I posted this review on my blog earlier this morning; thought it might be of interest here. It's written for someone who may not be a part of a forum. Still, it's my observations and the pics are nice  

Here's the link to my blog to see the post as published; the pics are a little large here

http://libertytreeblogs.blogspot.com/2011/11/breaking-down-rugers-new-polymer-gsr.html








Ruger finally introduced it's much anticipated polymer magazine for it's popular Gunsite Scout Rifle in mid to late October. Once on sale at the Ruger web store I ordered one each of the 3 round, 5 round, 10 round magazines. They arrived last week, which has given me some time to evaluate them; and to also read criticisms posted on various forums.

At first glance they appear to be well made and thought out. I noted they were of similar quality and build of a PMag with familiar appointments. The 20 round Pmag is to the far right.





Ruger Mag with dust cover attached





Side by side of Ruger mag and PMag floor plate with familiar latch location






I immediately took the 3 round magazine and began to load it with mil surp ammo. The first thing that struck me was how easy the magazines were to load. Each round, from first to last slipped in with very little effort. The experience was unlike using the steel magazines, which take considerable effort, and utterances of explicatives which I will not pen here. At first, I thought it must be the 3 round magazine; to my delight the 5 and 10 round magazines loaded with similar ease.

Inserting the magazines into the mag well met with familiar exercise I find with all polymer mags. As expected, I found the polymer magazine was much handier and required less manipulation to engage the well opening than the steel counterparts. I did notice the 5 and 10 round magazines required a slight "pop" with the palm of the hand to seat properly; but this is not an uncommon occurrence for anyone who has used PMags or other polymer AR15 magazines. Removal of the magazines met with little resistance; the 5 and 10 rounders dropped effortlessly. The 3 round magazine did require manual removal due to its lighter weight and not wanting fall out freely.





Close inspection the 5 and 10 round magazines revealed slight indentations running the length of the feed lips. This in my opinion was of no consequence. It is merely where the feed lips came in contact with the receiver  rails at the top of the mag well. If you find it unsightly a little emory paper will smooth it down. No different than any other poly mag I have ever used.





One pleasant surprise was the ability to top load the rifle with the magazine engaged. The feed lips have a slight inner camfor that allow the cartridges to be loaded from the top; thus addressing an early criticism of Ruger's decision to use the AI magazine system:

"Not being able to top off the magazine while engaged in the rifle."

Cycling the bolt proved to be much smoother and I did not encounter any rounds hanging at the feed ramp as I did with the steel magazines. These three things alone are a vast improvement over the steel magazines.

Taking a look at the magazines side by side with their steel counter parts also revealed a few surprises.





Obviously the 3 round magazine has a much lower profile than any of the others; the surprise came with the 5 and 10 round magazines. The 5 round poly magazine is actually taller than the the 5 round steel and the 10 round poly was surprisingly shorter than the 10 round steel. I was also a bit taken back as to the weight difference between the steel and polymer magazines. If I had thought about it before hand it should have been no surprise; but on comparison it was quite revealing.



* Ruger poly mags measured w/o the dust cover


From the chart above you can see that both the 5 and 10 round poly magazines are less than 50% of the weight of the steel magazines. However, the 5 round poly magazine is slightly larger in profile than the 5 round steel; and the 10 round poly is 1 inch shorter than the steel. So, no improvement on the 5 round poly profile but a significant improvement on weight. Double so with the 10 round poly magazine.

The next few pics compare the Ruger GSR with the poly and steel magazines. I like the look of the poly magazines better than the steel. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.




GSR with 3 rd Ruger poly




GSR with 5 rd Ruger poly




GSR with 5 rd Ruger steel




GSR with 10 rd Ruger poly




GSR with 10 rd Ruger steel


The last thing that I did was to disassemble the Ruger poly magazine. The steel magazine is a hit and miss when it comes to disassembly. Both my Ruger steel mags require quite a bit of muscle and one always runs the risk of either personal injury or damaging the magazine; both being distasteful.

Disassembly was very simple and did not require anything more than a pencil, pen, small stick or bullet tip. Anything that will depress the latch in the center of the floor plate.





Once depressed the floor plate slides off easily and reveals three inner parts: follower; spring, and base. All three are easily detached from one another for cleaning; repair or replacement.




3 rd mag disassembled




Spring assembly




Spring, follower and base


From my vantage point I believe the Ruger polymer magazine offers significant improvement over the steel magazines. They offer a lot of positives and I really can't find a negative at this point.

Pros

lighter
easier to load cartridges
easier to engage
offers top loading
smoother bolt operation
simple to disassemble

Cons

I guess I'll have to run the magazines for a while to find any. I'm sure something will raise up; if and when it dose I'll post a follow up with close examination.


