Ruger MkI magazines--crap or possibility?

G

Gwinnydapooh

Retired Screen Name
Just bought a Ruger MkI used. Gun seems great though I haven't gotten to fire the damn thing yet. I got two used and two new (still in blister packs) Ruger mags with the gun. The used ones were difficult to load and difficult to get rounds to feed upward as I thumbed them out, so I opened the new ones--and they're WORSE! I figured the old ones were lousy and that was WHY there were two new ones, so now I'm at a loss.
The brand-spankin' new mags are difficult to load, and harder to get the rounds back out. Also, I haven't tried to cycle rounds in the gun itself for safety reasons but it sure looks like the nose of the top round is too low to feed, and there's some kind of sticking point far enough down that the third round has to be literally pried loose.

My question after that ramble is: can I do anything to loosen the feed on these, or should I send them to the factory? CAN I send them to the factory, since I didn't buy them originally but I do have the original packaging? (the used ones I've written off.) It seems I could sort of bend the mag walls but who knows?

Thanks!

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Don

"Its not criminals that go into schools and shoot children"
--Ann Pearston, British Gun Control apologist and moron
 
Don, for some reason I was thinking that these mags had a button on the side that you push and hold the follower down as you load them. Maybe I'm thinking of a different mag. If your mags don't have this feature you can get Easy Loaders. Several companies make them and they are thumb savers. The bullet nose is probably in the correct position for feeding. Before judging the mags, shoot a box or two of ammo through the gun. You might consider numbering them with a permanent marker so that if you do have problems with any they will be easily identified. I don't know what Ruger's policy would be. You could contact them at (520) 541-8820. George
 
George, you have a good memory! I used the button you mentioned but individual rounds still seem to get caught a lot on the way down. I'm not sure about the feeding position, of course, but I can't thumb rounds out of the mag without using a fingernail to pry the nose of each bullet upward to clear the front lip of the mag. Thanks for the phone number, if this persists after I get to shoot I'll call 'em up. Thanks!

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Don

"Its not criminals that go into schools and shoot children"
--Ann Pearston, British Gun Control apologist and moron
 
Gwinny:
The Ruger Mark I magazine for the earliest guns has the button on the right side of the magazine. Later ones had the button on the left side. The frame is relieved for the button, so the button position has to match the frame. All Mark I mags have interchangeable buttons, you poke the follower down with a non-marring tool till the round opening at the bottom of the mag slot lines up with the button, then poke it out and reverse it, if you need to.
The lips of Mark I mags have two v-shaped cutouts behind two pointy springy lips, that nearly touch the cartridges when they are in place. To insert a cartridge easily, you thumb down the follower a small amount to relieve the pressure of the follower against the bottom of the cartridge, then slide the rim of the cartridge down between the cutouts into the solid rear lips of the mag. and press it straight down between and through the pointy spring lips. The movement is back and then down. To remove a cartridge easily, you press a bit on the mag button to reduce the pressure of the follower on the cartridge, and use a fingernail to slide it forward. When the front of the cartridge protrudes from the front of the magazine, grasp and lift straight up. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is; you just have to defeat the close grip of those pointy spring lips by releasing the follower tension a bit, and it becomes easy. Try cycling a few cartridges through the gun, I think you'll find that they feed ok. Every make and model of gun has its own peculiarities...this is one of the Mark I's. I wouldn't try adjusting the lips of your magazines, they are probably fine the way they are. slabsides

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For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
 
Thanks guys!

I still don't think they're perfect, but if I take ALL spring tension off and turn the mag upside down and rattle the rounds around they seem to feed better. Also, I had been trying to use my thumb to push rounds out. I think my big fat thumb was forcing the nose downward because when I tried it with just the thumbnail on the back of the cartridge they pop off no problem! Using these methods all four mags seem to work well.
Thanks again!!!!

PS--I know cycling ammunition would have been the easy way to figure this out but I'm not allowed to possess a firearm on campus and I didn't want to risk an AD in my room.
:)

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Don

"Its not criminals that go into schools and shoot children"
--Ann Pearston, British Gun Control apologist and moron
 
Don, I bought a Mark I from a friend who was older and moving to another state. It's a good gun and accurate, but the new mags. I bought direct from Ruger in AZ are pretty poor, though not very expensive. I have only one mag that ejects from the well properly; the others have a protrusion just above the shiny butt end which causes them to hang up and they are the devil to get out. The mating of the two parts is much less than perfect.

