Mkiii mag identification please

[Rickkling]

Gentlemen (and ladies),

This pic was posted on a ruger enthusiast forum I belong to.
The question is identification of two different style mkiii mags
The 2 mags on the left are (I’m told) the same style mag, both sides, and the pics on the right, the same.
The question is what/why no window on the left?

Thank you for your help,

Rick

[Watertender]

Rick, try them both in a MK3 and see if they both stay in. I think the one without the window is a MK2 mag. The MK3 & MK4 have a pushbutton mag release and the window is where the latch holds it in. MK1 and MK2 are heel release mags... Make sense??

[Highstandardguy]

The one on the left is a 22/45 magazine (sometimes called 22/45 MKII). The one on the right is a MKIII magazine.

[Watertender]

Rick, if you could show us a picture of the magazine bases it would tell us much more. The picture I posted has a Browning Buckmark magazine on the left, a regular Ruger Mark 2 magazine in the center and a Ruger Mark 3 magazine on the right. The Browning uses a push button magazine drop and the window in the front of the magazine is where the latch holds it in the magazine well. The 22/45 has a much different magazine base much like the Browning magazine. As the old saying goes, A picture is worth 1000 words.