Hi! New guy here; I joined hoping to find some insight on this very topic...
I have 2 RARs, a .30-06 and a new .223. Judging by this thread, I must be the unluckiest guy ever to buy Ruger; out of the four magazines I own for these rifles, TWO feed reliably with standard factory ammo.The other two present rounds cocked, so they jam against the top of the chamber on closing the bolt. This happens on about every other round. I then have to drop the mag and try to catch the unfired cartridge as it falls out, reinsert the mag, and hope the next round will feed.
I am not sure if the problem is the inherent flex in the plastic feed lips, or if the "flapper" style follower just doesn't move the cartridges to the feed lips evenly (this mag is NOT designed like a 1022 mag, which holds each round in a groove in a revolving star-shaped follower - think of the ejector on a double-action revolver. It has a flat rotating plate - think of the dust cover on your AR).
I don't object at all to the use of plastic, and the mags feel substantial. But they don't WORK.
I wrote to Ruger, and they were...less than helpful. There was none of this "thanks for contacting us, we are sorry you are having trouble" nonsense, but IF I FEEL that there is a problem with the mags, I am free to send them in at my own expense to be evaluated. The tone of the reply led me to suspect that they would keep my mags for a few months, then send them back, probably very dirty, and tell me that their product is perfect and it must be an ammo problem. Pass.
The rifles themselves are great, MOA shooters with factory hunting ammo, light, smooth, and rugged. I love that they come with scope bases installed. The .223 in particular is a great rifle because it has a 1:8 twist barrel, not easy to find in a bolt gun. But the mags...
So, I think of this as a lower-mid-level rifle in terms of price, because in my experience it will cost an extra $100 to get a satisfactory number of working mags. (I can't imagine where that guy found them for $24. $40 is the best I can find, if anyone has them at all).
The question is, what can I do about it? Has anyone at all had feeding problems with these mags? Any suggestions as to what to do to coax the "range use only" mags into reliability?