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ramline and eagle brand mags...good or not????

jokor3jokor3 Member Posts: 75 ✭✭
edited June 2002 in Ask the Experts
I NEED ADVICE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT RAMLINE AND/OR EAGLE BRAND RIFLE MAGS ARE DECENT OR NOT??

joe c knight

Comments

  • cliffdropover1cliffdropover1 Member Posts: 136 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The metal Ramline mags are quite good. The plastic ones they made some years back for the Ruger MkII are not very good. I am not sure about the Eagle brand you mention. USA mags are also not very good.
    Mec-Gar are also quite good and are the makers of factory mags for some well known handguns. Hope this helps.
  • boeboeboeboe Member Posts: 3,331
    edited November -1
    For the 10/22, I think most people would grade the Eagle magazines as better than the Ram-Line magazines. But I have seen a few failures on the feed lips of the Eagle magazines, and when they break they are just broken mags. Eagle was bought out by Millett, who will replace the defective mags with their current 10 round mags. Not a good deal. The Eagle mags have some nice features the Ram-Line mags don't have, such as the steel rear lock-up pin and clean-out door. The Ram-Line mags do work better in the Tec-22 pistol, but the eagle mags work better in the 10/22 rifle. If you go with the Ram-Line mags be sure you get the later version with the red followers. Ram-Line came out with the red followers because of problems people had using hi-performance ammo in the earlier, dark follower version.

    I once heard someone say the Eagle mags work 99.99% of the time, while the Ram-Line mags work 99.95% of the time. I doubt he really did a study on it, but there is a slight difference, from what I can tell and have heard.

    The instructions with the Eagle mags say to lock them (the new mags)up in place several times before you use them. This is to seat them in place for the particular rifle you will use them in. That might indicate that used Eagle mags would be more prone to problems if used in a different rifle.

    Honestly, I think a great deal of it has to do with the particular mag/rifle combination you have. Regardless of which brand you select, one rifle may like a particular brand better than the other. And perhaps some mags are more suited to a particular rifle. This may be the reason eagle's instruction say to lock their mags in place a few times prior to using them, to acclimate the particular mag with the particular rifle.

    The Butler Creek steel lip mags are probably the best (if not the best) for the 10/22, but won't work at all in the Tec-22. Standard Buter creek mags rate along with the Eagle mags. The Butler Creek mags were actually copied from the Condor mags, which has steel feed lips. The Condor mags I have used have worked okay, but always seemed a bit sloppy on the fit in the mag well. Sometimes the steel liner on the Condor mags is loose in the mag body. For that reason, I'd avoid the Condor mags, but I'm sure some of them are fine.

    Another fine magazine for the 10/22 is the "All Steel" Bingham magazines. They were made several years ago and are pretty darn scarce. They require an adaptor to fit into the 10/22 mag well. They are certainly decent mags but their scarcity makes them rather expensive, compared to other 10/22 mags.

    I think the Eaton magazines (not drums) rate towards the bottom of the list in quality. Their price reflects that. Again, I'm sure some work fine, but there is a greater chance of finding a lemon for your perticular gun.

    I won't go into the drums here, because you didn't ask.

    One last note when talking 10/22 mags. In Canada they never restricted the manufacture of hi-cap mags. Butler Creek, and other manufacturers (particularly the tear drop drum) are still sending magazines to Canada for sales there. These mags are marked "Export Only" when they are manufatured here. There are a few people in Canada who are grinding/polishing off the "Export Only" designation and sending them back into the USA. There are people who are re-selling the magazines on auction and gun shows. These magazines/drums can be identified by looking for the grinding/polishing marks where the "Export Only" identification use to be. These mags are lower in price and illegal as well. Some people don't care so much because the price is low. But considerig the guys in Canada are buying them for around $10.00 to $20.00 each and selling them for $40.00 to $80.00, they are making a nice profit. Many people would argue that the ATF isn't concerned about these mags, and as often as I see them for sale I would say that seems to be the case. However, the day may come when the ATF gets serious about these, and regardless of the fact that the owner doesn't know it's a counterfeit, possession is still against the law. At the very least these mags will always be subject to confiscation, or worse. And they will not appreciate in value as will genuine pre-ban magazines. I think the reason for this is obvious. Regardless of whether or not the ATF cares to pursue enforcement of .22 rifle hi-cap magazines at this time, knowledgeable dealers, shooters, and collectors will always check to see if they can determine if a magazine has been altered. For that reason, I'd recommend you buy from a reputable dealer or ask plenty of questions, particularly whether or not the mags were ever in Canada. Also, these magazines have to be pulled out of their factory package to be altered. So making sure the magazine you buy is in it's original factoryu package would help. Then again, the original mags are expensive enough that I'd hate to break a new one out of it's facoty holder. It would be like driving a new car off the dealer's lot. Instant depreciation.

    Also, I should say (I know someone will) that the best magazines for the 10/22 is the original factory 10 round magazines. There is nothing wrong with getting plenty of factory mags and just using them.

    To err is human, to moo is bovine.
  • rmeyerrmeyer Member Posts: 566 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Gonna disagree about the Eaton mags. I have a half dozen Eaton mags that i've had over 15 years and have put dozens of bricks of ammo through. Haven't had 1 go bad yet and they still feed flawlessly. I do like the single stack 25 rounders better then any of the 30 or 50 round ramlines.
  • n4thethrilln4thethrill Member Posts: 366 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    i have 6 30 rd eagle mags for the 10/22 they have worked flawlessly

    you can be king or street sweeper but everyone is going to dance with the reaper
  • toolman9mmtoolman9mm Member Posts: 337 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    yeah i have to stick with the eagles. even the plastic ones for the mini-14 are excellent!!
  • NighthawkNighthawk Member Posts: 12,022 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have had extensive experience with the Ramline Mags in several different calibers. I have to give them a thumbs up.

    Rugster
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