Rebuilding Mark ll magazines

Have factory Mark ll clip that is giving me fits. Once out of every 5 it will jam the nose of the #8 bullet into the top of the chamber requiring me to clear it. Always its the #8 bullet.

I have 3 other magazines they work fine in this gun & my other 2 Mark ll pistols as well.

I contacted Ruger customer service this morning & they informed me that these Mark ll magazines were too old to service. I did ask for them to just send me a new spring and follower and I would rebuild it myself as I assumed they were still the same parts used in the Mark 3 and Mark 4 magazines but I guess not.

Where do l go from here for parts?


41

Ruger still sells them brand new...

http://shopruger.com/Mark-II-10-Round-Magazine/productinfo/90046/

Yes I noticed that. I'd like to rebuild this one & get it running @ 100%. Looking for the internal parts.

The follower and spring are available on Shopruger.com.

41special said:

Have factory Mark ll clip that is giving me fits. Once out of every 5 it will jam the nose of the #8 bullet into the top of the chamber requiring me to clear it. Always its the #8 bullet.

I have 3 other magazines they work fine in this gun & my other 2 Mark ll pistols as well.

I contacted Ruger customer service this morning & they informed me that these Mark ll magazines were too old to service. I did ask for them to just send me a new spring and follower and I would rebuild it myself as I assumed they were still the same parts used in the Mark 3 and Mark 4 magazines but I guess not.

Where do l go from here for parts?


41

Click to expand...

Check your PM in box.

Mark III mags work in Mark II's if you grind off the little triangles. So I think Mark III parts would work if they sell those.

My question would be, and not being smart about it, why rebuild a MK II magazine when you are able to replace it with new ones. As far as I am aware. The magazines are plentiful. Just asking. There are more magazines produced for a given model of firearm then the firearm itself. Magazines are semi disposable to starry with it do the theory goes.

And, if you replace the spring and follower, if the guide lips are damaged, then everything is in vain to start with.

Regards

And as a follow/up, there are MK II magazines for sale on the forum classified., I just noticed.

These mags are cheap and plentiful. For the about $20 cost of a mag I can't imagine searching for parts, the time to rebuild it, etc.

I had a very similar issue with one of my MKII magazines, always a jam on a certain number round. I had replaced spring and follower and still had the issue. Then I took a good look at the spring guide and noticed a burr on it, the burr was large enough to catch on the spring coils when the spring was compressed. I chucked the spring guide in a drill and polished it down with a piece of crocus cloth until it was glassy smooth. Reassembled the magazine and no more problems.

As noted above,, many folks feel that a magazine is a semi-disposable item. And to that end, why bother rebuilding them.
Yet,, the frugal folks look at things differently,, and think; I can buy new for $20, but I can buy parts for less than half that, save money, AND get to tinker with my gun & maybe learn more about it.

I shoot competition in USPSA. my first gun was a single stack 1911,,, and I have at least 40 magazines for it. I have my "local monthly level I match" magazines,, my less often used, "State & regional Level II & above" magazines,, and the ones that have become less reliable over time & use. I also have some ANIB magazines that all I've done is test them, to make sure they work, and then re-package them as "emergency spares."
Same thing with moon clips for my revolvers. I have over 75 moons that fit my 2 revolvers. I have some that are separated the same way.
In competition, you want to make sure you eliminate mechanical errors prior to a match,, so you can be the only "bad" thing to have happen. (We call it brain fade.)

But even my oldest & most worn & used magazines are not scrapped. I buy springs & followers cheap enough to where it's worth it to rebuild the magazines & keep on using them. I even made a tool to reshape the feed lips.

To many folks,, a $20-$35 magazine is no big expense. To others,, it IS a big expense,, when parts can be had for around $5.

In building magazines,, often,, it's the feed lips that create problems. But you can get burrs on followers, or other portions of the magazine body. By the OP's comments,,, I'd say rebuilding the magazine would be a good idea. Parts can be had,, and it could be as easy as cross referencing part numbers for a MKII & MKII from original manuals.
If it were my magazine,, I'd disassemble it, and carefully study it under a good light with magnification. Smooth & polish the follower,, and fix any oddities on that one magazine when compared to a working one. Calipers to measure feed lips & all will also help.

To many are in the position "easy come-easy go." Not all however.

Not necessarily "easy come, easy go". Common sense sometimes comes into play. You can spend the funds on new parts and not achieve your goal when a few dollars more or same amount of dollars you can purchase a new magazine and you are ready to go. All mechanical things/devices have a finite life. Some things sooner than others. Don't throw good money at bad things.

I can see the value in rebuilding a magazine. They seem to get more expensive every year. 10/22 magazines need to be taken apart and cleaned every now and then. They seem to gunk up more easily than Mark II magazines. If it's just simply replacing a spring that can be done when they get cleaned.

But the feed lips can get to be tricky to adjust correctly if they get bent up. The OP's magazine sounds like s feeding issue more than a spring if it jams on the 8th round.

Buy more. Anywhere you see em for half price. If I ever, ever wear one down or damage one, I'll strip it for bits and toss the rest without losing sleep.

Life is short. Have extras!