Mini 14 magazines . . .

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Prof Young

New member
Mini 14 is ordered and on its way.

My question . . . .

On line reviews say the after market mags are all junk and one should use name brand Ruger mags.

True?

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
Congratulations on pulling the trigger on the purchase (pun intended).

There's a lot of comments about the accuracy and I realize you'll be just one more voice but I'd be interested in your impressions.

I should admit that, in general, I very much like Ruger products.
 
Yes, Ruger is the only choice. Pro-mag can't seem to make a good magazine for any platform. I don't know of any other company making Mini-14 mags. USA mags were great but the 1994 AWB killed the company.
My 183 prefix mini has always performed well for me with factory iron sights
 
@Prof Young: Pretty much what "jcj54" said. I remember from your previous post that you were looking at a mini 30, but here you're asking about a mini 14, and so I am assuming that you ordered the .223/ 5.56 version. Anyway, Ruger magazines have always worked flawlessly for me. Others brands, ...not so much. However, I will make an exception. I haven't been able to find Ruger 10 round magazines for quite a while and this might be something you're looking for if you're in a "high capacity magazine ban" State. Midway USA sells a John Masen brand 10 round magazine for the .223/5.56, and I ordered two of them. They have worked just fine in my mini 14.
 
I got lucky a few years ago and snagged some Ruger 20 round mags for $19.95 each and grabbed five of them. They’ve all been flawless. I wish ASC would make mags for the Mini’s, they make top notch mags and I’d guess their version of Mini mags would be up to their usual high standards. I have a good number of their mags for my AR 15’s both in .223 and 7.62x39 which have been 100% reliable.
 
Not made any more but if you run into any RAMLINE mags for the Mini-14 they work. Also work in AR-15. These are plastic though.

I tried, from the packaging would be at least 5 different makes, non-Ruger made metal magazines because Ruger was not really supportive of more than 5 round magazines for so long. All these had issues with feeding. 10, 20 or 30 round, blued steel, "stainless" or other finishes. Mostly "nose dives" where the bullets would impact the bottom of the breech. One particular magazine would launch the following round out of the action in a a fairly extreme version of a "stove pipe" failure to feed.
 
I have three of the clear 30 rnd sticks that fit both the Mini-14 and the AR-15. They feed fine in my mini, but don't like to lock the bolt back when empty.

ALL of the 20-30-40 rnd metal (Non-Ruger) sticks I bought during the 80s-90s worked fine. Despite the constant "rumor" that the after market mags were all crap, the ones I got were ok. Sorry I can't tell you who made them, I no longer remember, if I ever knew.

At the time (while Bill Ruger Sr) ran Ruger, the only mini 14 mags they sold to the public were the 5rnd ones the gun came with. They made 20rnd mags back then, but only sold them to law enforcement.

Can't help with any valid info about what's on the market now, sorry. The misguided morons running the state I live in made that a crime a few years ago. :eek::mad:
 
Mine works fine with aftermarket metal 30rd magazines, probably proMag but I’m not certain right now. However, I preferred to use the factory 5rd mag for hunting and plinking.
 
I've always wondered why MagPul doesn't make a mini 14 mag?
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Because overwhelmingly MagPul is a dedicated AR-platform manufacturer, and Mini-14/30s aren’t AR anything. :rolleyes:

Minis aren’t quite a “one-off,” but for the energetic and profitable market MagPul would be interested in, like their mags for 9mm Glock pistols, the Mini market is a pretty low profit hurdle relative to the capital investment required.
 
Polinese said:
I've always wondered why magpul doesn't make a mini 14 mag...
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If you look at how the mags work in a Mini I’d guess a plastic mag wouldn’t stand up. The mag has a hole in the front that catches a stud in the front of the magwell and then rocks back to lock in place, similar to an AK. To my thinking with a plastic mag I don’t think the hole in front would last, it would tend to possibly wear or crack so it wouldn’t hold the mag in position properly. I may be wrong but just some thoughts.
 
In Kalifornistan the 5 and 10 round factory mags are most reliable but most expensive. A fully loaded Ruger 10 won't seat with the closed bolt. God forbid you got an 11th round in there. 5 rounders have a little wiggle room and don't have that problem. There are 10 round Pro mags that work reasonably well but you never know if the plastic base will fail at some point. Then there is the 10 round masons that are longer and easier to load and insert. They feed reliably but sometimes won't lock back on the last round. These have molded on bases like the pro mag so you can't service them or cut off the follower extension that limits them to 10. Have not tried Tapco. If you can get factory 20s, that would be my suggestion but the other brands will work ok if you want some cheaper mags to run around with in competition and drop in the dirt. Minis are fun but don't expect better than 5 to 10 inches at 100 yards with the open sights out of the box. 2 to 4 at 50...1 or so at 25. Some have babied there guns with slow fire and might get a 1.5 inch 100 yard group with match ammo but with typical ball don't expect to bang away and print small groups at distance. The barrels are still thin under the handguard and heat up quick. A steel strut does help. Ruger should have thickened the barrel all the way to the chamber instead of just in front of the gas block.
 
During the ban years, USA and Mason mags worked for me. I had a couple garbage promags that I fixed the feed lips with a sheet metal vise grip to match the feed lip angle the USA and Mason mags had.
 
I have an AC556. Some aftermarket mags are ok like PMI, but not quite as good as original factory ruger mags. Common problem with the aftermarket mags is the steel is softer than Ruger mags and the feed lips tend to bend out of shape after a lot of use. However, to my knowledge Ruger only made 20 and some 30 round mags. If you want 40 round mags, you have to go with aftermarket. I also have a cheap betamag, which needed quite a bit of modification to get it to work. The spiral 90 round drums are kind of junky - I have one but never use it. Pro-mag makes a 65 round drum - I would really like to know how that one works. In fact, I think I'll just get one.
 
Thanks . . .

Thanks for all the info and the tips.

Hammie I'll look into the John Mason mags.

I'm surprised to hear that Ram Line makes a mag that works well. I've had some experience with them and have not been impressed.

Will let you all know how it goes.

Mini 14 came in to the LGS but it was synthetic stock not wood, so it went back and wood is coming. Should have discussed that detail with the LGS before they ordered. I just assume it would be wood. Ah well.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
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