Ruger American Ranch - Loose Magwell?

[Overwatch326]

Hey folks, anyone else having issues with a loose magwell on their American Ranch in 5.56?

There's barely any play from side-to-side, but the mag can rotate several degrees back and forth when inserted with the bolt open; it makes it really difficult to get a new round into the chamber without seriously driving the bolt home. So far, I've tested it with PMAGs and both aluminum and steel GIs, didn't make a difference; I imagine the couple Hera Arms mags I have won't elicit different results, either, but I'll test those when I get home for good measure. As far as I know, it's supposed to just take any STANAG mags...

I'm thinking (read: hoping) I just got a lemon, but nobody I talked to at Ruger's customer service line seemed to have any idea what the problem is. Maybe just a misshapen magwell? There's a very large gap towards the muzzle end; the back fits into it's groove just fine. Seems easy enough to replace, but I'd rather not drop the cash if I can avoid it.

 

[erwos]

This is normal for both the Mossberg MVP and Ruger American in my experience. They are not tight magwells, and they have less support than an AR magwell. Remember that the only thing really applying pressure in the magwell is the mag catch, and that's not much. Short of someone designing a new mag well, I don't think you're going to get much improvement. I suppose it is possible the upcoming Magpul Hunter AR mag stock will do this better, but even my MDT chassis is no great shakes.

 

[Overwatch326]

This is normal for both the Mossberg MVP and Ruger American in my experience. They are not tight magwells, and they have less support than an AR magwell. Remember that the only thing really applying pressure in the magwell is the mag catch, and that's not much. Short of someone designing a new mag well, I don't think you're going to get much improvement. I suppose it is possible the upcoming Magpul Hunter AR mag stock will do this better, but even my MDT chassis is no great shakes.

Hmm, all right. Yeah, it's my first bolt gun that takes AR mags, so I guess I didn't know what to expect. I'm definitely looking forward to Magpul's new stock, but I heard it doesn't allow for aftermarket bolt handles without modification, sadly.

 

[pre64hunter]

Yes, I have some Ruger American Ranches in 350 Legend that take the AR type mags. The fit is sloppy and loose. I tried some different things to tighten the fit and it made function worse. On our Rugers and my son has a Franchi, you have to work the bolt fast and the magazine kind of floats. I have and had lots and lots of bolt actions, these Rugers are the only ones that are finicky and I hear some others are worse. If you work the bolt slow, the cartridge goes in at an angle and jams in the chamber.
I theorize that the 5.56 and 350 along with the AR magazines were designed for autoloaders and meant to work fast.

 

[Overwatch326]

Yes, I have some Ruger American Ranches in 350 Legend that take the AR type mags. The fit is sloppy and loose. I tried some different things to tighten the fit and it made function worse. On our Rugers and my son has a Franchi, you have to work the bolt fast and the magazine kind of floats. I have and had lots and lots of bolt actions, these Rugers are the only ones that are finicky and I hear some others are worse. If you work the bolt slow, the cartridge goes in at an angle and jams in the chamber.
I theorize that the 5.56 and 350 along with the AR magazines were designed for autoloaders and meant to work fast.

No, that makes a lot of sense; given the shape of M4 feed ramps, it's obviously designed to be done quickly. I was thinking of maybe adding some foam to the front of the magwell so it's not as pronounced, but that'd require getting the angle just right. I suppose I just need to practice, for now!

 

[erwos]

Looking at the new Hunter STANAG stock, it MAY produce less front to back shake based on how far out the magwell goes. But that may also be an artifact of how it was designed. Despite having an expensive MDT chassis setup, I may buy the Hunter STANAG anyways to see if I like it better or not.

 

[Overwatch326]

Looking at the new Hunter STANAG stock, it MAY produce less front to back shake based on how far out the magwell goes. But that may also be an artifact of how it was designed. Despite having an expensive MDT chassis setup, I may buy the Hunter STANAG anyways to see if I like it better or not.

Yeah, that was my line of thought, as well. If that sleeve on the bottom of the Hunter stock is, say, 3/4" tall, then I think that should clear it up perfectly, since the OEM magwell allows it to pivot right about there.

I'm curious about the trigger guard-mounted release, though; best guess is it probably pushes the locking bar forward, so the mags drop free? Also, I'm wondering if GI mags will still work or not—though I doubt Magpul would pull some proprietary crap like that.