Hi Al. While the metal mag that ruger sold with the rifle is good, the poly mags that Ruger sells are excellent and half the price of the metal mags. There are some of the poly mags that some folks have had trouble with, but I've bought 4 of the 10 round mags from ruger and they work perfect - you can even top off the mag when it's in the rifle, a chore you can't do with the metal mags.

Just my opinion Al, but nobody has the metal mags for anything close to a "good" price.

 

So you are confirming the 10 rd poly mags have been problem free for you?


I own the 5rd mags and like them, but have read stories concerning the 10 rd variant.

 

I actually had very bad luck with the factory metal mag. The poly mags are much, much better IMHO. And cheaper don't hurt, neither.

Hate to admit it, but I bought mine from Cheaper Than Dirt. Hated to do it, and got the crap gouged out of me on shipping, but they were the only ones who had the 10-rounders in stock when I first got my gun and had problems with the metal mag.

You should be able to buy them direct from Ruger, or at all the other usual suspects like Midway, Brownell's, etc...As for where to get more metal mags, dunno...I don't intend to buy any more of those.

Edit* Just for clarification, the mags I got from CTD were the Ruger name-brand polymer mags. I don't know if some of the poly mags from CTD that were problematic were Ruger mags or not, but the ones I got are Ruger, and work great.

 

I had some issues with the polymer magazines when they first came out but that has been resolved. For the money they are hard to beat.

I have also had good luck with the ALPHA "ALPH-GSR308" magazine. If your ejector is a little ruff or has a bur on it it may hang up a bit at the rear of the ALPHA magazine lip but you can just tweak the rear 1/4" of the magazine lip out just a hair and it will be good to go. It seems to be just with a few rifles. Rear left lip on a right hand rifle the rear right lip on a left handed rifle. The side that has the ejector.

The reason I like the ALPHA's is they will let you load longer than the SAAMI max of 2.810" for the 308. They are also the shortest 10 round magazines you can find.

I have to say I have had no issues with the Accurate magazines that come with the scout rifle the magazine spring is heaver than on the other magazines but they feed just fine.

The polymer 3 and 5 round never had any issues and they are less expensive and last time I looked they were in stock at the Ruger Store.

Best regards,

Roadie

 

Thanks for the info, guys. I appreciate it.
AL

PS found a pair of 10 round Ruger Polymer mags NIB for $75 shipping included on ebay.

 

Yes. Mine were purchased in the Ruger packaging. One from LGS, three from Ruger store.

At the time I bought my GSR there were people having all kinds of grief with cheaper poly mags from Cheaper Than Dirt, Ebay and it seems ProMag (that may not be correct, it has been a while). All 4 of mine have been problem free.

 

My 10 rd mag that came with the rifle has not failed me. Having said that, I purchased two 10 rd, and one 5 rd poly mags from Ruger. They are much better in my opinion. They have fed flawlessly and the plus is when you are shooting you can top load them. They also have a much better fit then the AI mags. To me that was the biggest difference. The AI mags move around in the magazine well. They don't come loose but it feels loose. They also come with a pretty cool cover that snaps on and off pretty easily to prevent dirt from getting down inside when not in use.

 

I love the poly mags over my metal ones. I usually roll with the 5 round poly mag in the gun.

 

Have 2ea of the factory metal mags - rarely use them.


The Ruger poly mags feed so easily....it's just hard to use anything else.

 

We did a zero exercise yesterday 100 and 200 yard targets. One 10 rd mag in each using military ball ammo. Excellent results with a 1.5" group of 6 in the 100 yd and a 4" group of 5 in the 200 target. I don't think I will ever shoot the 308 at 200 yards...the gun is fine, my eyes aren't !!

The Poly Mags were used and functioned well.

 

I've got the 3, 5 and 10 round Ruger poly mags, all have been good.

 

I wonder why so many are hesitant to try the poly mags? Given the reputation of ruger mags, I had zero hesitation ordering mine when I got my first GSR. I wish I could get equal quality poly mags for a few other platforms I own. I put them right on level with my P-Mags that I use in ARs.

 

Can't imagine using a steel mag for my 10/22, it made me cozy with poly mags a long time ago. For the GSR I'd argue the poly's are better: smaller, lighter, plenty durable, dent resistant, dust caps, push loadable, no corrosion possible (except maybe the spring, no idea if that is stainless) less expensive. I'm just not seeing the downside.

 

Early on the first GSR's that were shipped before the polymer magazines were an option. There was a small number of rifles that had feeding issues. The few of us that had issues were very squeaky about it. I made a change to the polymer magazine feed lips sent them in to a friend at Ruger and they made the change to the magazines. I have heard of no issues since. There was a change to the magazine spring also.

Some of the early rifles also had the Mini-14 mag release installed by mistake. There is a very small difference a couple thou. That also was a small number and it only generated issues installing the 10 round polymer magazine the 3 and 5 round polymer mags and all the steel mags worked fine.

The polymer magazines are light easy to load the rifle cycles smooth as can be they don't rust, dent, bend, they come apart with a cartridge to clean in a creek and shake dry (don't ask ), etc..... To quote fungun "no down side".

Best regards,

Roadie

 

I got a spare alpha industries mag and I couldn't be happier with it, in aesthetics, durability and size its great mag and its now my primary. the factory 10 rounder is my new back up lol

 

Some folks are finding that the springs in the poly mag are on the weak side and do beco e weaker if you store the mag fully loaded for long time. Supposedly not so for the steel mags.

I find the factory 10 round metL mags easier to pull out of the slew of AR compatible mag pouches out there because they are longer. I thus tend to have that as my preferred spare and use a single shot sled in the rifle for actual woods carry.