I have shot 2 bricks with my MKIII. I really love it but have an occasional stovepipe with CCI Standard Velocity Ammo. I have 3 mags and numbered them. I read the excellent post explaining why the top of the mag has to be 1/16" below the ejector. All 3 mags look good but after testing....I only get stovepipes with mag #1. It looks and feels identical to the others.
Do you sometimes just get a finicky mag that's unfixable? It's really funny as the stovepipes alway occur on about the 9th round in the mag.
John
Mag Questions
Moderators: Bullseye, Moderators
Yes, one magazine can have its own personality. It can not work well and is pretty consistent with failures. That's one reason why I advocate numbering or marking them to see when one becomes a bad actor.
Does this magazine feel loose in the mag well? Is there some play if you push upwards on the base? I could be possible that when it gets empty, or near empty, that it is affected more by the forces of recoil. This causes the mag lips to move up and interfere with the spent case when it is retracting from the chamber, knocking it off of the extractor and causing the stovepipe. Yzguy has a feed lip mod on his website that might help you. It has the front part of the rear feedlips rounded down a little to reduce them from touching the case rim. http://www.1bad69.com/ruger/stovepipe.htm You could try this and see if it will cure that pesky magazine. Rounding the rear lips wont hurt the mag, just reduce the hight a little more for clearance.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
Does this magazine feel loose in the mag well? Is there some play if you push upwards on the base? I could be possible that when it gets empty, or near empty, that it is affected more by the forces of recoil. This causes the mag lips to move up and interfere with the spent case when it is retracting from the chamber, knocking it off of the extractor and causing the stovepipe. Yzguy has a feed lip mod on his website that might help you. It has the front part of the rear feedlips rounded down a little to reduce them from touching the case rim. http://www.1bad69.com/ruger/stovepipe.htm You could try this and see if it will cure that pesky magazine. Rounding the rear lips wont hurt the mag, just reduce the hight a little more for clearance.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
Bullseye,
I took the Dremel to the FRONT feed lips. I just rounded off the pointed corners - nothing drastic. The #1 Mag still stove piped! Then I went back and re-read the instructions which clearly say round off the REAR feed lips. Sigh.......
So then I rounded off the rear feed lip front edges. I've shot about 200 rounds since with the #1 Mag and NO stovepipes. Honest......not even one. What an amazing improvement with a 2-minute modification. I can't believe it.
I was talking to a young guy at the range shooting a Ruger, yesterday. I asked him if it stovepiped and he said, "Oh...yeah."
I showed him the modification and gave Gun Talk OnLine full credit. I told him make sure that he did the REAR feed lips. Afterward I broke down my MKIII for the third time.....WITHOUT having to go to the DIRECTIONS!!! It is true....it's pretty easy when you know where the hammer has to be.
John
I took the Dremel to the FRONT feed lips. I just rounded off the pointed corners - nothing drastic. The #1 Mag still stove piped! Then I went back and re-read the instructions which clearly say round off the REAR feed lips. Sigh.......
So then I rounded off the rear feed lip front edges. I've shot about 200 rounds since with the #1 Mag and NO stovepipes. Honest......not even one. What an amazing improvement with a 2-minute modification. I can't believe it.
I was talking to a young guy at the range shooting a Ruger, yesterday. I asked him if it stovepiped and he said, "Oh...yeah."
I showed him the modification and gave Gun Talk OnLine full credit. I told him make sure that he did the REAR feed lips. Afterward I broke down my MKIII for the third time.....WITHOUT having to go to the DIRECTIONS!!! It is true....it's pretty easy when you know where the hammer has to be.
John
Very true John, sometimes just a few thousandths of an inch can make all the difference in the world. A little too long - and you have a jam-o-matic. A little to short in some places and misfeeds occur. Just rounding those rear lips will leave a little extra clearance for the spent case to travel unobstructed rearward to the ejector pin. This is one reason why I say you must have 1/16" clearance between the ejector pin and the top of the rear magazine lips. This may not be enough clearance if the extractor claw is worn and not holding the case in place on the bolt face. A weak extractor can allow the case to slip down during the extraction sequence and then you have the magazine feed lips knocking the case off of the extractor hook.
I know what you mean about helping people at the range. I probably spend almost as much time shooting as I do assisting people with their pistol problems while at the range. Not that I mind but it does cut into my practice time a bunch. On the other hand, I'm not selfish enough to keep on shooting when a person is having trouble with their firearm.
I have given out the forum's web address a few times when people tell me they have trouble disassembling/reassembling their Ruger 22 Auto Pistols. I just tell them, "There's this guy on the web named Bullseye, he's got a web page with great pictures and descriptions for helping with dis/reassembly problems. I use it all the time when I get stuck, that guy really knows his stuff with these Rugers."
R,
Bullseye
I know what you mean about helping people at the range. I probably spend almost as much time shooting as I do assisting people with their pistol problems while at the range. Not that I mind but it does cut into my practice time a bunch. On the other hand, I'm not selfish enough to keep on shooting when a person is having trouble with their firearm.
I have given out the forum's web address a few times when people tell me they have trouble disassembling/reassembling their Ruger 22 Auto Pistols. I just tell them, "There's this guy on the web named Bullseye, he's got a web page with great pictures and descriptions for helping with dis/reassembly problems. I use it all the time when I get stuck, that guy really knows his stuff with these Rugers."
R,
Bullseye