Best 10/22 mag (better than factory plastic toy one)

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

judaspriest

Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
137
Location
Northeast, US
Ruger 10/22, an excellent gun, but I feel its weak spot is the plastic mag. My buddy and I had a shooting day almost ruined by a mag that stopped feeding rounds. I am guessing some powder burning residue must have made its way inside the mag because the spring stopped pushing the rounds up. It doesn't seem possible to disassemble the thing and thoroughly clean. The mag is relatively new too - about 200 rounds through it total. Not cheap either ($15)

Is this a common problem and replacing the mag won't likely solve it? If so, are there better quality mags, ideally non-plastic that can be taken apart for cleaning. Appreciate any tips

Thanks

JP
 
I haven't heard of an all metal 10/22 mag, but the standard magazines are usually trouble free. I am sure Ruger will replace it, but you might try pushing the rotor around with the big end of a zip tie while holding the mag upside down. Some flashing or other crud may be binding the rotor. Could probably squirt a bit of silicone in there as well to try to wash out debris. Make sure to drain well before using, or more dirt will build up inside. A shot of compressed air or keyboard cleaner spray may be worth a try.

Some aftermarket mags boast of metal lips, but the bulk of the units are plastic.

If you get it to work properly, please let us know what worked. Good luck.

I am sure you have figured this out, but for the sake of others I will suggest that you pick up some extra magazines so one malfunction won't shut you down. If you can find some of the clear ones Ruger made a few years ago, you can see what's happening inside.
 
Last edited:
Mine always got gunked up after a few hundred rounds. You have to take them apart and clean the spring and follower. You can probably search up instructions on the web.
 
It doesn't seem possible to disassemble the thing and thoroughly clean.
Click to expand...

The OE Ruger 10/22 mag is certainly can be disassembled. Just need to loosen the Allen-type head bolt. Just be careful when pulling the ends apart as the internals are under spring pressure.

The misfeeds of the mag can occur on occasion with the mags. Some times, the issue is cleaning and others (most of the time) it is the spring force. Curing the spring force can also cure any problems with a dirty mag. What is needed to be done to increase the spring force is to, when the mag is (partially) disassembled, just wind up the follower a more than what it was when you first disassembled the mag. This also cure a rare problem of the end plates being torqued too tightly and compress the mag body shortening it slightly and casuing the ammo to jam up. Be careful how tight or loose you put the end plates back on. Too tight and you may again hang up the mag due to tight endplates, too loose and the mag may be difficult to remove from the mag well when inserted into the receiver.

Tactical Innovations manufactures metal 10/22 mags that can not only be disassembled but also adjustable for feed angle.

most folks, including myself, have had pretty good luck with plastic Hot and Steel Lip mags from Butler Creek.
 
Bingo!!!

They CAN be disassembled after all. Here are the instructions I found as soon as jerkface11 suggested it was possible to disassemble. Here is another one

Rust collector, thanks for the tips too

Regards,

JP
 
There are few mags better than factory Ruger ones. I've heard Tactical Innovation mags are very good, and have had no problems with Butler Creek Steel Lips, if you want high capacity mags. I have a couple 25 rounders, but normally stick with the factory mags...just clean them once in a while! :)
 
The stock mag is easily disassembled and cleaned. Reassembly is a bit more difficult, but easier than many gun things. There is a pictorial FAQ for this if you search; here it is:

http://www.heypete.com/pete/shooting/rugermag.html

I've used some aftermarket mags and for routine plinking or target work I think the stock mag is best, and most durable.

Recently I've seen someone offering a 100% all-aluminum replacement mag that is intended to be durable pretty much forever. I don't remember who makes it, but I'm sure a google search would turn it up. I think the cost was close to $100 per mag. Gee, not much less than a basic 10/22 at wallyworld!
 
Tactical innovations; an all metal mag, that is easy to take apart, with a 4 allen screw floating head, which allows you to control the tilt and gimble of the stripping off of the next round, into the chamber. They cannot be beat, period.
cost will be anywhere from 30 to 50 bucks, all things depending. they hold 25 or 30 rounds, i can't remember which, and yet, i have two!!!
 
The factory mag is THE best mag available for the 10/22. Price is right too.

Learn and practice basic maintainence techniques---not bad rifle---bad shooter in this situation.

Daniel-san
 
My buddy and I had a shooting day almost ruined by a mag that stopped feeding rounds
Click to expand...

Was that ammo Remington, by any chance? The bullet lube on Remington Golden gums up a 10/22 magazine quicker than anything. It's great ammo, the 10/22 is a great gun, they just don't get along.

