aside from factory magazines which work great, what are some good third party magazines for the Mini 14?

The Tapco gen 2 mags for the Mini-14 look to be good to go.  Check out this video.




Vulcan94

FWIW, I've had good luck with PMI and even USA brand, but I also had to intervene.  Each of these had examples that either worked out of the box or needed a slight tweak.  Some of the PMIs needed the mag top flared outward slightly so the follower could activate the bolt hold open.  One or two of my USA mags had an extra long mag catch plate that prevented lock up, which was remedied by a few file strokes.  All work great in my Mini and AC556.

Please note I did not buy these and YMMV.  They came with the rifle when purchased.  I stick with factory Ruger when making purchases as life is too short to deal with this crap.  

Wasn't there a dual AR/Mini-14 mag back in the '80's?  Feed lips on both ends...  I stand corrected.

Ramline.  No feed lips on both ends but it had both locking systems on the same end.  I recall them being pretty bad and brittle.

From a 'hit or miss' and 'what's my time worth' standpoint, the 20rd Ruger brand mags are likely your best bet when they are available for about $24 each now.

The steel 20 rd Pro mags works well in the mini. That's the only pro mag worth owning.

BTW, I bought some factory 20 rd mags at CDNN for $ 20 a piece  before blace Friday.

Their flush fit AR mags can be handy.  Work fine.