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Posted: 1/25/2003 11:13:25 AM EDT
| are after market Mini-14 mags junk? |
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PMI magazines work great, the only oddity is that they are difficult to insert in a closed bolt if the top round is on the right. Put the top round on the left, and you can insert a new mag into a closed bolt easily. PMI function flawlessly, other than that quirk. I wasted money on 2 USA mags- don't bother. Get some PMI mags while you still can, they're about as pricey as M1A mags (NIB blued $40, NIB Nickel $50) A place called Frank's Center has been advertising NIB Ruger PMI mags in Shotgun News for quite some time. I've brought some other stuff of of him in the past, and he was decent to do business with, even did a return on some defective stuff with no hassles. Frank's Center. 1-800-666-9190 |
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PMI aka "Precision" mags are excelent mags. Available in 20, 30, & 40 round, blue and Stainless. Simular construction to Ruger factory hicaps. Thermold 30-Round Mini-14 Mags are my favorite. Ramline min-14/AR15 combo mags are crap. I have never tried USA brand Mini-14 mags. |
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PMI, aka Precision Mag, magazines for the Mini-14 were originally sold under the Federal Ordnance label. But I have not seen any of these since '94, or before. The packaging was the same, but for the Precision name, and the part number was the same stamped on the pkg. These ARE good mags, every bit as good as the Ruger mags. I have seen one other bad mag, possibly the worst ever made. They were Mitchell Arms, and if you were to lay them side to side with a Federal Ordnance/PMI or Ruger mag, you could see that the curvature was much sharper, that is, the curve radius was shorter. These mags just would NOT feed correctly. There was no way to shoot out an entire magazine without malfunction. In fact, it was a rarity to get as many as 5 rounds off without misfeeding. The Ramlines would feed, but if handled roughly, bumped or dropped, the feedlips would flex and the mag would puke out half of the ammo. That is not a good thing in an emergency. I had no experience with Eagle mags. The Thermolds were OK. USA's are OK when new, but the metal will soon bend and the feedlips not hold the proper set. Not good for long term usage. |
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This pic has two factory Rugers on the left, a PMI in the middle and working USA mags on the right. The PMI mag and the factory Rugers are almost identical except for the lack of markings on the PMI and the extra hole in the mag body towards the bottom. If you don't know what you are looking for in Mini-14 mags it's sometimes hard to know what you've got. 
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| I've got seven USA Magazines mags for my mini-14 and three for my mini-30. I've never had any problems with any of the mags. Same thing for a buddy of mine who has 10 USA mags for his mini-14. Other people have complained about USA mags; I guess my buddy and I are just lucky. |
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