HELP! Problems with the Better-Mag 22 Adapter

[jandbj]

Not trying to be a smarta$$.... But are you sure you installed the adapter correctly? Mine came w/o instructions and I was a bit confused about how it worked & installed until I put it in correctly.

Instructions here

Been totally reliable for the past 2000 rounds.

Worst case, contact the mfg. They were very helpful when I had questions about mine.

[spdldr]

Thanks jandbj. I would like to add a little more. If you go to the Redi-Mag web site and then the Better Mag section you can find some very clear illustrations in the photos section. The upper right picture shows very clearly how the Better Mag catch interfaces with the rifle catch.

If you assemble it as shown, it should fix your problem.

[Badger89]

Thanks jandbj. I would like to add a little more. If you go to the Redi-Mag web site and then the Better Mag section you can find some very clear illustrations in the photos section. The upper right picture shows very clearly how the Better Mag catch interfaces with the rifle catch.

If you assemble it as shown, it should fix your problem.

Thank you for the replies jandbj and spdldr. Mine did come with instructions and I followed them for the installation. It is installed as shown in the photos on the Redi-Mag site.

Im going to clean it up and hopefully have time for round 2 this weekend. I was wondering if it needed some time to wear in, which is why I asked if anyone else had experienced this issue. If the issues persist with the next range trip Ill contact Redi-Mag... maybe something's slightly out of spec. Ill update this thread afterward.

[spdldr]

Badger,

Check the top rear of the aluminum adaptor for marks made by the front of the bolt. If there are marks there we can help you. The unit may be going up too far due to a dimensional variation and we have a solution for that. Call us at 1 800 477 3244 between 7 and 3 Pacific Time and we can send you at no charge a special part that will keep the unit down where it should be.

I apologize for your frustrating problem!

[Badger89]

Badger,

Check the top rear of the aluminum adaptor for marks made by the front of the bolt. If there are marks there we can help you. The unit may be going up too far due to a dimensional variation and we have a solution for that. Call us at 1 800 477 3244 between 7 and 3 Pacific Time and we can send you at no charge a special part that will keep the unit down where it should be.

I apologize for your frustrating problem!

I examined the unit and could not find any marks on it that would suggest any contact by the bolt. The rear portion is rock solid when installed so I dont think its riding up too high. The front of the unit has a little up and down play but I dont think this has had any adverse affect on operation, to my knowledge. Overall the adapter is a very snug fit in my receiver, usually requiring a bit of persuasion to install or remove, but I believe that is caused by my receiver, as mags are quite snug as well.

I cleaned and degreased the entire unit today, and re-lubed it with a thinner, lighter oil. I'll see if that makes a difference. Not sure if I'll have time to get out to the range again this weekend or not. When I do I'll report back. Thanks for your help.

[Badger89]

I managed to get back out to the range today and fire another 100 rounds through my CMMG .22LR Upper receiver, mated to my 5.56 lower with the Redi-Mag S&W .22 Rimfire Magazine Adapter installed using S&W M&P 15-22 magazines. Performance worsened. The adapter malfunctioned at least 6 times on the first 25 round magazine (I lost count), and 5 times on the second 25 round magazine. The malfunctions are the same as before, the adapter is locking the bolt to the rear with a partially full magazine, creating a FTFe scenario where the bolt catch must be hit or the charging handle cycled in order to chamber the next round.

I should note that although its a fairly small sample size, the issues seem to have worsened with the use of a lighter lubricant. For those that wonder, the first time when I had a failure rate of 8/100, or 0.08, I was using Mobile 1 5w30 as my lubricant. Although this has always performed excellent for me in the past, I picked up a can of Breakfree CLP to try instead. After cleaning and degreasing the adapter, the bolt, and the rest of the firearm with mineral spirits, I applied a generous amount of CLP (which I greatly dislike compared to Mobile 1 FWIW... crap runs all over the place) and reassembled the gun. Today's range trip using the CLP instead of Mobile 1 yielded a failure rate of 11+/50, or 0.22 +, malfunctioning nearly 3 times more often. But I digress... Back on topic.

After firing the first two magazines I removed the steel part of the adapter. I don't know it's technical name so I'm going to call it the bolt catch actuator. With the bolt catch actuator removed, but the aluminum adapter body still installed in the magwell, I fired two more magazines for a total of 50 additional rounds. No malfunctions. Zip, zilch, zero, nada. The gun burned through each 25 round mag like clockwork with no stoppages, although each magazine ended with a "click" of the hammer dropping on an empty chamber rather than bolt being locked back on empty. Obviously, that is to be expected when you remove the piece that is supposed to lock the bolt back on an empty mag, so I'm not considering it a malfunction. Because of these findings, I believe I have the problem narrowed down to the bolt catch actuator, and I have contacted Redi-Mag by email and am awaiting their reply.

[Lopro619]

I had a similar problem with just trying to dry cycle the bolt when I tried to switch lowers. I troubleshot the problem as to being the bolt release lever was too thick and would cause it to hang up. The thickness of the bolt catch didn't allow the lever to fully manipulate the bolt catch actuator piece. Try and put the setup in a different lower, or try a new bolt catch and see if that helps you out.