My plinking ammo for the 10/22 is either CCI Blazer or Federal Champion, which as far as I can tell are the same thing with different headstamps. Probably put four or five thousand rounds through my 10/22s so far this year, with maybe two or three malfunctions total.
 
T I

Tac Inov mags have set screws that ajust to the mag well...they are reliable in my Tec 22...they WILL work in any thing...gpr
 
Factory Mags Best - Buy Extras

Yeah, I learned early on that nasty ammo cruds up mags but they can be cleaned effectively by stripping them down.

I also learned that it always pays to have extra mags for many reasons - and the factory mags are cheap enough that anybody who shoots often should have a handful.

The aftermarket mags have been a mixed blessing. It's fun to have 30 rounds or more available, but mine have always been finicky with different ammo brands, and it's frustrating sometimes especially after you've loaded 30 and found out that the combo is NOT working :banghead:

I've tried several brands of aftermarket mags and haven't found one that's nearly as reliable as the factory 10-round. Bottom line is I use the big banana mags at the range where it doesn't matter if I have a FTF, and always use the factory mags if I'm hunting. I've never needed more than what the factory mag carries when shooting at game. Kids love the 30 round mags at the range, I've noticed :D
 
Wd-40

When I have had problems with the rotors sticking I just shot a little WD in there to loosen things up and then turn upside down to drain. If it ever gets to the point (after many many many rounds) that there isn't enough spring tension you can disassemble and wind the spring one or two extra turns. Then you are good to go. Note: I have tried the butler creek hot lips 25rders (plastic followers) and have had 50/50 success. The factory ones are far superior in my opinion
 
I put 40-60 kids through hunter-ed every month. Have been for a few years now. They must shoot 22's for thier shooting test. So I've seen my share of 22's. With that in mind:

1. 10-22's have been consistently the best functioning semi-autos. Period. Regardless of level of cleanliness.

2. Most aftermarket mags for them are crap/trouble. The two exceptions? 1. Butler creek.(steel lips are better than hot lips life span wise) 2. Tactical innovations. That's a top shelf mag.

The only real weak spot with the factory mags? When they go, there's no warning. The spring breaks, and that's all she wrote.
 
Jerkface11: Yeah, they bring those, but if they're dirty, they just don't work. A 10-22, unless completely filthy, just runs. And if they jam, they're very easy to clear.

I know the other 2 you mentioned have a good reputation. I'm just reporting what I've seen personally.
 
As others have said the Tactical Innovations mags are the best.

Allow you adjust the lips so that it will feed reliably in your particular gun (tolerances aren't very tight on the 10/22 assembly line) and you can take them apart to clean them.

They have a heavy duty plastic ones (strong enough to have a car drive over it without breaking) for $35 (i have two of these) and their aluminum ones go for like $60 i believe.

They are both 25 rnd. I'd say go for the plastic ones although if you want something other then black (plastic ones only come in black) then you can spend for the aluminum which come in a variety of colors.
 
I have a nylon 66 that has been VERY problematic over the last 22 years.

My dad's 10/22 is HAMMERED. He told me once, "I've shot about 50,000 rounds through that gun, and even cleaned it a couple of times." When I cleaned it for him, I found he wasn't exaggerating at all. Little crescent-shaped shavings were EVERYWHERE. It was living proof of the natural lubricity of lead. With the original two factory mags, it went bang, every single time. One of them was so dirty it would only hold 9 rounds.

Over 20 years ago, he tried a Ramline 25-rd mag, see-thru plastic, but left it loaded through the off season and the spring went flat. He never would trust another aftermarket mag.

I've cleaned it for him regularly, and everything works fine now.
 
My 10-22 would start jamming every couple hundred rounds then need the mags cleaned. My Marlin 60 starts jamming every few thousand rounds and then needs the action cleaned.
 
Sounds like your spring tension isn't right.
All it takes to fix that is about three minutes with a flat screwdriver or allen wrench.
In my experience, 10/22 factory magazines are usually very reliable.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

U
  • Locked
10/22 factory mag sticking
Replies
6
Views
387
UT PROSIM
U
B
  • Locked
rimfire teardown: 10/22 vs Marlin?
Replies
19
Views
2K
dfaugh
D
D
  • Locked
20 rd mag only hold 10
Replies
4
Views
556
dalv
D
L
  • Locked
AR Mags - Good vx. Bad
Replies
17
Views
826
MCMXI
MCMXI
O
  • Locked
10/22 speedloader - suggestions welcome
Replies
7
Views
1K
ConfuseUs
C
Back
Top