10/22 Mags dropping free

[Madball13]

Anyone have issues with new Ruger mags not dropping free? I have 2 old ones and 3 new ones and the new ones with red "followers" do not drop out of the rifle upon release. I have a butler creek stock. Think i might need to sand down the mags and stock?

 

[Sprocket]

I've had similar experience - don't sand the stock just use the mags

 

[wolf223]

i had the same issue with the factory ruger mags in my hogue rubber stock.

you can:

1. leave the mags in the stock when NOT in use. it will loosen up.

2. buy some butler creek mags as they protrude from the stock when inserted

both options worked well for me.

 

[Madball13]

what about lightly sanding the sides of the mags? I really need these to drop free for the Appleseed at Harvard.

 

[RFWAVELENGTH]

Anyone have issues with new Ruger mags not dropping free? I have 2 old ones and 3 new ones and the new ones with red "followers" do not drop out of the rifle upon release. I have a butler creek stock. Think i might need to sand down the mags and stock?

The bolt-action Ruger 77/22, which uses the same magazines as the 10/22, tends to have the same problem. My solution is to insert/remove the empty magazine and work the bolt a few dozen times until it loosens up and drops free. I accomplished this while watching TV in my living room. Be damn sure rifle is completely unloaded if you decide to try my method!

 

[Madball13]

The bolt-action Ruger 77/22, which uses the same magazines as the 10/22, tends to have the same problem. My solution is to insert/remove the empty magazine and work the bolt a few dozen times until it loosens up and drops free. I accomplished this while watching TV in my living room. Be damn sure rifle is completely unloaded if you decide to try my method!

Thanks, i'll give that a whirl

 

[Stef]

I had this same problem when I put a Hogue overmolded stock on my 10/22. A few minutes with a razor knife to shave away the parts of the stock that were rubbing the magazines and the problem was solved.

 

[upStomp]

I have this problem with both the Butler Creek and Hogue stocks. It's so bad I actually have to open the bolt and push the mag out through the chamber. I like Wolf223's idea of getting some "traditional" mags that protrude from the stock.

 

[dwarven1]

what about lightly sanding the sides of the mags? I really need these to drop free for the Appleseed at Harvard.

This can help. Also, if you look on the side of end of the mag, you'll see 4 dimples where the polymer was injected into the mold. Frequently, those have some flashing sticking out. Take a knife and trim that away. I've found that to help.

 

[Madball13]

I removed the action from my stock last night to insert the mags and narrow down the issue and was the newer mags sticking. I hit each side with a sander and they come out nice and smooth. thanks everyone for the ideas.

 

[Firewall99]

SOLUTION TO RUGER 10/22 MAGS NOT DROPPING/INSERTING EASILY

I recently discovered another reason this occurs. Like you guys, I went through sanding my wooden stocks and sanding some mags. These things did seem to help, but then sooner or later, another mag would get jammed again. I was stumped.

Funny how serendipity works. I wasn't even working on the issue of dropping the mags. I was working to solve the problem of mags not snapping in easily. Some mags would need to have the mag release pushed to insert the mag. On one of my rifles, I even changed the quick mag release to reduce the protrusion, but didn't work with all mags. It was driving me nuts.

I thought it was my rifle. Then I inserted a problem mag into another rifle. It wouldn't go easily into that one either! Wow, I thought, It's the mag.

I tried another mag in both rifles. It went in and out easily. OK, what's different about this problem mag? Mmm... I had just cleaned all my mags from the previous season. All the tools for assembling them were right there on the bench...

So I tried tightening the hex nut on the problem mag. Yikes! It moved. Almost a whole turn. I put it into the "problem" rifle and bingo! It snapped in just as easily as you could want. When I pressed the mag release, it popped right out onto the bench with gravity alone.

So, the solution to try is TIGHTEN THE MAG HEX NUT.

I hope this pans out for you guys, too!