Ruger BX-25 Twenty-Five Round Magazine for the 10/22 Rifle

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

May 14th, 2011

 

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Ruger's new BX-25 magazine, compared to their ten-shot rotary magazine.

 

 

Most aftermarket 10/22-compatible magazines (top) use plastic feed lips, which wear out over time. The feed lips of the Ruger BX-25 (bottom) are stainless steel.

 

 

BX-25 (center) compared to cheap aftermarket magazines. The locking studs at front and back of the Ruger magazine are stainless steel, in contrast to the plastic used on most aftermarket magazines.

 

 

 

 

For many years now, the Ruger 10/22 rifle has been the hottest-selling rimfire rifle on the planet, and for good reason. While many designs for rimfire semi-automatic rifles have come and gone, the Ruger is one of only a very few to have held on for decades, and sales are still as strong as ever for this dandy rifle.

The aftermarket is flush with parts and accessories for the Ruger 10/22, and one of the most popular for many years has been higher-capacity magazines, compared to the excellent ten-round factory magazine. The Ruger factory magazine is the standard of reliability for this rifle, which is shared with the Ruger 77/22 bolt action rifle. Several different brands of aftermarket mags have been available that hold from twenty-five up through 100 rounds of 22 Long Rifle ammo, but the quality of these aftermarket magazines vary from pretty good to absolute junk.

Now, Ruger is finally building their own twenty-five round magazine, called the BX-25, and it is built to the same high standards using the same quality materials as their legendary ten-shot rotary magazine. The BX-25 uses a constant force spring for ease of loading, and the critical feed lips and the studs which lock the magazine into the action are made of stainless steel. It is these two critical parts which often fail on the cheap aftermarket magazines, as they are prone to wear, and the plastic often used for these parts does not hold up to heavy use.

The BX-25 weighs in at 6.4 ounces empty, and extends about five and one-half inches below the bottom of the receiver. The magazine can be taken apart for easy cleaning by removing hex-head screws.

I tried out the BX-25 in both a Ruger "Boy Scout" 10/22 and also in a Tactical Solutions receiver, with every brand and type of 22 Long Rifle ammo available to me, and the BX-25 functioned perfectly, without fail. The quality of the BX-25 is vastly superior to most of the aftermarket magazines available. You never regret buying the best.

This BX-25 is built to last, built with quality components, and built in the USA. It is available for purchase from any Ruger firearms dealer or online at www.shopruger.com.

Jeff Quinn

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The BX-25 is easy to disassemble for cleaning.