Ruger Mark II 22/45 magazines

I have a Ruger Mark II 22/45 and a while back I lost the two magazines that came with it, plus a new one I got late last year. The reliability was pretty good with only the occasional jam. Earlier this month, I got two brand new 22/45 magazines ($20/per) from SW and at the match today I was jamming regularly, and in fact it cost me the match.

The jam seems to occur with one fired case getting stuck behind the new cartridge on it's way into the chamber and the bolt & breech face. Jeffersonian has suggested a new extractor, which may well be it. The thing that bothers me is that with the old magazines, jamming was rare. Plus, at the range earlier this month, I borrowed a friends magazine and had jamming problems until I gave that one back to him and he lent me another one. This time it shot like a dream and I had no more malfunctions.

Is there a difference between the Mark II 22/45 magazines & Mark III 22/45 magazines? If so, what is it?

Any other ideas what is going on?

UPDATE: I should have said this earlier, but the replacement magazines I got are from Ruger.

Sarah Brady Cries! Film at Eleven!

Last Friday I went up to my range to practice for the monthly Plate Match which was held the next day. I was unable to go to the match because of a family emergency, but still it was good to get some trigger time in anyway.

Thanks to Robb at Sharp as a Marble, I had a fresh supply of "Every time you hit a bullseye, Sarah Brady cries!" targets with me. Thanks Robb! They're great targets and the guys at the range loved them. :-)

Here's the scoop on the Plate Match. The .22lr division shoots a 6" plate from about 15 - 17 yards, roughly the same distance as the pistol range. Robb's targets have one big 10" target and two 6" targets. First I'd warm up on the large target and then shoot the lower targets rapid fire to simulate the Plate Match. Rapid fire meaning 3-4 shots a second until I'd emptied the magazine (10 rounds). In this case, hitting anywhere within the 6" circle is considered a hit, as it would certainly knock down the steel plate at the match. Having the targets the same size as the plates worked out great too!

Here we have an example of the target I was using:



And here are a selection of smaller targets in no particular order. I should point out that most of the "misses" on the smaller targets can be traced to screw-ups in shooting the larger target. Usually when I got a little too fast for my own good. *blush*







Next Friday, my birthday oddly enough, I intend to make another range trip to re-sight-in my SKS. Seems last time I shot it, the recoil was harsh enough to loosen the set screws on the scout mount. I took it down and applied lock-tite to them and put everything back together. When I did I noticed that the red dot was no longer anywhere near where the rifle was pointing. I've bore sighted it down the hall, but it definitely needs to be re-sighted before I trust it to 100 yards again. And yes, I'll be shooting more Sarah Brady targets too. :-) Time willing I'll try and get more hand gun practice in and perhaps try out some of my newly minted Mosin rounds. We'll see...

More Volquartsen Goodness

The little truck of happiness came again today and dropped off the vertical compensator for my Ruger 22/45. In the same box was the extended bolt handle for my custom Ruger 10/22. I was under the impression it was supposed to be polished, but instead I got the frosted/bead blasted finished one in. I'm not going to bitch about it too bad since I think it looks just fine on my gun the way it is. Oh yeah, I realize the vertical compensator is brushed stainless steel and not blued, but I happen to like the way it looks and ordered it that way on purpose. It gives the gun a kind of "Buck Rogers" space pistol kind of vibe. I got the vertical compensator to help in speeding up my shooting at the plate match. See, last month in one of my runs I tied another competitor, a really good competitor, for speed. If I can gain anything in regards to getting back on target quicker I think I can take him. People don't think there's much recoil on a .22lr, and they're right, but when trying to hit a 6" steel plate from 10-15 yards anything helps. I can see the recoil in my red dot scope as it bounces around after each shot. Anyway, here's some gun porn for you since you read this entire paragraph and didn't give up!

Why I don't use Remington Thunderbolt .22lr

I didn't take this video, but it illustrates why I don't use Remington Thunderbolt .22lr in my guns. To be fair, I have not had problems with any other Remington Products.

I personally recommend Federal copper plated .22lr in the bulk pack, or Federal Premium Gold Medal Target .22lr, which is what I shoot in my modified Ruger 10/22. It's 1MOA or less at 100 yards with the Adams & Bennett match barrel on it.

I guess I can kiss that Remington sponsorship goodbye! ;-)

Yuri Gets a Red Dot

Tired of getting his ass served to him at the steel plate match, Yuri went and got a Bushnell Red/Green Dot scope (Sportsman's Warehouse) and mounted it to his Ruger Mark II 22/45 with a Wegand Combat no gunsmith scope mount from Mounts Plus. This only requires drifting out the rear sight and inserting a mounting block. Two 1/16 ball end hex key, set screws lock it down and the mounting rail is screwed down on top of it. A little lock-tite keeps everything secure.

As evidenced by this video, the accuracy that is achievable is incredible. Yuri is using the 3 MOA dot in this clip, at a distance of up to 17 yards (42 feet).