[hogrider04]

First off, clean the crud from the chamber and barrel that those Thunderbolts left behind. Then try some Federal Automatch or CCI-SV. Win 333's have given me problems like that from time to time. If that doesn't work, replace the stock parts and replace them one at a time with the aftermarket to see which upgrade is causing your problem. FYI, I used the stock springs with my VQ hammer and have had excellent results. :bthumb:

 

[hogrider04]

Opps I think I have the wrong definition of a stovepipe. The problem I'm having is live rounds getting caught going into the chamber. When you pull the bolt back and shake the gun ejector port pointed down the round will fall out (sometimes with the help of a finger) and the bullet will be bent. Again using stock mags.

In this case I would definitely try different ammo. Some guns just don't like the Win 333's. Break it in with some lead round nose ammo (Fed Automatch or CCI-SV) and then go back to the cheaper bulk stuff. Might need to clean the mags because the Thunderbolts you originally used is definitely dirtier than most. I have had similar problems when the crud builds up in the mag and doesn't allow the bullet to be pushed up high enough for the bolt to strip it.

 

[hogrider04]

I was recently looking into the possibility of a stiffer plunger spring. I don;t have any issues feeding with mine or anything, I would just like a slightly stronger spring to hold the mag in.

Any idea where to get one? My google-fu has turned up no such thing.

No luck here either. I wonder if just stretching the spring a little would help? I have four different mag releases and the only one that's giving me a problem is the rifle with the PWS T3 release on it. That combined with the variance of sizes of the mags has given me feed issues by not holding the mag far enough forward in the magwell ( only happens with the 25 rounders). I don't think it's the release lever, it just feels like a weak spring. Guess I'll try stretching the spring today and report back.

 

[hogrider04]

No luck here either. I wonder if just stretching the spring a little would help? I have four different mag releases and the only one that's giving me a problem is the rifle with the PWS T3 release on it. That combined with the variance of sizes of the mags has given me feed issues by not holding the mag far enough forward in the magwell ( only happens with the 25 rounders). I don't think it's the release lever, it just feels like a weak spring. Guess I'll try stretching the spring today and report back.

OK, I stretched the spring, tried 6 different kinds of bulk ammo and had no issues except for one. The Winchester 555 in a plastic feed lipped 25 round BC extended mag would still stovepipe. Other ammo worked fine in it. I have had feed issues with the Wins before. The mags fit much tighter than before.

To the OP, I normally use 2 of the Tri-Mag setups with absolutely no issues. My problems were just with the extended mags. My observation is, side to side movement is OK, fore and aft movement not so OK. Hope you get yours figured out.

Edit: I should mention that before I stretched the spring I was having issues just like yours. After the spring stretch, the jamming turned to stovepipes, but only in that one BC mag with Winchester 555.

 

[hogrider04]

Found this:

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=404694&highlight=loading+problems

Removed the Tri-mag as is confused my 10 year old anyways, will test it out next time I get to the range and report back.

Yep, same song first verse. Pay special attention to posts 4, 5, and 6 in that thread. It doesn't appear the OP of that thread posted whether he found/fixed the problem or not. I HATE it when that happens. I wish I had more Tri-mags. When the rifle is correct they are great additions to it. I have the 25 round bananas and the tri-mag. guess which one I prefer.

 

[hogrider04]

OK, I stretched the spring, tried 6 different kinds of bulk ammo and had no issues except for one. The Winchester 555 in a plastic feed lipped 25 round BC extended mag would still stovepipe. Other ammo worked fine in it. I have had feed issues with the Wins before. The mags fit much tighter than before. .

To the OP, I normally use 2 of the Tri-Mag setups with absolutely no issues. My problems were just with the extended mags. My observation is, side to side movement is OK, fore and aft movement not so OK. Hope you get yours figured out.

Edit: I should mention that before I stretched the spring I was having issues just like yours. After the spring stretch, the jamming turned to stovepipes, but only in that one BC mag with Winchester 555.

Hate to keep dragging this out, but the spring stretch didn't cure the problem completely. I ended up removing a bit of material from the mag release to allow the plunger to protrude into the magwell farther. This has seemed to completely cure the problem of the fore and aft sloppy movement of the mag and still allows easy insertion and removal of the mag. YMMV

Over and out.