

Three wooden khukuri handles, showing wood grain and metal ferrules. Three wooden khukuri handles, showing wood grain and metal ferrules. Three wooden khukuri handles, showing wood grain and metal ferrules.

Brownells has turned out a nice for video set regarding AK 47/74 Maintenance.  Here they are:

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 1 Disassembly

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 2 Cleaning

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 3 Lubrication

AK 47/74 Firearm Maintenance: Part 4 Reassembly



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Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix: Try #1 – Loosen the Center Screw

Please note that there are three posts in this series.  The method in the third post would fix just about any magazine while the other two helped some of the magazines:

  1. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #1 – Loosen the Center Screw
  2. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #2 – Dry Film Lubricants – Not a Good Fix – But Avoid 3-In-1 Dry Lube Because It Isn’t Dry!
  3. Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix:  Try #3 – Change the Internal Spring Position – This is the best fix!

Now on to the post:


I just bought eight brand new .22 Marauder magazines for my BNM breach and about half of them were sluggish. In other words they didn’t really want to come back around and feed the pellets the way they should. In closer investigation, some had been over tightened during assembly. I simply backed the cover screw off with a 1/16 inch Allen key and that easy change did help a couple of the mags but not all. I would turn a little bit and test, turn little bit and test, etc.. I bet I backed off less than 1/4-1/2 a turn for the magazines that had problems.  It didn’t fix all of them.  Two were still sluggish.  This is quick, easy and worth trying if you have a problem:

Note, the allen screws uses a 1/16″ key:

Sluggish Marauder Mag Fix tools on a wooden table including a yellow screw and black screws

The other recommendation I would make is to use a silver Sharpie pen and label your magazines so you can keep track of how they perform. I’m also experimenting with spring position some and will write that up in another post. I have started putting a silver dot on the factory spring  hole.  So far all eight were in the exact same hole.

Screwdriver and mag fix components labeled PA4 and PA2 on a wooden table

Frankly, I think they went with a cheap design.  I still have two things I want to try – using a dry lube and changing the internal spring position.  These will be in my next two blog posts.

 



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Check out Brandon’s rifles with our ARM and Polish Tantal grips!!

Brandon shared these photos of his rifles and some close up shots for his ARM-9 grips.  Very cool!!

AK rifle with ARM and Polish Tantal grips on a wooden fence

AK-47 style rifle with Polish Tantal grip on wooden background

The following is our Dark US Plum color:

Close-up of an AK-47 style rifle with a purple pistol grip and wooden background

The below ARM grips are in Dark Grey to the left and black to the right:

Two black ARM and Polish Tantal rifle grips, one gray, one black, with 'S 30 1' markings.

Here are links for our ARM Grips – click here for the ARM grip without the selector notch or click here for the grip with the notch like the above photos.

Last but not least, click here our Polish AKM/Tantal grip.

 



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Video: Zastava Arms 160 Years Marketing Video, 2015

CRKT HalfAChance machete cutting through a tree branch
CRKT HalfAChance machete cutting through a tree branch
CRKT HalfAChance machete cutting through a tree branch
CRKT HalfAChance machete cutting through a tree branch

I like Zastava firearms – notably their rifles – M70, M72, M67, M77, and M92.  I’ve owned variants of all of those at one time or another and think highly of the designs and the quality of manufacturing.  I ran across this short 160 year commemorative video released in 2015 and thought I would share it:



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What to do if your Marauder Rifle Magazine is too tight in the BNM breech

Marauder rifle magazine in BNM breech, showing pellet loading

My magazine was a bear to pull out from my CP1002 BNM breech.  I talked to Sergei at BNM about the tight fit and told me that they keep they keep their tolerances tight on purpose.  He would rather things be tight vs. loose and that makes sense to me.  So if your Marauder magazine is a bear to push in and out of the breach, a tiny bit of fitting is needed.  The bottom of the Marauder magazine can be lightly sanded to allow magazine to be inserted easier.  It probably is not the front to back dimension that you need to worry about so try the following first.

All you need to do is get some 320 grit sand paper, rub the bottom lightly, evenly and test.  You just need to do the part that slides into the receiver.  320 was all I needed it took off enough to do the job gut also left a fine enough finish.  Another benefit for those of you that may be nervous is that it can only take off a small amount of material.  It will fill fast so with each pass, use another exposed surface of sandpaper.  That is why you see two ends used on the second photo.

Marauder rifle magazine, clear bottom, for BNM breech Marauder rifle magazine, 320 grit sandpaper, and note indicating "320 grit

For mine to fit way better, it was just a tiny amount I had to take off.  So don’t go crazy and take off a too much too fast.  Literally, do 4-6 rubs, blow it off and test.  Do this until it fits.  I think I did all three of my mags with just a couple of rounds of sanding and testing each.

I could have sanded it with 400 grit and even gone up to a polish but just doing 320 seemed to work great so I stopped there.



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Video: Dragunov Variations: Military SVD, Izhmash Tiger, Chinese NDM-86 by Forgotten Weapons – this is AWESOME!! May 6th RIA Auction

Man with Dragunov SVD, Izhmash Tiger, NDM-86 rifles at RIA Auction.
Dragunov sniper rifle NDM-86 with scope on black background
Military SVD sniper rifle with Tiger 7.62x54mm scope on black background
Izhmash Tiger 7.62x54mm rifle markings, Made in Russia
Close-up of a Military SVD 7.62x54mm rifle's receiver and magazine.
Izhmash Tiger rifle, a Dragunov variant, with scope, at RIA Auction
Dragunov SVD sniper rifle with PSO-1 scope from Forgotten Weapons auction
Disassembling a Dragunov SVD rifle, showing the bolt carrier group
Close-up of Dragunov SVD rifle's rear sight and cleaning rod
Dragunov SVD receiver with bolt carrier and recoil spring assembly removed
Dragunov SVD trigger group removal, Izhmash Tiger variant
Dragunov trigger groups and bolt carriers from various rifle models

Guys, I am serious fanboying over this video.  I really like Dragunovs and this video has three Drag variants that are in the May 2017 auction at Rock Island Auction Company.  The presenter does an amazing job taking each of the rifles and giving history and explaining the differences.  He takes the bolts and trigger groups and sets them side by side and explains the differences.  This is AMAZING.  If you like Drags, you have to check this out.  Seriously.  I drooled on my keyboard just so you know.

Here are the auction links by the way:

Military SVD: https://www.rockislandauction.com/det…
Tiger: https://www.rockislandauction.com/det…
Chinese NDM-86: https://www.rockislandauction.com/det…



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When Strength and Quality Matter Most