Ruger 10/22 magazine problem

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Matt Dillion

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I have a 10/22 that I bought in the late 90's and for some reason the magazine will not feed right. It will fire 4 rounds and then it won't pick up the next round. It just pushes it flat down in the magazine. I took the magazine apart and cleaned it and rewound the spring but that didn't correct the problem. I bought a new magazine and it does the same thing. Has anyone had this problem? How did you fix it ? Thanks.
 
Are they Ruger mags? You might have a metal burr catching the follower in the old magazine. Not sure why a new one would hang up like that. Did you possibly over torque the hardware on the mags? I don't have one handy to look at so I m not sure one could over torque the hardware, it's just a guess.
 
Are they Ruger mags? You might have a metal burr catching the follower in the old magazine. Not sure why a new one would hang up like that. Did you possibly over torque the hardware on the mags? I don't have one handy to look at so I m not sure one could over torque the hardware, it's just a guess.
One of the magazines is original with the gun and the other was an aftermarket. I didn't over torque the magazine screw. The gun was doing that before I disassembled it. I'll check the bolt and see if it has a burr. Thanks
 
I'd pick up a new Ruger Magazine and try some Federal Auto-Match ammo. Any chance the old magazines set loaded for long periods of time over the past 20 years?
 
I'd pick up a new Ruger Magazine and try some Federal Auto-Match ammo. Any chance the old magazines set loaded for long periods of time over the past 20 years?
I don't leave them loaded. I thought about selling it and getting a tube fed Marlin. I wish Ruger would make a .22 rifle based off their semi auto pistols. Those little 10 round straight magazines work great. I usually shoot Remington Golden Bullets.
 
My Rugers don't like Remington ammo. I'd see if you could borrow another Ruger mag and different ammo to see if that fixes your issue if you don't want to put anymore money in it.
 
I looked at the bolt and I don't see or feel any burrs. It could use a good cleaning though. It doesn't seem like being a little dirty would stop it on the 4th shot though. I figured it would have trouble from the start.
 
I do this except I have the nut in the cap engaged with the spring and give it two turns (720 deg) preload.



I had one mag that would occasionally hang up and at first it looked like the round was hung up in the throat (metal part) but touching it with a pick it was loose. Took it apart and put it back together a few times without seeing anything and finally took some 220 grit sand paper to the rotor, knocking off any sharp edges (not trying to change any shapes), has worked ever since. I use no lube in them.
 
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Well I was going to give my standard clean it first advice. But the OP mentioned it needed it.

I'll bet that takes care of the problem.
 
As mentioned above, clean it up, add some oil to make certain the bolt is moving freely, and try different ammo. Could be it is just dirty and the bolt isn't always going all the way back to pick up the next round.

A 22 rifle based on the Mark II pistol action would be a bit expensive for a rifle and likely heavy.
 
I have a 10/22 of similar vintage. It developed a similar problem. Over the years I have just replaced my Ruger magazines with ten round Butler Creek magazines. Sorry this isn't much help for your desired solution, but it sure ended my frustration.
 
I have a 10/22 of similar vintage. It developed a similar problem. Over the years I have just replaced my Ruger magazines with ten round Butler Creek magazines. Sorry this isn't much help for your desired solution, but it sure ended my frustration.

I have one from the early 80s that has somewhere around 75k rounds through it.

The original mag, as well as every factory ruger mag I bought afterwards, still works flawlessly.
 
One of the magazines is original with the gun and the other was an aftermarket. I didn't over torque the magazine screw. The gun was doing that before I disassembled it. I'll check the bolt and see if it has a burr. Thanks


Am I understanding correctly that it starts having the problem pretty consistently on the 4th round for both the after market mag and the factory mag?


If so, that's not likely a mag issue. That's sounds like it's going to be related to dirty gun / lack of oil / ammo
 
As mentioned above, clean it up, add some oil to make certain the bolt is moving freely, and try different ammo. Could be it is just dirty and the bolt isn't always going all the way back to pick up the next round.

A 22 rifle based on the Mark II pistol action would be a bit expensive for a rifle and likely heavy.
The Mark II with a longer barrel and a butt stock would be pretty neat. The pistol gri
Am I understanding correctly that it starts having the problem pretty consistently on the 4th round for both the after market mag and the factory mag?


If so, that's not likely a mag issue. That's sounds like it's going to be related to dirty gun / lack of oil / ammo
Maybe the Remington ammo I've been using is fowling up the action. I will clean it and try some Winchester ammo.
 
A 22 rifle based on the Mark II pistol action would be a bit expensive for a rifle and likely heavy.
I think it would be very similar to the AR clones.

For the OP, I'd take the magazines apart again and check the edge of the followers for any burrs and sand as needed.

Then I'd spray the inside of the mags thoroughly with a dry silicone lube before reassembly.

Next I'd check the magazine well on the rifle for anything that might be keeping it from seating fully and sitting level.
 
I've got a 10/22 I received in 1978. It and the original mag still work 100%.

My gold standard for operation is CCI Mini Mags. I own a lot of .22 LR firearms and everyone of them works with Mini Mags. Remington ammo is about 90%, bulk Remington ammo is closer to 75%.
 
A .22 rifle based on the MK 2 pistol........................ever seen the Buckmark rifles?
Notice the red dot on the bridge over the grip?
That says "don't put your beak past this point" LOL
 
I picked up a '75 mag for my '67 Sporter........since it was missing when I got it.
Have a new mag, works fine..........but it didn't have "SR" on it. So bought another new one and swapped it for the original on a beat up '75 rig at a shop.
Yay me !
 
Extra magazines are cheap, I have three 10-22's and probably 2 dozen magazines. Many are 15-25 round aftermarket mags. You could, and should, buy a couple extra. It isn't hard to take one apart and clean it either. Often the spring needs to be wound one turn tighter.
 
It's usually not a problem for the 10 22 to feed and fire. Mine has gotten really fouled up between cleanings and still functioned reliably. The ammo I would least reccomend is Remington. I stood in line during the shortage and I was only able to buy a Remington bucket of bullets. Of the 1400 rounds I have shot about half and had at least 10 failure to fire incidents. All had good strikes on the primer. As of yet I havent found even one of these bullets that is crimped enough to keep the bullet from spinning in the case. If CCI 22 ammo is available try it when you get it cleaned up along with a new Ruger magazine. You should have better results. It should feed on that diet like its starving.
 
Thanks for the info. What 25 and 30 round mags would you recommend? Are there aftermarket 10 round that work good?
 
My factory 10/22 mags used to have feeding issues too. I even started marking them to keep track of the bad ones...but they all started doing it.

Did the teardown/clean/rewind thing mentioned. They all work fine now. The old clockspring just gets kinda tired.
 
I have a 10/22 from the late '70s along with a bunch of Ruger magazines I bought at the same time. Both gun and mags have worked flawlessly all these years, probably because I occasionally clean them and use high quality CCI MiniMags and Wolf Match Target ammo in them.
 
Thanks for the info. What 25 and 30 round mags would you recommend? Are there aftermarket 10 round that work good?

Just buy the Ruger 25 round mags. They're $19 at GrabaGun.

There are a lot of junk aftermarket Ruger 10/22 mags out there. If you decide to go off-brand make sure they have steel feed lips.
 
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