Ruger Mk-xxx magazine questions

Ok I'm not up to speed on the Mark series magazines. I have questions about two variants I have.

#1 - I picked up what I believe is a standard or Mk-I magazine today. Everything lines up with my Mk-II mags but the follower is on the other side (expected) but the base plate has no markings. It is dead flat aluminum. Is that correct for a pre MK-II?

#2 - Looks like a MK-II mag but has a protrusion out the front. I assume this is for a MK-III. Is that correct?


Edit -- I just cruised GunBroker and it appears my assumptions were correct, but I did see Mk-I with and without stampings on the bottom. Is that an age thing? IE; Version one and version two?

rugerguy (and others) know this stuff inside and out.

Shoot a PM to rugerguy if you want a quicker answer.

MKI magazine. You can swap the follower button to the other side easily. Then it can be used in the MKI & MKII.

on the left is the old model ,early standard auto ( MK I) and then the MK I later A-100 frame slots on BOTH sides of the mag body so you can reverse the button to work in either the A-54 or the A-100 frame,,,the ones on the right are various MKII and can be used in a MK I or "standard auto" with the buttons reversed.......

hope this helps, any questions feel free to ask away 8) :roll: :wink:

Based on the baseplate, the magazine on the right is also a MKI magazine. It's the almost current Ruger version and will only hold nine rounds like the original unless it's been modified.

Ok, what I have is an early version slot on one side, flat base, metal follower.

Thanks

Dan in MI said:

Ok, what I have is an early version slot on one side, flat base, metal follower.

Thanks

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That magazine is **SPECIFIC** to the A54 grip frame. The feed lips on those early magazines are modeled more like the early High Standard .22 rimfire magazines. The feed lips are quite hard and brittle so they should not be tampered with for any adjustment, as they will break.
On my early Ruger Standard A54 grip frames and Mark I Target A100 grip frames, the Mark II style magazine body type work much, much, better than the originals. Example: the Mark II magazines work very well in my RST 4 & 6, along with the Mark I Target pistols:

If you notice, you can see that this pistol has the replacement version of the nine-round magazine with the gray base and follower. The follower has been shortened to allow 10 rounds to be used. Because of this type of magazine, I also recommend that a better magazine latch/release be used. The original magazine latch/release has a smaller radius on the working tip and it will easily hang-up in the gap between the new magazines base plate and magazine body, if you choose to use the Mark II style magazine bodies.
Only to see if they work, I've also used Mark III magazines with success in the early pistols, but still, the proper side for the follower button is imperative.

also keep in mind, when the first , early MK II mags came out, and we've seen some later, the follower button is very wide, ,large to engage the Mark II "hold open lever" and this larger headed button can and will hang up ,even drag in the slimmer A-54 grip frames when "reversed" to go from one side to the other (A-100 back to A-54)
and as noted above SGW points out the gap can catch, so we used to "break" the edge,, make it less "sharp,knifelike" , more blunt and may NOT catch..........have done this more than a few times over all these years.........rember too the early chrome plated standard and MK I mags, sometimes the chrome has come off, dulled??? and may not be as "shiny" as new...........gotta remember boys and girls the first mags made up by Ruger for the standard autos were in FACT High standard mags, cut down and (refitted bottoms) to use on the Rugers....this can be seen when the EARLY mags have a very small "crescent" shape cut out in the bottom front of the mag where it meets the base ...........

SGW Gunsmith said:

If you notice, you can see that this pistol has the replacement version of the nine-round magazine with the gray base and follower. The follower has been shortened to allow 10 rounds to be used. Because of this type of magazine, I also recommend that a better magazine latch/release be used. The original magazine latch/release has a smaller radius on the working tip and it will easily hang-up in the gap between the new magazines base plate and magazine body, if you choose to use the Mark II style magazine bodies.

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Looks like a "Ranch Products" magazine release from here. There's just enough of a lever to make magazine changes easier without having it catch on things.