Newby question...I just got my hands on an older 22/45 and I love the heft and everything about it, but it seems like the springs in the magazines don’t have the ooomph to feed the next bullet into the chamber all the time. If I manually take out the top bullet sometimes the next in line doesn’t go all the way to the top. Both mags seem clean but I don’t know how strong the springs should be. I come here from the revolver world so I don’t have any experience with this issue. Can I stretch the spring a bit for more tension? Please advise. Also would appreciate thoughts on changing out front sight on the bull barrel to something I can easily see. Thanks in advance.
22/45 magazine
- Thread starter tfs102080
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Welcome, the first thing I would do is disassemble the magazine, clean everything, lightly oil everything and wipe all the oil off leaving a barely noticeable sheen. Magazines require a little maintenance every so often.
contender
Ruger Guru
Welcome to the Forum!
As noted,, a good cleaning often helps. The mags aren't hard to disassemble & re-assemble. Try that first. Next,, yes,, you can stretch the springs a little,, and that may work a bit. But be careful & don't overdo it. But I think a good cleaning may solve the issue. Not often do we see weak springs in factory magazines.
Ruger offers different sight options. Also, HI-Viz offers a few. Depending upon which sight you have,, you can get a different front blade that is easier to see for YOUR eyes. I've swapped off some for my teaching guns,, to an orange or a green fiber optic. I let students try different sights to see what they like. It's a simple swap,, with just one screw. But,, make sure you get a correct height blade. Use the model of your gun AND the barrel length to make sure you get the right one.
As noted,, a good cleaning often helps. The mags aren't hard to disassemble & re-assemble. Try that first. Next,, yes,, you can stretch the springs a little,, and that may work a bit. But be careful & don't overdo it. But I think a good cleaning may solve the issue. Not often do we see weak springs in factory magazines.
Ruger offers different sight options. Also, HI-Viz offers a few. Depending upon which sight you have,, you can get a different front blade that is easier to see for YOUR eyes. I've swapped off some for my teaching guns,, to an orange or a green fiber optic. I let students try different sights to see what they like. It's a simple swap,, with just one screw. But,, make sure you get a correct height blade. Use the model of your gun AND the barrel length to make sure you get the right one.
I use an older 22/45 on the trap line and it gets extremely grubby in the process. Ocassionally, I've had similar feed issues in the field and corrected the problem by simply pulling the follower all the way down and letting it SnapBack to the top. Now, this may not be good for the longevity of the mag lips or spring but it put the pistol back in use.
TacoFrank
Bearcat
Magazines are the first place to start. I doubt that the springs in both mags would be worn out. Very often the problem can be with the extractor. It loads and empties the chamber. Cheap and easy fix after you learn how to field strip and reassemble. A through cleaning is a real plus too. Several companies make better than original extractors for around $10-13. There are a lot to videos on YouTube that will show you the procedure. I watched a guy at our club replace his and it took him about 10 minutes and now runs 100%.
Good Luck,
TacoFrank
Good Luck,
TacoFrank
Thanks to all who commented. I thoroughly cleaned each magazine ( they definitely needed it) and it did seem to help a bit but still occasionally would not feed properly. I received two new magazines from Ruger and they work flawlessly. When I compare the new to the old I can see that someone changed the tolerances slightly so that is probably my issue. I will play more with that when the temps are a bit nicer, Right now the new mags are keeping me happy. Also added a HiViz front sight and love it! One more question if I may...can I leave the magazines loaded when not in use? Will that cause spring fatigue? I don’t leave the magazine in the pistol when storing. Thank you.
"can I leave the magazines loaded when not in use? Will that cause spring fatigue? I don’t leave the magazine in the pistol when storing. Thank you."
I have numerous 22/45 mags that have been loaded for years both as spares and in the pistol(s) without any problems. My 22 pistols are always loaded since an unloaded pistol makes a very inefficient club.
If you happen to use ammo with wax coated plain lead bullets and leave the mag or pistol in the sun or other warm/hot location, the bullet lube may melt/ooze enough to cause feed issues.
I have numerous 22/45 mags that have been loaded for years both as spares and in the pistol(s) without any problems. My 22 pistols are always loaded since an unloaded pistol makes a very inefficient club.
If you happen to use ammo with wax coated plain lead bullets and leave the mag or pistol in the sun or other warm/hot location, the bullet lube may melt/ooze enough to cause feed issues.
contender
Ruger Guru
I've kept a MKII .22 semi-auto pistol loaded for many, many, many years. I occasionally need it for work or whatever. As noted,, an unloaded one is a poor club.
I've not experienced any magazine spring fatigue. And this gun has also seen thousands of rounds in some local, fun competition as well. LOTS of use so to speak.
I've not experienced any magazine spring fatigue. And this gun has also seen thousands of rounds in some local, fun competition as well. LOTS of use so to speak.
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