Ruger10/22 Mags Don't Fit In The RAR! Guns Magazine Says So!

[Gene]

I just got the March 2014 issue of Guns Magazine where there is an article about the Ruger American Rimfire. In the article, the author emphatically states that the RAR does not accept standard 10/22, (BX-1), magazines.

This had me scurrying to collect all my old 10/22 mags to check. Well, as most of you already know, they do fit! Whew! Wonder why he made such a point to let us know that the 10/22 mags don't fit without checking it out further. I guess you can't believe anything you read and only half of what you see!

As an aside, I recently purchased two of the clear 10/22 mags that have been professionally converted to shoot .22 shorts. Well, these two don't fit in the RAR. Go figure!

 

[9x19]

I think it's harder to hold the magazine well to a certain tolerance with an injection molded stock, than with a machine cut wood stock. Many makers of synthetic aftermarket stocks have suffered the same issue. Some stocks were fine others were too tight (Butler Creek and Hogue OM stocks from personal experience).

Likewise, the magazine tolerances are not held to a rigid standard, so combine a slightly undersized mag well with a slightly over-sized magazine...

It's not too hard to use a good flat file and carefully shave the sides of the mag-well (barreled action removed of course).

 

[Gene]

I think it's harder to hold the magazine well to a certain tolerance with an injection molded stock, than with a machine cut wood stock. Many makers of synthetic aftermarket stocks have suffered the same issue. Some stocks were fine others were too tight (Butler Creek and Hogue OM stocks from personal experience).

Likewise, the magazine tolerances are not held to a rigid standard, so combine a slightly undersized mag well with a slightly over-sized magazine...

It's not too hard to use a good flat file and carefully shave the sides of the mag-well (barreled action removed of course).

I agree with you 9X19. However, the problem seems to be with the clear 10/22 mags. All my black BX-1 mags fit perfectly but the two clear BX-1 mags I have do not fit. I even tried a very old Ramline 30 rd. 10/22 mag and it fit but very tightly.

In the Guns Magazine article where he states that regular BX-1 mags won't work, he shows a picture with the mag that came with the RAR against a clear BX-1 mag and being that my clear mags won't fit either, that seems to be the problem.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Just noticed that article myself.

I went back and checked all the recent magazine ads for the rifle, and the add copy reads "uses 10/22-STYLE rotary magazines". How 'bout dat?!

And even more interesting is the "Staff Report" article in the Feb issue of Guns & Ammo that specifically states that the rifle will accept all existing 10/22 magazines.

Ah, the "slick gun press" strikes again.

Wonder what the real story is?

:lol: :wink: :lol:

 

[Gene]

Like I said, don't believe anything you read and only half of what you see!

Unfortunately it seems like everything nowadays, gun writers included, always take the easy way out. I really like Guns Magazine but this article was blatant!

 

[Sub sailor]

I work at a gun store and recently we had a BX-25 magazine that wouldn't fit in any 10/22 or RAR we had on the shelf, it was too wide. It might not be just the gun, it might be the magazine also. I think that it is Ruger's intention to have all of the magazines fit or they wouldn't have designed it that way. What we have here is a quality control issue.

 

[bentblade]

ROTARY MAGAZINE

Models chambered in .22 LR feature the detachable, flush-mounted 10/22® BX-1 10-round rotary magazine. Accepts all 10/22® magazines, including the BX-25® and BX-25®x2. Models chambered in .22 Magnum and .17 HMR use the detachable, flush-mounted JMX-1 9-round rotary magazine.


This is off the Ruger web site

 

[Gene]

I work at a gun store and recently we had a BX-25 magazine that wouldn't fit in any 10/22 or RAR we had on the shelf, it was too wide. It might not be just the gun, it might be the magazine also. I think that it is Ruger's intention to have all of the magazines fit or they wouldn't have designed it that way. What we have here is a quality control issue.

Like I said earlier, I tried all my black BX-1 mags, (I have 6, some old, some new), and they fit perfectly. However, my two BX-1 clear mags would not fit as they were about 1 mm too wide and I had to work out on the magazine well with my Dremel tool to get them to work.

I agree that it's a QC issue but like member 9X19 eluded to, I think the variances in the synthetic stocks have something to do with it too.

By the way, Jeff John, the editor of Guns Magazine e-mailed me and said that Holt Bodinson who wrote the article on the RAR .22 has admitted he was wrong on saying the RAR mags are not interchangeable with standard BX-1 mags and will say so in the next issue. But then again, he was trying to insert the clear BX-1 and like my experience, it was too wide.