Title is literal. When im loading the mag, i get around 15 rounds loaded and the follower feels like its sticky. The top round is very loose to the point where it will just fall out when you turn the mag, and after the top round is removed the next round very VERY slowly moves up. Sometimes i have to smack the mag to get the follower to move up. It also becomes a real pain to load, so much so that the 2nd round in is usually dented somewhere.

Ive loosened the mag, scrubbed it clean, and i cant seem to fix it. Maybe im doing something wrong, maybe i need to loosen it more, idk. Anyone else have this issue and know how to fix it?

If it matters i usually load it with winchester yellow box 22 from walmart.

one of my older Black Dog screwed together mags had a similar problem... I removed the follower and touched the convex surface on a belt sander with fine grit... my sonic beam welded steel feed lips magazines as well as the polymer feed lip magazines run exceptionally well...

Can you use a rod and try pushing down the follower slowly while the mag is empty and see if it is binding at some point in its travel? I wonder if the mag spring might be getting tangled as it compresses?