My gun doesn't like HP ammo, but will feed Winchester Dynapoint (available only from K-Mart) reliably and is very accurate with it.

BTW, there are various tools which depress the button much more easily and will save your thumb a heap of wear--about $2.00. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Rod.
I'm waiting to get some firing done before I worry too much. Like I said, without cycling ammo through the gun itself I guess I'm just speculating anyway. All four of these drop out nicely but I don't know how old they are. :)
Thanks for the ammo tip too. What I've got right now is hollowpoint Remington but I should finish that the next time out so I'll look for the stuff you recommend. Do I REALLY have to go to K-mart?
:(

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Don

"Its not criminals that go into schools and shoot children"
--Ann Pearston, British Gun Control apologist and moron
 
Don, wanted to give you another vote for Dynapoints. I tested about 11 different ammo types in my 10/22T recently. The Dynapoints ($8.99/500) matched Eley Tennex ($9.50/50) and Lapua MultiMatch ($8/50) for accuracy and beat the others. I was surprised, to say the least. Their flaws are that there is an occasional fail to fire (usually broken primer mix in the rim) and there is the occasional flyer, about 1 in 30. The premium ammos had no failures of any type. But, you can guess what my normal practice ammo is now. And, yes, I believe they are only sold at K-Mart.

I must add that 22's are all fickle when it comes to ammo. What works well for me and Rod may give you nothing but headaches, but it's worth a try.
 
Hi, guys,

You should not have to do it, but I just grind the bottom back of the mag so it is flat and doesn't have that annoying "lip".

As to loading, the trick is to pull down the button enough to load one round at a time. If you try to pull it all the way down and dump in the cartridges, things just won't work. A couple of companies make a gadget that goes over the button and acts like the old Luger tool (which, by the way, will work). You can easily make one if you have some fairly thick aluminum. Cut piece about 1 1/2 inches long, drill hole in middle of one end, bend.

Jim
 
One of the simplest and most effective devices I have for loading Ruger mags is a large washer. Find a washer around 3/16" thick or so and enlarge the center hole, if necessary, so that it is a little larger than the mag button. Very easy to use and faster than any commercial device I've ever found.
 
If the Ruger mags definitely won't work out for you, you can also try Ramline mags. I've got one of these mags for a Mk II and it's MUCH easier to feed than the factory mag.

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Ron

Detroit Area Chapter
Terra-Haute Torque & Recoil Society
 
Mark I/II Mags in a 1965 Mark I feeding double rounds

My original magazine never feeds more than one round at a time. The newer Mark I and II mags seem to feed two shells every 3rd or 4th round. I noticed as "slabsides" mentioned, that the older mags have a set of tabs/points that the newer mags don't have. Should I return these new ones and try to find a couple of the older ones? Note, the casings do eject several feet right before the double feed, so I don't think there is anything wrong with the extractor. Any thoughts?
 
A little of my experience with my MK1; I switched the tab, and got 10 rounds. My old factory mags only held 9. I had a lot of trouble with shells not feeding properly, until I took the gun apart, welded a little steel onto the bottom of the bolt where the little tab engages the rim from the magazine. I cleaned, polished and blued it, making it about .010" lower, and now it only goofs up when I get a bad shell. They are QUITE difficult to get back together.

If it doesn't extract, the first thing I would look at is the little groove in the barrel for the extractor. They tend to fill up with crud. When dirty, I notice mine will sometimes not extract unfired shells reliably, even when fired it extracts just fine.

I also had trouble with the mags hanging up, so I welded a little tab to the release to make it easier to pull back all the way.

Something to note about your old MK1's is that mine has a different bolt pattern on the grips, from the newer ones. Just good to know before you go Hogue.
 
Rule number one on Ruger .22 magazines is keep them CLEAN. Rimfire bullet lubes will build up inside the mag and bring feeding to a drag. After you clean the gun (you do clean it once in awhile, right?) clean all the mags. And some device to hold the button down for loading will make life much easier.
 
Slabsides is right on the mark. Do you know if they are Ruger factory mags? If they are not, get some. If they are stainless they are definitely not. I would go to the store and buy a new Ruger mag even if you know your mags are factory.
 
Heres a trick I stumbled on with my Mk-II, which should work on a Mk-I. Look at the two magazines you have: One magazine is the loading tool for the other. Drop the circular cutout at the bottom of the #2 magazine over the loading button on the #1 magazine. Pull down. Presto- instant loading tool.

And yeah, dont bother trying to load/unload the mags more than one round at a time, or without a tool. No sense beating your head against the wall.
 
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