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Thread: Magazine Cleaning during Action Pistol in the Rain

  1. #1
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Jan 2014

    Magazine Cleaning during Action Pistol in the Rain

    I found myself at an introductory Action Pistol Class yesterday in the pouring rain here in Tampa.

    After I dropped my empty mags during the stages, they were wet and a bit muddy, with the dirt/mud/puddles. A few (maybe three) of my fellow students had issues, ranging from FTF to a jam to a double feed.

    I had no malfunctions, but was thinking, what if I had to clean my magazines "on the spot"? I do carry a chopstick in my range bag to disassemble them. For mine (VP9/P30), it is a simple press tab and release.

    My question, to those more experienced than me (which is most of ya'll), is there anything wrong with picking up a cheap bristle bottle brush at Lowe's to strip and clean mag bodies between stages of a match? The mags should be reassembled dry, right?

    Anything else I need to know about this?

    Thanks in advance.

    Rich

  2. #2
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  3. #3
    I see people (always 1911 shooters) doing this between stages at USPSA matches all of the time. I would leave the mags dry.
    #RESIST

  4. #4
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LittleLebowski View Post
    I see people (always 1911 shooters) doing this between stages at USPSA matches all of the time. I would leave the mags dry.
    Yes, one of the guns that malfunctioned was a 1911.

    There was also a Glock 19 that FTF, as well as an M&P with a double feed, and a hammer fired gun that needed a TRB.

  5. #5
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Excellent, thank you GJM. Saw basically the same thing at Lowe's for $3, hence the question.

    Course it was not labeled a "Magazine Cleaning Brush"
    Last edited by RJ; 08-09-2015 at 12:10 PM.

  6. #6
    It really depends on your magazines, your magazine springs, the nature of the dirt and quantity of the dirt.

    On on end of the spectrum, the rule is anytime a 2011 magazine touches the ground, it needs to be cleaned. On the other end of the spectrum, Glock mags are more tolerant, which is good, given how hard they are to disassemble. In the middle, lots of variation. Mec Gar AFC CZ mags are more tolerant than the OEM CZ mags and springs. Some ranges are not a problem, others are a problem for every magazine.

    I would have separate carry mags and training mags. In training, the worst you get is some malfunction clearance practice. In competition, cleaning mags gets you out of taping for a shooter or two.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  7. #7
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GJM View Post
    It really depends on your magazines, your magazine springs, the nature of the dirt and quantity of the dirt.

    On on end of the spectrum, the rule is anytime a 2011 magazine touches the ground, it needs to be cleaned. On the other end of the spectrum, Glock mags are more tolerant, which is good, given how hard they are to disassemble. In the middle, lots of variation. Mec Gar AFC CZ mags are more tolerant than the OEM CZ mags and springs. Some ranges are not a problem, others are a problem for every magazine.

    I would have separate carry mags and training mags. In training, the worst you get is some malfunction clearance practice. In competition, cleaning mags gets you out of taping for a shooter or two.
    Got it. Never thought of it like that.

    Dang, guess I need more mags. I brought four to the class, so I guess I need at least a couple more for SD to keep loaded with HPs.

  8. #8
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    That is also why you sometimes see a person take a lot of mags to a class or match so they can toss the dirty-muddy-etc mags in the bag for cleaning later and swap to a "clean" mag.

  9. #9
    Member olstyn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LittleLebowski View Post
    I see people (always 1911 shooters) doing this between stages at USPSA matches all of the time. I would leave the mags dry.
    It's not always 1911/2011 shooters. There's a bay at my local club that's full of fine sand, and I only had to learn my lesson there once. If it hasn't rained within a day or two prior to the match, then after that bay, I clean my mags, because I had one jam up and fail to feed on the next stage once, and sure enough, it was full of sand and grit. (I shoot a Walther.) All it takes is a quick disassembly and pulling a paper towel through, and they're good to go. That brush GJM linked looks like a slick solution, though.

  10. #10
    Member olstyn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rich_Jenkins View Post
    Excellent, thank you GJM. Saw basically the same thing at Lowe's for $3, hence the question.

    Course it was not labeled a "Magazine Cleaning Brush"
    What was it called? Or better yet, link to it. $3 sounds like a bargain.

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