I remember when I first saw the BX-25x2.....I was excited and a little deflated at the same time as I had just installed a set of clamps to mount my two BX-25s "Jungle Style":
Ruger must have sensed our desires. For years we had been able to connect two Butler Creek magazines (thanks to their cast in buttons and recesses)
Now we had an alternative that allowed for cleaning and maintenance.
A few years after the introduction of the BX-25 the geniuses at Ruger created the BX-25x2 which is basically two outside panels from the BX-25 combined with a new center panel which houses the feed lips, springs and followers. You can see in the photo below, the outside panels are identical to that of the standard BX-25.
Stats:
- Polymer construction (glass filled nylon)
- Stainless Steel Allen head cap screws
- Stainless Steel constant force spring(s)
- High lubricity injection molded poly acetyl anti-tilt follower(s) made from Celcan
- Steel feed lips
- 50 round capacity
- Molded in color (Black)
- Made in USA
Price Point: MSRP $47.99 (CDNN has them for $29.88), I paid $25.00 from a local gun dealer (Nitro Products)
First Impressions: The packaging was bigger than needed and the clam shell construction allows you to reuse the packaging. It also came with pretty good instructions, not that you really need them.
As a bonus the magazine came equipped with a rubber cap to prevent dirt from getting into the downward facing magazine. The fit of the boot was loose, but there was enough friction to prevent it from sliding off, even when you give the mag a good shake.
Fit:
For the record I am fitting these into my 2008 vintage 10/22 with the ATI stock, Ruger used these stocks as a factory option and I have yet to have any issues with the stock or the standard BX25 magazines I have been using in it.
The magazine fit into the mag well easily, very little resistance. The side to side and front to back play is considerable. You'd think this being the factory magazine the fit would be better, but nope, this thing wobbles like a bowl full of jello.
To compare I checked the fit of a standard BX-25 (one that I have used for hundreds of rounds) and the original BX-25 fit much better.
So...I broke out the caliper and checked. My suspicions were confirmed: the BX-25x2 magazine was smaller. I got a measurement of 1.57" x 1.263" on the original BX-25 and 1.556" x 1.246" on the BX-25x2 (I measured both ends of the BX-25x2 and got near identical results). I then tried my second BX-25x2 and it fit about the same.
This doesn't look good, but maybe Ruger did this for a reason?
Disassembly:
Remove two long cap screws with a 3/32" Allen wrench (same size as the HC3R and Tactical Innovations magazines) and two short cap screws and remove the outside panels. The rest of the parts will just fall out. I'm not sure it could be made any easier.
Loading the magazine was simple and quick, just like the standard BX-25.
The magazine ran flawlessly with zero malfunctions. We used both sides running different ammo and both slow fire and rapid fire, pulling the trigger as fast as we could.
We also tried the magazine in our new 10/22 take-down model with the same results.
The loose fit doesn't appear to affect the ability of the magazine to feed rounds to the bolt.
We used Federal Champion bulk ammo (36gr copper plated HP, 1260fps) CCI Minimag (40gr copper plated RN, 1235fps) and Remington Golden Bullet (40gr copper plated RN, 1255fps)
Iownguns.com gave the single BX-25 a 99% rating (sixteen of the magazines were tested) which is about as good as it gets.
Purchasers on Midway USA gave the BX-25x2 an average of 5 stars and 92% would recommend it.
We can easily recommend this magazine