Originally Posted by BC30cal
Originally Posted by Mule Deer
Have mentioned this before here and there, but Ruger made a run 1-8 twist .223 Americans some years ago. Around that time a guy (whose name I can't remember) made a mold that formed a plastic magazine extension for the standard RAR .223 magazine. Eventually Darrik Caraway, of Whittaker Guns in Kentucky, bought the mold, and sent me two of the extensions. It was pretty easy to fit one to the factory magazine, and rounds up to 2.5 inches long feed perfectly--which adds about 1/4" to the standard SAAMI OAL.

I wasn't looking for more powder room (which wouldn't make a significant difference in velocity anyway) as much as more flexibility in seating longer bullets for finer accuracy. It works very well, and of course RARs are known for fine accuracy--though not good looks.

Unfortunately, not long afterward the mold locked up, and as far as I know Darrik has never gotten it "unlocked." But I do have another of these extensions, just in case....

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John;
Good afternoon, I hope you and Eileen are well and you're getting a bit of a break in the cold as we are today - after the fresh snow this morning of course. grin

Thanks for the photo of that Ruger American, it looks like it might be the same vintage as the one I picked up back when?

I'd have to look to see when I got mine, but it was one of the first ones with the l:8 twist that came up here.

It had a black stock when I got it and the fore end was the old style floopy type that needs to be really and truly hogged out - with a rasp as you wrote if I'm remembering correctly.

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I was able to connect with Darrik and obtain two of the magazine extensions as well, though mine aren't that color - they're a dark grey - but as you noted they do give options for sure.

The chap who invented that extension is "cotis" here on the 'Fire who has a background in making fairly complex machinery if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks again and all the best to you both.

Dwayne

Wow, old memories. Yep, that was me who made that machine. Darrik was so busy running the gun shop he never had time for me to train him on the tips and tricks I figured out on the machine and mold.

That was 10 years ago I believe. With the vast improvements in 3D printing machines I would definitely go that route nowadays. When I calculated material cost of the $240k 3DSystems printer we had back then it came out to $33 a part just in material before labor to clean it up! It has come WAY down since then. We have a new 3D Systems printer just put in this year, what a PITA it has been. $300k machine, broken more than running. Seems like the tech is out every 2 or 3 weeks. Its only benefit is running large parts, things like 18” or longer.

We have 3 different FormLabs tabletop 3D printers ($8 to $10k) along a wall at work, they run circles around that massive 3D Systems machine.

Does Ruger even make those style magazines for the RAR anymore? Ones I have seen in photos show AR or AICS type mags hanging out the bottom now.

Welcome to TN - patron state of shootin’ stuff