first post/dumb question

[mchn13]

Does anyone make a better mag for the 15-22? I have 3 for mine, and they all seem junky. I love this gun, and it seems reliable, even with my lazy care of it.
But, iit seems to me, most of my ftf's or stovepipes, stem from the top of the plastic mag not feeding the round correctly. Where the rim of the round sits in the mag, there's already indentations, and I usually have to push the rim side down a bit to seat the round while loading.
I guess I was wondering if someone made a better mag with a steel sleeve at the top of the mag??

 

[Juvicator]

There is a good video thread you can search here. When you say pushing the round, you do mean sliding it under the top part of the mag right, not just flat down on top?

 

[mchn13]

I mean how the rim sits against the top of the mag after its loaded. It let's it float a bit, and the rim has actually dug a small dent from the inside.
For example, my friend and I were at our local range and were loading his glock. Its mag is plastic also, but has a thin sleeve at the top, of steell I assume, that keeps the round in place.
I will definitley search for the vid, but after 1500 rounds or so, I still feel like these mags are junky, and help ftf's

 

[5.56Spartan]

I have eight 25 round mags and two 10 round mags (all numbered for ident purposes), and I have not had any issues with mine.

Initially, I thought I might since 22lr's can be fickle, but after a few thousand rounds, I am pretty confident with mine (even when they are pretty dirty).

Currently, I have a few thousand through my rifle and there was one failure to feed, but it was on a mag that my friend's son was shooting so I can't say if it was a hardware or user issue.

My MP 15-22 pistol, has over 500 rounds through it using the same mags and so far I have had zero issues.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

At the top of the 15-22 page there is a Sticky - http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-15-22/166153-notable-thread-index.html See the Instructional Video Series link

 

[Redbulladdikt]

refer to the user manual in addition to the sticky...99/100 its operator error with the magazines--if you dont load them correctly they can be finicky....its easy to get one a little off


and to answer your question--nobody makes an aftermarket magazine for this rifle except the Black Dog drum and by all accounts they suck

 

[crazykg85]

and to answer your question--nobody makes an aftermarket magazine for this rifle except the Black Dog drum and by all accounts they suck

LOL! It is definitely the correct answer, but for some reason I found the brutal honesty with the word suck pretty funny...

 

[Redbulladdikt]

i personally think the overall design of the magazines is excellent--the loading procedure takes a little getting used to especially if you are coming from 10/22 country like me

 

[G26ster]

i personally think the overall design of the magazines is excellent--the loading procedure takes a little getting used to especially if you are coming from 10/22 country like me

Take another look at the video. The person demonstrating the "proper" loading technique couldn't get the magazine to load properly, even while checking each round from the back as he loaded, and couldn't get past 10 rounds before the problem with the magazines was evident. Even using the load assist button to help realign the casings, he still had to unload some rounds to get them to align. But by then, he quit loading. If you think that is the mark of an "excellent" magazine, that's your opinion I and fine with me. In my opinion, magazines should load properly time after time, with only an occasional glitch, and one should not have to check each and every round as it is loaded. So, I guess we can agree to disagree.

 

[crazykg85]

I think it may be the individual magazines. I have 7 of the 25 round mags. The first three are the oldest. The one that came with the rifle will often have the issue where the round will not be angled correctly at the time. However, this magazine has not had any cycling issues. One of the last four mags that I bought will have the rounds aligned correctly, but for some reason, it will not chamber some rounds correctly. I think it is just one of those rimfire anomalies.

And for those who are wondering, the issues I have had with the magazines I was using the same ammunition in both mags.

 

[G26ster]

I think it may be the individual magazines. I have 7 of the 25 round mags. The first three are the oldest. The one that came with the rifle will often have the issue where the round will not be angled correctly at the time. However, this magazine has not had any cycling issues. One of the last four mags that I bought will have the rounds aligned correctly, but for some reason, it will not chamber some rounds correctly. I think it is just one of those rimfire anomalies.

And for those who are wondering, the issues I have had with the magazines I was using the same ammunition in both mags.

I tend to agree. I have noticed that some ammo brands load better than others, as each of them has a slightly different overall shape. I think the mag problem is the fact that it has very close tolerances, and is finicky about the brand/type of ammo you load. Just an observation on my part.

 

[DrD562]

I just picked up and broke in my 1522 today, bought a brick of CCI Blazer for $20, and it shot very nicely, had like 4 FTF out of the ~ 200 rounds I fired, but it never happened to me, only to other people who tried to load the magazine, and ZERO FTE.

 

[Redbulladdikt]

with rimfire cases magazines are ALWAYS a factor--agree with you there...and after reviewing that video with what i know now you are correct that it isnt terribly informative

what i have found works if the rims do not align correctly at the top of the mag; pull back the load assit and flip it upside down and the shells SHOULD line up...least in my case it works

also review the SW online manual from their website...i found the printed instruction a little better personally

 

[G26ster]

with rimfire cases magazines are ALWAYS a factor--agree with you there...and after reviewing that video with what i know now you are correct that it isnt terribly informative

what i have found works if the rims do not align correctly at the top of the mag; pull back the load assit and flip it upside down and the shells SHOULD line up...least in my case it works

also review the SW online manual from their website...i found the printed instruction a little better personally

Here is all the manual says,

"Orient the magazine as shown (Figs. 13 & 14). Hold the follower down using the loading assist button on each side of the magazine. Hold the follower down only far enough to load one round at a time to maintain cartridge alignment. Feed each round into the magazine until it is held by the magazine lips and is against the rear of the magazine. Place the next round on top of the previous round and repeat
until the desired number is loaded. Do not attempt to load your magazine beyond its capacity."


Let me clarify my post. The 15-22 magazine is a "double stack" magazine (the rounds are alternately staggered). The problem IMHO is NOT the stacking, but rather the orientation of the nose of the round. If the nose is not pointed upward in the proper orientation, the round is likely to misfeed. This is NOT something you can see from the rear of the magazine. You can only see the nose of the last round loaded from the top. Once another round is placed on top, you can no longer see the previous rounds nose orientation. There is no way to tell if previous rounds loaded have shifted nose position downward, from the rear.

I have fired many magazines where it was clear that they were "staggered" incorrectly, and they all loaded and fired just fine, while other magazines that showed proper stacking from the rear, had failures to feed.

I only have 2 other .22lr firearms at the moment. One uses a double stack magazine, and the other uses single stack. Neither has the issues of the 15-22 magazine. As I said in response to another post, I believe the tolerances on the 15-22 magazine make it finicky about different bullet shapes. Those that closely adhere to the tolerances of the 15-22 mag will work just fine IMHO regardless of stacking. But those with rougher or odder bullet shapes and finishes will have feed issues even if stacked properly. In the end, to me at least, it's a matter of bullet nose orientation within the magazine, rather than staggered stacking.

Back in my day ( a loooong time ago) as an Infantryman, we would rap our magazines on our helmets a few times before loading in the rifle, to ensure all rounds were seated against the magazines rear wall. Maybe that's what made me "old and cranky." Too many hits on the head.