I believe Ruger has a winner magazine that is every bit as well thought out as the rifle it is mated to. Nothing is perfect, but right now I can find no fault. BTW, did I mention the the new magazine is less expensive than the steel mags. $39.95.  About 30% less than steel.  There are a number things that are "lesser" with the Ruger poly magazine but in this case ........... less is more.




UPDATE 11/10/11

Top loading the new Ruger polymer magazine is officially sanctioned by Ruger Firearms. The following is a link to videos found on the Ruger website. They are informative and may clear up any misconceptions or concerns regarding function and durability. I would caution exclusively loading the magazine from the top. Limit top loading only when the magazine is in the rifle and needs to be "topped off" with one or two rounds. This will reduce premature wear on the feed lips(this comes on good authority from within Ruger)

Ruger Polymer Mag Features

Excellent review and post. I appreciate all of the pictures!

-PC-

"Can be loaded while inserted", Ok, I'm sold....

Thanks PC

This review makes me even more sad. I emailed Ruger last week, and they said that GSRs were still shipping with metal mags. They should switch to polymers only, including the mag they ship with.

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They will eventually ship with a polymer; but, not until their supply of steel mags runs out.

So, I don't know if I want my rifle to be shipped quickly, so I have it, or if I want it to take longer, to increase my chances for a polymer magazine. I want 3 polymer 10 rounders and 1 5 rounder. I am glad they are less than $50 each.

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try Cheaper Than Dirt; they have the new Ruger poly mags for $28.99. Here's the link

CTD Ruger Poly Mags

After the gouging they were doing on ammo following the '08 elections, I'll wait for Brownell's to carry them or buy them directly from Ruger instead of feeding those jackals.

Thanks for the review...it's costing me more cash.

Well, if you want to spend more money, fine. That's your right, and I would never argue with it. I can hold grudges too, however not for as long as you. I think I'll save myself $12 and order these before the price goes up.

Nice review, thanks.

It's nothing to do with rights, it's my choice based upon a principle.  When Brownell's offers them I'll get the dealer discount and it will be a moot point anyhow.  Keep feeding the jackals and they'll continue to eat you when they have the opportunity.

Great review and write up.  I've one issue though with mine, but maybe it's just me.  I ordered 2 of the 10 round mags from Ruger as I had a discount from registering my rifle.  I Just got them today and havent had the opportunity to use them with live fire practice.  In loading them up though and hand cycling the bolt, I've been having several failure to feeds.  The bolt over rides the round and closes on an empty chamber.  During one of these cycles the rounds were actually nose diving into the magazine.

It should be mentioned that in both mags, only 5 rounds were loaded up.  With 10 rounds, there may be enough tension to not cause this until 2-3 rounds are left, which is the round count for my problems.  Im also aware that you cant get a true understanding of things when hand cycling a semi auto pistol, as the force of the recoil spring isnt there.  This shouldnt apply here though, as I was cycling with about the same amount of force as I would when at the range.

My post isnt a gripe or complaint with these magazines.  Im glad to see Ruger make them available finally.  I'm just hoping my issue here is either isolated, or will disappear while shooting.  Im curious though to see if anyone has experienced this.

Midway has the 10 rounders for 29.99 with about a fourth of the
shipping(of CTD).This may have tipped me into buying the rifle.
Now I just need to come upwith the money.

Sounds as if the magazine is not far enough up in the Mag well. Make sure the magazine is fully seated. I found on the five and ten round mags; I have to give them a little pop on the bottom to get them to latch and seat. This is not uncommon with poly mags; I occasionally have to give my magpuls a little pop or they will produce the same issue in my AR's.

Same thing here. I ordered two 10rnd mags. I haven't run them live fire yet but have had a problem with the bolt running over the top and partially pushing the next round out until it jams.
I think a more positive ejection of the previous round helps. I do like how much easier they are to load. A range visit will tell the tail....

Thanks for the help and information.   The mags were seated properly as I checked multiple times.  I will say, however, that I was not forcefully extracting the chambered round.  This was due to the fact I was in my basement.

Hopefully under live fire things will be good.

Can the mag springs be inserted backwards?   I saw the mag springs in the video and they look like they would be weak in the front if inserted incorrectly.

Nevermind.  I looked again and it would be very hard to install the spring backwards.

