Mini-14 Magazines???

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Bill H 40

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Hello,
New guy here.
Just picked up a Mini-14 in stainless. I'm interested in some of the after market "Polymer" type magazines. My intended use is to load them up and leave them sit most of the time. I'll practice with the steel one's that came with the rifle.
So, Tapco, Pro Mag, Thermold……
I have read good and bad reviews on all of them, it seams the Mini-14 can be a bit fussy with magazines. Any one have first hand experience they would like to share?
Thanks, Bill
 
I have a few 30 rd. polymer mags, but the guy who made them died. I think they may be made by ProMag. Mine work fine. I have had them since before the '94 ban.

The mags I use most are new, steel Ruger 20 rd. mags. I like them more than the longer 30 rd. mags. I get mine from Brownell's. They work just fine.
 
^dito^ $40 on their website, little steap but the quality is twice as much as any aftermarket mag so you get what you pay for.
 
I really like the concept of polymer mags. While I agree "factory" is almost always better it's also double the price. So I figure it's worth asking around
 
To each his own, I just know that I'll be selling off 3 of mine eventually and getting factory mags. The 3 aftermarkets I have are good and I've gotten them to the point of reliability but I wouldn't bet my life on 'em.
 
if you can find some of the pmi mags, they are just as good as factory but do not cost quite as much. they also can be had in ss. not very easy to find but they are out there. otherwise, your best bet is to stay with the factory. pricey but they are the best out there.
 
After trying a few aftermarket mags I only run the factory mags in my Mini 14 now. I do have some Pro-Mag 10 rounders for my Mini-30 and they are ok.
I want to find out more about Thermold. I believe that is the company that the owner died. They were purchased by someone else and supposedly moved their production to about 20 miles from me.
I plan on checking them out when I get out that way, they may be closed to visitors though.
 
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Stay with the factory magazine and you won't have a problem or try to save 15 bucks on a mag and there's a very good chance you will have problems. I know I had issues with a bunch of aftermarket mags. Except PMI. They will work.

To me, it just wasn't worth the time and aggravation fooling with them. When I had my mini, I had 4 factory 20 rounders, 2- PMI 30 and 2- PMI 40 round mags. I bought Ruger factory followers and put them in the PMI mags. Never had a problem with them but I had nearly 350.00 in those 8 mags. :eek:




Mag problems: Reason number 137 why mini-14's will give you a migraine. :p
 
Ruger could and should be selling them for 20.00 each but at least they are selling them now. :mad:

Back when I bought mine, Ruger only sold hi-caps to LEOs and certain wholesalers. The going rate on factory 20 round mags was 40-50 dollars a piece. More toward the 50-side than not. :(
 
Bill H 40:
My polymer 30-rounder from Promag (bought in March '08) never had a single misfeed in my used ('90) Mini 14, although it was only loaded from 4-10 rds, in order to avoid using up the ammo too quickly. This Mini still had a silver decal on the stock which said "State of Indiana".

Even though the fit was wobbly, my Mini 14 only had two minor malfunctions: two misfeeds with its original Ruger factory metal magazine when I first tested the gun. Those were the only glitches and maybe the oil helped.
After watching a buddy's "AK" misfeed or not eject a round after only about eighty shots that day, I realized that the Mini 14 might be the American
"AK clone".

My ammo consisted of about 1,500 total rounds of both new Wolf fmj "Mil. Classic" and some Silver Bear jhp.
The Mini 14 topic and magazine thread at "Perfectunion" always has new info on both Mini 14 and Mini 30 aftermarket mags, but people are often unclear about whether their remarks concern a 30-rd. (Mini 14) mag or a Mini 30 mag. Too many subtleties need clarification.
 
I don't have the polymer type, but recently tested all that I have for my mini 14: 2 Ruger 20 rd, 2 John Masen 30 rd, 2 Pro-Mag 30 rd, 1 Pro-Mag 20 rd, and 1 generic CTD 20 rd. The only one that didn't feed correctly was the cheap CTD, but I had it crammed full. That may have caused the problem, need to try it again with less than 20 rds. The Pro-Mag and Masen worked great for me.
 
Wow!
Thanks every one for all the feed back!
Well I ordered 3) 30 round mag's from Ruger and 4) 20 round Pro mags.
With a little luck I'll be at the range next weekend and see how it all works out.
I'll follow up with my results.
Bill
 
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