TargetTalk

Need info on the AW93 mag openings (front ears, feed lips, etc).

The reason I want to know: the AW93 I bought came with 3 mags. The previous owner mentioned it "hates Aguila, loves wolf". When I was doing ammo testing the Aguila subsonic grouped quite well, but it did like to not-fully-extract.

However one of the mags gave 100% reliablity with all ammo, including the subsonic.

I measured the mag's mouth, the 100%-reliable mag's front ears are around 6mm apart and feed lips are around 5mm apart, while the "not-100%" mags have narrower openings.

All three mags are used and a bit worn. I am curious on what the width spec might be so I can try to adjust them to spec.

Can anybody measure a new AW93 mag and let me know?

Thanks!

I think you are assuming something that may not be true. Mags function or don't function with different ammo for different reasons. It could be a slightly different angle of the feed ramp, and not the lips of the mag, that are the issue. AW-93s have been made for a very long time. Factory specs of a mag that was made in the 1990s may be a little off from ones manufactured later.
I do know that mags are very soft. and if you drop one, it will change the dimension of the lips. I would suggest calling Buck, the Pilkington gunsmith, and see what he can tell you about improving the functioning of the gun.
What distance are you running you grouping tests at? I don't want to discourage you, but if it is not at 50 yards, it will not tell you as much as it should.

Also, Aguila tends to be dirty. When you clean an AW, it takes a few rounds to function well. Discount any magazine function tests that are done with a clean gun, or one that is really dirty. AWs have a tight chamber. They were designed to run on Lapua ammo. Wolf and SK are made by Lapua. That is why they generally function well in an AW.

My aw's both prefer a faster bullet, 1080 over the slower 1050 and below stuff, i shoot the aguila made sv at 1080 with no problems, but it is dirtier that some other stuff so i run a patch worm through it about evey 50 rounds. I agree the mags dont really matter as long as the feed the bullet

If it fails to "not fully extract", it may be a tight chamber problem rather than a magazine problem or it could be both.
The AW93 is known to have a tight chamber and I have lapped out several so that they feed and extract realibily.
Hand check the angle that each cartridge cones out of the mag follower and compare each mag (do this with the mag out of the pistol).
Then alter the front lips to increase or reduce this angle of the dud mags to match the good mag.

Thanks for the input guys.

It really was a mag related problem, though.

When the "fail to fully extract" occur, the empty case was 3/4 of the way out of the chamber but got stopped by the front ears of the mag. The slide went all the way back (extractor slipped off the empty case rim, not sure if it is a problem or not) and trying to push the next round forward. Now the nose of this this fresh round will have to first go upward and.... the empty case was there to block it going up. So no only the empty was stuck in the action, the nose of the fresh round is also dented by the rim of the empty.

After adjusting the ears all three mags are 100%.

Then I noticed the accuracy went down hill, the ammo that used to shoot 3/8" is now printing over 1". I suspect I might have opened the ears too much so the round is going up too high and scrapping some lead off the nose (by the top edge of chamber entrance).

Can anybody post measurements from a new/like new mag, please?

guncats wrote:Thanks for the input guys.

It really was a mag related problem, though.

When the "fail to fully extract" occur, the empty case was 3/4 of the way out of the chamber but got stopped by the front ears of the mag. The slide went all the way back (extractor slipped off the empty case rim, not sure if it is a problem or not) and trying to push the next round forward. Now the nose of this this fresh round will have to first go upward and.... the empty case was there to block it going up. So no only the empty was stuck in the action, the nose of the fresh round is also dented by the rim of the empty.

After adjusting the ears all three mags are 100%.

Then I noticed the accuracy went down hill, the ammo that used to shoot 3/8" is now printing over 1". I suspect I might have opened the ears too much so the round is going up too high and scrapping some lead off the nose (by the top edge of chamber entrance).

Can anybody post measurements from a new/like new mag, please?

The magazine does not affect accuracy. If they are feeding reliably, they are doing their job. Something else is causing your groups to open up.
try hand feeding the rounds into the chamber, and make sure you remove any lead build up from the chamber.

With the case jumping out of the extractor, it may still be a tight chamber. Try a drop fit in the chamber between American ammo and European. The European ammo is usually smaller in diameter. The round should fall in all the way under its own weight.
If the round has any distortion on feeding it will result in poorer groups.
Try loading the mag (at the range and downrange), manually slam the slide to the rear and let go, watch the ejection and feed. Visually check all ejected rounds for any scraping, dents, distortion or bending.
Slight alteration of the front lips will change feed angle, be gentle making little adjustments at a time.

6mm ears and 5mm gap.
Mags sit against the ejector and the ejector should be flush to the frame.
The ejector area is where the mags can wear thin until the cartridge rim makes a groove in the magazine. If the mags are wearing away at the ejector point, you can sand the bottom of the mag where the hammer spring holds it until there is minimal tension on the mag against the ejector. The mag ears will wear a little bit against the slide until they are worn in.
The rim of extracted brass sometimes scrapes against the next bullet in the magazine and because Aguila rims are more rounded than other brands, the extractor can jump the lip if the brass drags against the bullet, or if the chamber is very tight.