The spring on the ruger mag has a notched/slotted end that attaches to the follower. The bottom of the spring slips into the base very similar to a mauser. No way to put it in backwards unless you are a complete moron. And if you did try and were successful the DBM would be FUBAR

I finally got the chance to put a few rounds thru the new mags today.  It started to pour, so I didnt spend that much time.  It seems my rifle/poly mags are still having FTF issues.  The bolt overrides the round in the mag and does not grab it correctly.  Sometimes if I pull the bolt back, then forward again, it'll feed properly.  A couple of times the round got hung up somewhere, so I backed the bolt out a tad, then it started to feed a second round from the mag.  

Both of my 10 round poly mags experienced these issues, so I dont believe it's a single mag issue.  Ammo used included Win 308 NATO spec, American Eagle, and Tula.  With 3 different brands, in 2 different mags, I'm leaning on the issues being mag related.  When I used the steel mag included with the purchase, everything was fine, and all the rounds feed correctly.

When loading the mags, I noticed that its very easy to nose dive the tip, getting them hung up in the mag.  It's almost as if the mag springs are a tad weak, but who knows I guess.

Just thought I'd share.

These mags are interchangeable with AI mags? Did I read this correctly?  

They are listed as being "not recommended" for other rifles with AICS patterned bottom metal. Take that for what it is worth.

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Thanks!



Has anybody on here tried the fitment of these mags on a Badger bottom metal rig? I've got a GAP Crusader that I love to use these on...if they will work.

Excellent review with good pics. Thanks for posting.

GREAT review.  

If you get a double feed in a bolt gun it means you are short stroking the bolt.  

If anyone hates their 10 round poly mag I'll trade them straight across for my 10 (eleven actually) round steel mag that came with my GSR.

Thanks, nice pics and good info.

Could you please post some outer measurements of these mags? How long are they from rear to front (i.e. along the axis of the cartridges)? How wide are they?

Here is the update on FTF's as it appears on my blog.


UPDATE:  December  20, 2011


After using the magazines since I first published this article; there appears to be some failure to feed problems primarily with the 5 and 10 round magazines. Several forum members on scoutrifle.org have reported rounds not engaging the bolt face and jamming/failing to feed into the chamber. I'll admit I had yet to use my 10 round magazine fully loaded; so I pulled it out, topped it off, and stated to cycle rounds and began to experience the same issues.

When cycling the bolt the first 2 or 3 rounds chambered without problems; however, getting further into the magazine I began experiencing the same issues others were having. When the bolt was cycling I noticed the face would would miss the base of the round completely or would barely catch the rim and would cause the cartridge to swing slightly off axis and jam at the mouth of the chamber. The steel mags do not appear to cause the same failure to feed.

So, I recalled an observation I made in my initial examination of the Ruger Poly mags. If you read my above article you will notice a pic of marks made on the feed lips of the poly mag. They are caused by contact with the rails in the mag well.





At the time I felt it would be of no consequence; however I did think in the back of my mind that the mags had the potential of not fully engaging all the way into the mag well and not allowing the bolt to engage the base of the cartridge properly. Since the rounds cycled without issue in my initial test I thought no more of; until others started experiencing FTF's. As I stated above, I pulled my 10 round mag and found the same FTF's the others were having.

What now you ask?

For me the solution was, and is simple. Just remove a little material from the outside of the feed lips so the magazine engages the mag well properly. I went to my garage and got a small section of 150 grit sand paper and a sanding block; and then carefully sanded the marks away on both feed lips.  No surprise to me, the FTF's went away.





Hopefully Ruger will be addressing the FTF issue and come up with a resolution. For now, a little sand paper will take away the excess material, but many gun owners will not be comfortable altering the magazine in this manner and it may void the warranty. Like I promised I'll keep this post updated as I gain more info and solutions.

I'll see what I can do later tonight.

No kidding??  Very cool!  I'll be trying this over my next few days off.  I, for one, am not short stroking the bolt as mentioned earlier.  Your post describes exactly what is happening with my 2 10 round ploy mags.  If I hold the rifle by the mag while cycling the bolt, the issue goes away.  Kinda hard to do though comfortably.  Just the other day I thought about selling it as I didn't envision using it much with the feed issues.  Hopefully this will take care of the problems.

I agree with you; the issue is not the rifle or the operator; the new 10 rd poly mag seems to be having most of the FTF's. A few have the same FTF's with the 5 rd mag as well. I noticed that the 10 and 5 rd mags were more difficult to get the latch engaged than the 3 rd mag; this leads me to believe that during the mfg process some mags will be slightly out of spec; particularly in the thickness of the feed lips. Thin them down  just a little so the mag engages properly and the cartridge will sit a little higher allowing the the bolt face more surface area to engage the base of the cartridge.

Properly cycling the bolt; polishing feed ramps and increasing spring tension in the magazine can and will improve function for MOST firearms. In this case it appears the polymer feed lips have a slight amount of excess material. This makes for a easy fix. Again YMMV.

