Why do aftermarket Mini-14 mags SUCK??!!!

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I have 2 Mini-14s that are 20+ years old. The 20 round Pro-Mags I bought in the past year function perfectly. I did have a couple of problems with their 30 rounders until I backed them off to 28 rounds. I recall a few years back some news footage in NY, where a guy was waving a handgun out an apartment window. The NYPD SRT guy used a Mini-14 to shoot the gun out of his hand from the street below. It works for them it would seem.
 
It's who makes the mags. The same companies that produce crap for the Mini, produce crap for the AR too. The fact these companies can screw up an AK mag should tell you something.

AR quality mags = USGI contractors, Magpul, Lancer, Tango Down, HK; and because of the shear volume of AR mags produced due to demand they are inexpensive; except for the HK and that's b/c we suck and they hate us.

AR mags that are crap = promags, USA mags, and the other usual suspects.

Quality Mini mags = Ruger... and due to volume, or lack of, that's it.

Crap Mini mags = again the usual suspects: promag, USA, etc.

Your only hope for quality mags, besides Ruger, would be to convince somone like Magpul to start up production. Then again b/c of lack of volume you probably wouldn't save over the Ruger price wise.
 
ny32182 said:
Geometry is a question of design. Once it is worked out, the manufacturing of a magazine should be an absolute cakewalk for any modern operation to perform well.
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If it were that simple, everybody would be doing it.

Besides that fact that it is a Ruger design, part of the reason Ruger mags are so good is that Ruger has (and always has had) some of the best Metallurical engineering in the industry. They know more about processing and heat treat that most other companies, and it shows. Everything is easy when you know how to do it.

I don't know the particulars, but it could be as simple as Ruger knowing exactly how to spec the sheet steel, and everybody else buying something cheap off the shelf. If the companies that copied the mags didn't buy a bunch of Ruger mags and do a full chemical/physical/microstructure analysis of the steel, and then spend the $$$ to get the same stuff, it is much more difficult to get the same results. Half baked reverse engineering combined with crappy raw materials = National, USA, Promag, and other cheap mags.
 
I have done a fair amount of work with sheet metal forming machines. Its not as easy to get the machines to punch the metal into the exact shape it is supposed to be as some seem to think.

You indeed might have 75 cents worth of parts in a magazine, but you might have half a million dollars worth of development time to get it right and a million dollars worth of machines and dies before you sell a single magazine.
 
Walmart in Owasso, OK, has 581-series Ruger Mini 14s for $607.00. I got one for my Christmas rifle. Of course, they don't have ammo or extra magazines for it. Luckily there was a gun show this week.

ECS
 
I have 10+ ramline polymer mags that work awesome in my older Mini 14 Ranch Rifle. I got them cheap from a friend who couldn't get them to work in his newer Mini 14!
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I had the same problem with a newish mini-14 back in the early 90's

I could only get Thermold mags to feed and that was after trimming the lips a bit.

I had a friend with an older model who could use any $5 gun show mag and run flawlessly

My gun would not even feed with his factory 20 and 30 round mags

The tip of the bullet would hit well below the feed ramp

I believe Ruger changed the location of the pin in the magwell so as to prevent the use of aftermarket mags.
 
I think the assault weapon ban may have had a lot to do with the quality of after market hi cap mags. Some people saw the ban coming and decided to make money on it. They manufactured tons of mags that were grandfathered in after the ban and had so many that they are still available. These mags were made fast and cheap to beat the deadline with no thought to quality control. I paid for the leo mags for my mini and suffered no malfunctions now I have purchased more from Ruger since they have started selling them again. No problems with these either. You Can't Get More Than You Pay For. FRJ
 
ill be sticking with factory mags, i have 4 ruger 20s the last one was
$30 i wish they would take ar 15 mags , i do like my ss gb!
 
yeah I was going to recommend promag magazines but someone else did it, personally I would sell the rifle and get a good bolt rifle with better accuracy and no feeding issues
 
Why do aftermarket Mini-14 mags SUCK??!!!
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I don't know why, but I've had poor experience with some Triple K 10-rounders (they were what I could get in CA at the time) from Brownells several years ago. Neither would function; the mag would hang too low at the rear, causing the bolt to override the top cartridge and actually bend it in half. Fortunately, Brownells has a generous return policy.
 
What's sorta weird to me is that almost any magazine available at a gunshow back in the 1970s would work just fine. I never had a problem: 20-, 30- and even one 40-round mag. Locked in properly, easily removed; never a feeding problem.

Dimensioning and quality control, I guess...
 
People that own and shoot the mini 14 tend to be cheap or broke. This is not a segment of the population given to purchasing the best of anything, so they google their way to the cheapest magazine and buy it saying "ah, they're all the same."

live and learn. You bought a cheap rifle and wonder why there's no premium after market support.
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What a brilliant post.
Perhaps people prefer the tried and true gas system of the garrand/mini?
I bought several usa brand mags in the late 80's that were actually very good quality, they function fine today. The rush to sling mags out the door before the AWB killed quality.
 
Perhaps people prefer the tried and true gas system of the garrand/mini?
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You do realize those two utilize completely different principals? What with the Garand's moving piston and the Mini-14s moving cylinder and all?

I personally prefer the AK/AR gas system...

BSW
 
It's easy to hammer out something that resembles a Mini-14 mag. Or any other mag for that reason. It is hard to get it right. I think some companies just hammer out crap for cheap and there are more than enough suckers to buy them.
 
wheelgunslinger said:
It's simple supply and demand.

People that own and shoot the mini 14 tend to be cheap or broke. This is not a segment of the population given to purchasing the best of anything, so they google their way to the cheapest magazine and buy it saying "ah, they're all the same."

live and learn. You bought a cheap rifle and wonder why there's no premium aftermarket support.
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I have to agree with Wheel. The Mini-14 looked cool on the A-Team when I was a kid but I grew up joined the Army then became a cop, learning a little about weapons along the way. I never understood why NYPD ESU was using the Mini-14 almost everyone else is using Ar's or MP5's.
 
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I have 10 or 12 aftermarket mags for my Minis. (Each purchased before Ruger offered theirs to the public.) Over a couple of range sessions I weeded out those that didn't perform to my standard. I purchased AR mag followers that had the longer legs, and modified them to fit the Mini mags. (Modification only required slight trimming on the width of the legs.) They don't hold the bolt open on the last shot, but they function flawlessly otherwise.

I want to get some Ruger followers and give them a try. I just haven't got around to it yet.

A stronger spring may be something else worth trying.

Wyman
 
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