10/22 speedloader - suggestions welcome

[Odnar]

I went out and bought a new 10/22 along with two Ramline 50-round mags and a Shooter's Ridge speed loader (this model). In the middle of loading the second magazine, the speed loader split apart, throwing plastic pieces and springs into the grass. Gander Mountain was good enough to refund my money, but now I'm looking for a quality speed loader that I can use with the magazines I already bought. I looked at the Hot Lips loader, but it claims that it's only for use with Hot Lips and Steel Lips magazines. Not sure if it would work with other mags or if that's just a suggestion to get you to buy their magazines, which seem to be significantly more expensive.

What have you had success with for jam-free loading and unloading? Speed loader and magazine combos?

 

[ArmedBear]

the speed loader split apart, throwing plastic pieces and springs into the grass

I'm glad you got your money back. Picturing what you describe made me laugh -- it's happened to me with various cheap mechanical devices.

 

[hksw]

Ah good old Shooter's Ridge. Almost all products made in China (not that they are all bad, just most of them). I've been using the BC Hot Lips loader for over 10 year now with great luck. They were, at the time I bought the loaders, made in the US. Not sure about now. (BC now also owns the LULA system, another great product, IMO.)

Only problem I've had with the BC loader is if it is in a particular angle, it'll mis feed nd will need some jiggling to get the hung up round out. Otherwise, it'll load the Hot and Steel Lip mags as well as the stock mag. Loading bay will take a 50 round box.

 

[Odnar]

hksw - No idea if it would load other mags, then?

ArmedBear - It doesn't help that all the plastic widgets were dark green!

 

[Domino]

Its not what you want to hear but I say get rid of those 50 rounders and get some quality BC steel lips 25 rounders with one of their speed loaders. They are great magazines and are well worth the little investment.

 

[Avenger29]

I purchased one of the Ramline 50 rdrs shortly after I got my 10/22.

Utterly. Worthless. Junk.

The spring is extremely hard to load. The spring would also frequently stick and cause a misfeed.

Butler Creek Steel Lips, factory mags, and there is some other company that makes very high quality aluminum and polymer mags- I think the company is called Tactical Innovations.

 

[hksw]

I had purchased my loaders after I had thrown out my other high cap mags from Ramline, Eagle, MWG, etc. The only mags that have every worked well in my 10/22s were the Butler Creek mags.

IMO, most of the aftermarket mag manufacturers design there mags to be close to the dimensions of the stock Ruger mags in the feed area. If the loader will load the stock 10/22 mag, it should load any of the aftermarket mags that are close to the shape and size of the original mag. (One of the exceptions that works, however, is the Butler Creek Hot Lips from my experience.)

 

[ConfuseUs]

I think that you can use the Butler Creek mag loader to load pretty much any 10/22 magazine. The factory 10 rounders just have to be held in place with your thumb while you crank the rounds in. The banana magazines from other manufacturers should lock into the loader in the same way a BC mag would.

I think they just say that to discourage using Ram-Line or Eagle mags in their loader.

Also, the Steel Lips mags need to have several hundred rds run through them before they quit jamming on you all the time. They will work eventually, after a brick of ammo per mag or so. The rounds seem to hang up on the stainless steel lips insert until it smooths out with use. I wish BC would fix that "feature" by polishing the inside of the insert, but oh well.