Well, I gotta say, this may have solved my issues to.  I sanded down both of my mags earlier tonight.  I then loaded them up and cycled through both mags.  Not one hang up.  The rounds are now being pushed by the bolt instead of the bolt sliding over them.

Looks like this is the solution.

Thanks again!

I picked up two of these 10-rd mags straight from Ruger last week, and shot both last weekend (Sunday, 18 Dec), a couple days after getting them.  I haven't had any issues with rounds failing to feed.  No bolt-over whatsoever from them.  There's no manufacturer date stamp anywhere on the mags (not outside or inside the mag body, not anywhere on the floorplate, follower, not on the spring or top cover).  Has anyone tried to compile a list or details of when they bought them?  There's no sense in listing where you got them, since they all come directly from Ruger, in one way or another.  If they came from a source other than straight-from-Ruger, when did that supplier receiver them? Has anyone checked with the place they bought them from?  Call, and ask.

This might help in finding out when improvements were made by Ruger, and it might not.  Maybe Ruger has never made improvements.  Mine don't do this, though.

I will say this - you can run the bolt a hell of alot smoother when feeding from these mags, versus the stock Accurate Mag.  I thought is was alright through the Accurate Mag, but the Ruger poly mags are a night and day difference in running the bolt.

I just ordered two of the 10 round and two of the 5 round poly mags from CheaperThanDirt so I'll be sure to keep an eye out for the feed lip abrasion and report back here.

If you ever find yourself close to a caliper and those mags I'd still love some measurements. I'm thinking of making a magazine conversion for  a rifle of mine.

I'm experiencing a similar issue with one of the 5rd mags, however with mine the bolt will strip the round from the mag and chamber it, only the extractor claw will not engage the rim of the case, so the bolt is unable to move completely forward.  Is this likely a milder form of the same issue?

Ruger, in their infinite wisdom, decides to use their own mag over a M14 mag because of feeding problems with the various '14 mags on the market.  LOL!!

I got two of the poly 10's that I need to try out this weekend (not from the CTD gougers either).  If they don't work, they will go back to Ruger and Ruger can make them right.  I'm not lifting a finger for this one...well, maybe my middle finger to Ruger.

All three mags I purchased from CTD fed and functioned fine last weekend in my GSR and I can see no abrasion on the tops of the feed lips. Maybe I got lucky or maybe Ruger caught on to the problem and is rectifying it, I'm not sure.

I tried mine this evening and they are tip-top.  Fed all 10 rounds with plenty of purchase on the casings.  I guess I lucked out too.

The magazines are not Rugers, they are Accuracy International pattern magazines... The 5 round steel magazine I received with my GSR is an exact duplicate of the 5 round I received with my AICS I installed on my Remington 700.. and are interchangeable...
ETA - The Ruger polymer magazines will not work in and AICS stock...

I know that, I didn't feel like beating the dead horse on the origination of the GSR mags again.  

My point was Ruger decides to use a non M14 mag due to feeding problems caused by manufacturing variances and they turn out their own poly mag that has serious manufacturing variances that causes feeding problems.  Kinda fucking dumb, don't you think?

I would have rather had M14 mags AND a provision for loading them with stripper clips...that would have been the perfect rifle for me.

Ok, I had a chance to go shoot several weeks ago and the polymer magazines worked fine.
They have been loaded ever since and yesterday I went to shoot and now I have FTFs!!

After taking a look at the magazine's spring I think that's the problem. It feels weak to me and you can bend it easily with your fingers.. It's not "hard" like other magazine springs I have looked at..
So I think that after being loaded for several weeks it lost some of its tension creating the FTF's..

Removing some material may help by allowing the magazine to sit further up into the action but I think the true problem is a weak spring.....

I'm really disappointed. I really like the design but this problem is a deal breaker..

I contacted Ruger customer service about the problem and they asked me to send them the magazines. I sent them off Friday. We will see what happens.

Ok.... I received two new replacement polymer magazines from Ruger today. No note or explination was included.

The springs are different. If I pinch the folds they spring back like they should. The other ones would bend and hold that shape....

The only other way I can see that you can tell them apart is the plastic on the old ones was rough, the new magazines have a "satin" finish. and are smother...
The dust cover is the same as the old ones.. Looks and feels the same.

Just test cycling rounds I didn't have any problems. Ill post as soon as I have a chance to shoot with them and after storing them loaded for a while..

Thanks for the update, much appreciated. Mine are all smooth also, must've never gotten one of the old "bad" ones. Looking forward to your follow-up. And you know we love pictures...