I have recently amassed a bunch of preban mags. I focused on PMI and factory. One lot I purchased has CMF for Mitchell Arms on baseplate. Anyone have any insight? I know PMI and Fed Ord had a good rep. Never heard of these. Some references online to CMF being Checkmate Industries.

The proof is in the pudding; IOW, how well does the mag work?

Some aftermarket mags can benefit from new springs, even though the mag is supposedly NIB.  Some aftermarket mags can benefit from better followers, such as those offered from Midway and others--if the followers fit.

All mags should be dismantled, cleaned, and the springs given a light film of oil to retard corrosion.  Flashing and/or sprues on followers should be trimmed to reduce drag/friction.

No mag is known to be GTG until fully tested.

Agreed. I have followers in the mail anyways. Springs from Wolff just shipped. They are 40 round mags, so the springs I ordered would only work for 30's and 20's.

Since you live in MA, and 10 rds is max legal cap, then Ruger 5-rd mags are always a reliable choice, and can be had fairly inexpensively.  Do some searching on perfectunion.com for reliable 10-rd mags.  Better a legal something, for a reasonable price, than nothing.

Your concern might be how to prove the "High-Cap" mags were owned prior to 1994, assuming such proof can be required.  Might be wise to use the legal 5- or 10-rd mags in public, and avoid questions about the "High-Cap" mags.  

I am an attorney in MA and I have defended folks charged with AWB violations. I have no issues with the provenance of the mags I have purchased, or about using them in public. I have extensive experience dealing with firearms certificates from both the State and City Lab. I am also very cautious about what I buy.

Apparently, you know what you are doing, which is something that cannot be said for some others.  Best of luck to you!

I have all factory mags but looking for Tapco Gen 2 mags.

Tapcos are good Mini-14 mags, if you can find them.  Thermolds also work well.

Years ago on Perfect Union, it was said that the ProMag 20 round steel magazines were GTG. I bought 8 of them and never had any issues.

Not a great price but they have them. Tapco mini-14 mag

I don't believe that's a  picture of a Gen II Tapco mag, despite what the text says.  Gen I mags lack the metal reinforcement which the Gen II mags have.

Gen II Tapco mag: https://www.tapco.com/10-22/mini-14-gen-ii-magazine.html    Click on FDE mag for better view of black metal reinforcement.

I sent the vendor linked above an inquiry about it, and will report back if I receive an answer.

We’ll see soon enough I ordered one.

Please let us know what you receive.  Give me an "@" if you will.

@raf

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Damn... you guys just reminded me of some combo AR/Mini mags I have in a box somewhere.
It might be time to dig those out.,

I did buy 2 of them many years ago and they are good to go.  I bought one just a year or two ago and it was junk.  I did replace the follower with a Ruger one and it improved but it is not as good as the 2 I bought several years ago.  I don't know what happened but the recipe got tainted somehow.  Maybe it's time to buy a couple more and give them another test but I'm a bit concerned.  I know the followers have to be replaced if they are the same as the last one.

kwg

Cheers to you.  I send all the pre-ban mags I can your way!

Thanks!  Just bought 3.  Much obliged.

FWIW, the folks over at Mini-14/-30 forum at Perfectunion.com are aware of these mags, so the word is "out" on them.

All 3 mags that arrived today are Gen II Tapco 30-rd mags with the typical Gen II steel reinforcement.

Springs needed a light film of oil, and the bodies some very light sprue trimming. 5 mins/mag.
Not yet tested, but appear identical to the FDE Tapco Gen II mags I bought a little while ago, and which worked well during limited testing.

I did not test any of these mags for ultimate capacity, nor ability of bolt to close over a 100% filled mag, nor ability of 100% filled mag to be able to be inserted with bolt closed. I was more concerned with function and bolt-hold-open feature at that point. Even if full capacity of the mag needs be slightly reduced from 30 rds to 28/29 rds for full functionality, I will still regard them as a good purchase. YMMV.

The single drawback to these mags (of which I'm aware) is that they will not accept either a Ruger or USGI mag "spoon"/loader (they are different). Thermolds will accept GI "Spoon" IIRC. LULA 5.56 loaders seem to require a GI-type AR mag configuration.

Whether a particular aftermarket mag will accept either a Ruger or USGI mag spoon depends (or none at all) on how the particular mag is constructed. Again, Ruger and USGI mag spoons are different.

Since I long-ago equipped my 186 Mini-14 with an accessory, rifle-mounted stripper clip guide (similar to currently-offered Cogburn Arsenal item), the issue is somewhat mooted--for me. Those of you with Minis which have unrestricted access to the top of the receiver might want to consider adding the Cogburn device.  https://cogburnarsenal.com/shop/

Disclaimer; no financial interest.

Remains uncertain how the new Biden administration (and Dem-controlled Congress) will deal with such mag-loading devices. Hope for the Best; Plan for the Worst.

The Mini 14’s I owned were very finicky about magazines. They worked best with the factory Ruger mags. If Ruger made a Mini-14 that would take AR mags, it would be a HUGE success. They’ve already broken the proprietary mold when they introduced the Ruger 9mm carbine that accepts Glock magazines. Might as well take it a step farther.

Probably not the best time to make a very expensive mold for investment casting.

Before Ruger started to sell 20rd and 30rd magazine to the public, I only purchased Fed Ord and PMI magazines, which fit and functioned in my Mini-14s...  Sometime around 1996, I picked up a few “unknown” brand of Mini-14 30rd magazines at a gun show for what was a good during that time, but a total waste since they barely functioned and had locking issues as well.  Learned my lesson and stuck with Fed Ord and PMI magazines only.

One time, around 2002, I went to an old “Fudd” gun shop up in Alaska and asked if he had any boxes I could dig through to see what catches my eyes.  He brought out four or five bins and I found four PMI 30rd mags, still sealed in their beat up bags for $25 apiece...  I also found two S&W Model 39 magazines.

A side story, when to another gun shop a few years later and saw that their magazine bin had two Heckler and Koch HK-93 old school, and slightly rare, 20rd alloy magazines...  I have to conceal my excitement since he was watching me for my expressions, so I played it off like I was getting ready to put them back in the bin.  With my best poker face causally asked the price and he said $25 each or $40 for both, if I buy them right now.  Gave him two Jefferson’s and left... Couldn’t believe it since they were going anywhere from $80 to $100 back around 2007.

About six months ago, here in Washington State, I did the same thing again and found two Ruger Factory pre-ban 20rd magazines for $20 each.

OP, I’d strongly suggest you check out some of the old timers gun shops that are off the beaten path in the New England area and ask to see their spare magazine bins...  I’d bet you’ll find either Fed Ord or PMI and possibly Ruger pre-ban magazines.

A good sign that you are where you need to be is that if the shop stinks of cheap cigars and the stink is on everything... You will find what you’re looking for

This is pretty good advice.

As mentioned above, Tapco and Thermold 30-rd mags are still available.  Prefer the more slightly more expensive Tapco, since it is steel-reinforced at front of the mag body, but I've been using Thermolds as range mags for many years with no problems, and no observable wear on the mag body.

Get them while you can.

Factory Ruger 10-rd mags seem to be problematic, at present.  Ruger 20-, and 30-rd mags seem to be fine.

Suggest always having a couple of Ruger factory 5-rd mags for hunting, or perhaps if "High-Capacity" mags are banned by your State.