Atlas Gunworks 1911 Double Stack Magazine Maintenance
To be the best and most accurate shooter possible, it's important to regularly clean, inspect, and maintain your firearm. However, while gun owners often pay careful attention to other parts of their handgun, it's common to overlook the magazine. Cleaning and maintaining your magazines is just as important as cleaning and maintaining any other part of your gun, here are some tips to maintain and clean your Atlas 2011/1911 double stack magazines.
***This is for used Atlas Magazines. Our brand new magazines come tuned and ready to go.***
Why Do Magazines Become Out of Tune and Dirty?
As with every other part of a firearm, magazines tend to get dirty and out of tune over time. This can happen as a result of normal wear and tear and use including:
Dropping the magazine
When you drop a magazine and it hits the ground, it can cause the upper edges of the mag to go out of tune from the impact of hitting the ground or the follower and ammo compressing then expanding quickly against the top of the magazine. This can prevent the magazine from fully inserting into the gun or cause feeding issues or jams. This would require the magazine to be tuned.
Accumulating lint and debris
Another common problem with magazines is that they tend to get just as dirty, if not more so, as other parts of your gun. They collect dust and grime when you drop them after ejecting a clip, or they can collect lint from being carried around in your pocket or belt carrier.
Exhaust and gas accumulation
In addition to getting dropped and dirty, magazines also collect excess gas exhausts when you fire your weapon. This exhaust gets funneled in from the combustion chamber.
While most magazines continue to do their job in spite of all the wear and tear they go through, we recommend regular cleaning to prevent feeding problems, jamming, or other issues caused by dirty magazines.
How to Tune Your Magazines
Tuning a gun magazine refers to making sure the tubes, lips, springs, and other components of the magazine are the proper dimensions and working as they should. Over time, the feed lips can become too wide or narrow, resulting in feeding issues.
It's also possible that the stock tubes, springs, and followers are dirty or imbalanced, which can cause similar issues. Here are steps to inspect and tune your Atlas 2011 magazine if you run into any of these issues:
To properly inspect your magazine, you will need a dial caliper.
Using your dial caliper, measure the followers transition point (base of the feeding lips), they should be .480-.499 externally. Being under .500 prevents the follower from popping up and causing early lockback or feeding issues.
Next, move the caliper jaws down to the 1" mark on the magazine and ensure it measures .570 externally.
Next, measure the front and rear feeding lips at the very top of your Atlas magazine and ensure that the width is compliant with these measurements.
Front feed lips: .330 - .350 internally
Rear feed lips: .325 - .345 internally
Check out our in depth blog overviewing our 2011 magazine dimensions and why they're important.
If the top of the magazine or feeding lips are out of tune, remove the base pad, spring, and follower from the magazine so that you can adjust them accordingly. We recommend tuning the base of the feeding lips first, then the feeding lips if needed.
If any magazine dimension is too wide, use a 7-piece split head mallet to tap the side of the top of the magazine gently until it is in spec. Reference specs above to ensure every position is adjusted to the correct dimensions.
If you are adjusting the base of the feeding lips, measure the feeding lips afterward to make sure they are within spec.
Some users find it is easier and more efficient to tap the feeding lips until they are slightly too narrow, then adjusting with our magazine pliers linked below.
If you have the opposite problem and the feed lips are too narrow, you can use special 2011 magazine pliers to open up the lips.
This requires finesse and patience to ensure everything is adjusted appropriately without damaging or adjusting the magazine too far.
Make sure the spring is straight and tweak if needed. Make sure the shelf of the follower is parallel and level to avoid early lock-back issues.
Clean magazine before assembly if needed.
How to Clean Gun Magazines
Cleaning your magazines is important to prevent feeding issues or jamming. To do that, if it is not already, you'll need first to disassemble the magazine so that you can get to the inner workings.
Disassembling Premium (Toolless) Base Pads
Premium 2011 magazines from Atlas feature a small button on the bottom of the base pad. All you need to do to disassemble the magazine is to press the button and pull the pad away from the magazine.
Disassembling Standard Base Pads
If you have a standard 2011 magazine that features a standard base pad, it will include a small pin on the front and bottom of the magazine. Use a small screwdriver or the end of the brush kit on your Atlas Gunworks magazine cleaning kit to press the pin in so that it's flush with the base pad.
After you do that, simply slide the base pad away from the magazine and remove the inner components.
Cleaning 2011 Magazines
With the magazine disassembled, use the brush in your Atlas Gunworks magazine cleaning kit to brush the follower.
Next, brush the inside of the tube and then use the cleaning mop to remove any loose debris.
Use a paper towel or a cleaning rag to wipe down the follower and the inside of the tube.
With the spring removed, wipe it down as well with the cleaning rag. Be careful not to stretch the spring.
Follow the same procedure with the inside and outside of the base pad by brushing it and wiping it dry.
As you're cleaning your 2011 magazines, it's important that you don't oil any of the components. Adding oil will simply attract more dirt, debris, and gunk and cause additional issues. Instead, once you're finished brushing and mopping each component, wipe it dry with your rag, and you're good to go.
Reassemble the Magazine
With the magazine and its inner workings clean and dry, you can go ahead and reassemble it. Simply reattach the follower to the spring and reinsert it into the magazine tube.
With your pointer finger on the hand that you're using to grip the magazine, press the spring down until it's flush with the top of the magazine. Use your other hand to reattach the base pad on the bottom of the magazine.
Insert the magazine into your gun to make sure it fits and inserts properly. If everything is in working order, your magazines are now tuned, cleaned, and ready to roll.
Magazine Warranty
NOTE: This video features solutions for all 2011 magazines and dimensions specific to the Atlas Gunworks tubes and followers.