Ruger 10/22 & Butler Creek Steel Lip Magazines

[rxanderq]

I'll be taking my new Ruger 10/22 rifle to the range in a few days.
I've purchased two Butler Creek Steel Lip Magazines so I spend less time reloading, however, I've read these magazines can be problematic and tend to cause jams.
When it does jam, how do I clear the jam?
Are these magazines just poor quality, or will they eventually break in and improve over time?
Lastly, is there a better alternative to these magazines? I know the ones made by Ruger are not allowed in Canada.

Update:

I got anxious and loaded a few rounds into the magazine with a Butler Creek Speed Loader. I then removed a couple of bullets and noticed when one bullet is removed, the next one does not always get pushed up, I would have to give the magazine a shake (which hopefully should not be a problem when I fire the round due to recoil). Is this what reviewers meant by the BC magazine causing jams?
I dented the casing of a few rounds, are these round still good?
How do i safely dispose ammunition?
Moreover, is there a better way to remove a round from a magazine other than to fire it or push it out with your fingers?

 

[Moose308]

I've always had good luck with the Butler Creek mags. Both the Hot Lips (plastic) and Steel Lips (metal) have worked just fine for me. I would say, if you do get any jams/hangups, make sure you actually run several full loads through them first. As with any manufactured items, a little bit of break-in tends to smooth out any irregularities. That said, I have not had a hiccup that I could trace directly to the magazine.

 

[Rib]

i get the occasional jam on my steel lips - like Moose308 said - it does get better after a couple hundred rounds.

There is a guide in the 10/22 tips and tricks page to help too

"This is usually caused by the rims catching on a small area near the rear of the metal cartridge guide.You can fix it by using a small, flat jeweler's file and removing a very small amount of the ramped area marked in red. (See photo)"

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?63393-10-22-Tips-amp-Tricks

To clear a jam (in the action) remove mag, and cycle the bolt manually. put mag back in and you should be good to go.

If the rounds are jammed in the mag - maybe try to push down on them with a screw driver or some long hardish object.

To remove ammo from the mags - if at the range, put mag in the gun and cycle the action until mag is empty. If not at the range, I would just use my hand and slide each one out of the mag

 

[mlehtovaara]

My Steel Lips have been almost if not just as reliable as the factory mags.

I don't know where u heard that the steel lips cause jams, but that isn't a very common theme around here.

The "Hot Lips" which are plastic are the ones I hear about causing jams, but I have never even bothered with them.

I have used the Tactical Innovations mags which are highly praised, and I found them to be worse than the Steel Lips. They would jam and I would adjust the seating screws and get it working and then it would jam again and I would adjust. Just kept constantly adjusting and adjusting and spent more time screwing with them than shooting.

Went back to the Steel Lips and never looked back.

 

[Brordo]

Of the 8 BC steel lips I've had only one was a jam-o-matic. You could see the rounds not going in right or feeding properly. Of course I was no where near the store to replace it when I was using it so got so fed up with it that I took a hammer to it (more like my boots...lost my cool on that one). The rest have been fantastic...

 

[Dagmaar]

I have two of them .
For the first couple hundred rounds I had a few jams . After that they were fine . I think I'm at over 2500 rounds now and they work great .
Like others here , I've heard that the plastic ones are crappy .

 

[Eddy_bullpoo]

You should look up my post from last week, We went pretty deep into the Butler Creek mags and how they mess up and how to fix them.

I got 2 of them. Both mine jam up if you load more then 20 rounds in them. What happens is the first round fires, and then the next round gets jammed between the mag and the barrel. Then I have to eject it and its all bent and messed up. I typically get: Shot, Jam, shot, jam, shot, jam, shot shot shot shot shot shot..

Occasionally when I release the bolt on the first round the hammer doesn't close all the way and then you get a click... Nothing, If you open the slide you can see that the firing pin never hit the bullet.

If found with the Mag loader if your not carful you can dent or slightly flatten then casing of the bullet. That will also cause them not to pop up after you take a shot. And probably don't help with them jamming. Just don't force it when you are turning the handle of the loader. If you feel some resistance try clearing the bullet in the loader and try again. I found that by rushing it I was messing up quite a few of them.

Also as a really nice other member posted which worked for me was to use some graphite grease from Canadian tire. It really fixed my mags a lot, They went from jamming after 18 rounds to around 20, sometimes even a full mag with out an issue. I am going to try hitting my mags with another squirt of the graphite before I use them next and I have a feeling it will be fine.

 

[rxanderq]

You should look up my post from last week, We went pretty deep into the Butler Creek mags and how they mess up and how to fix them.

I got 2 of them. Both mine jam up if you load more then 20 rounds in them. What happens is the first round fires, and then the next round gets jammed between the mag and the barrel. Then I have to eject it and its all bent and messed up. I typically get: Shot, Jam, shot, jam, shot, jam, shot shot shot shot shot shot..

Occasionally when I release the bolt on the first round the hammer doesn't close all the way and then you get a click... Nothing, If you open the slide you can see that the firing pin never hit the bullet.

If found with the Mag loader if your not carful you can dent or slightly flatten then casing of the bullet. That will also cause them not to pop up after you take a shot. And probably don't help with them jamming. Just don't force it when you are turning the handle of the loader. If you feel some resistance try clearing the bullet in the loader and try again. I found that by rushing it I was messing up quite a few of them.

Also as a really nice other member posted which worked for me was to use some graphite grease from Canadian tire. It really fixed my mags a lot, They went from jamming after 18 rounds to around 20, sometimes even a full mag with out an issue. I am going to try hitting my mags with another squirt of the graphite before I use them next and I have a feeling it will be fine.

Yeah I've been having the same problem with the speed loader too. I'll go pick up some Graphite lube tomorrow.