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Posted: 7/31/2013 11:25:37 AM EDT
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What's the best option when it comes to mags for the Mini 14?
I've already got more mags than most people would ever need... but none of them are of "high" quality. Wouldn't mind having 2 or 3 more. |
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I have alot of factory 20rd and 30rd mags but want a cheaper 30rd mag, I have tried the Theramold mags and
they seem to work ok,I also like the Tapco 2nd gen Mini 14 mags, they function very well but you cant find them anywhere. I have some unmarked mags i bought during the 94 ban years, most work ok but are not my favorite, if ruger mags were cheaper in price, that is all i would buy. 
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During the 94-04 ban I acquired and used about a dozen 20 and 30 round PMI mags for my Mini-14s.
I replaced their followers with Ruger followers (which did require some slight modification) and their springs with Wolff springs. Those magazines never let me down, functioned perfectly. More recently I've acquired many Ruger Factory 20 and 30 round Mags. The 20s are good to go. The 30s, honestly, have had a few failures and I do not entirely trust them. For me, future Mini-14 mag purchases will be Factory 20s. |
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there is one mag i do like but i dont know if they even make it anymore, it was made by eagle and was
one of the first transparent smoke , ar 15 compatible magazine, i have 6 of these, they are reliable and allow me to operate the Federal folding stock on my mini 14 180 series ( 1980 ) made stock and magazines. 
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Quoted:
there is one mag i do like but i dont know if they even make it anymore, it was made by eagle and was one of the first transparent smoke , ar 15 compatible magazine, i have 6 of these, they are reliable and allow me to operate the Federal folding stock on my mini 14 180 series ( 1980 ) made stock and magazines. And if you drop them in cold weather...... 
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Quoted:
there is one mag i do like but i dont know if they even make it anymore, it was made by eagle and was one of the first transparent smoke , ar 15 compatible magazine, i have 6 of these, they are reliable and allow me to operate the Federal folding stock on my mini 14 180 series ( 1980 ) made stock and magazines. I have 3 of those along with about 20 factory 20 rounders. They still work great. 
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I may be showing my age here, but the after market mags I bought when I got my Mini-14 were made by Federal Ordnance.
They still work well. Good luck finding any, though. The lug for the mag catch is welded to the body, not stamped out, so if you see a used mag like this, it might be worth gambling on. |
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I have yet to find a currently produced aftermarket mag that has issues with 580 series and later minis. They all work flawlessly. Taco gen I, gen ii, promag steel and polymer, USA mag. They all feed without issue, can be inserted in the rifle with the bolt closed or open, and lock the bolt back when empty.
I really think the retooling ruger did in 2005 brought the rifles back into spec and solved the mag issues. |
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Quoted:
I have yet to find a currently produced aftermarket mag that has issues with 580 series and later minis. They all work flawlessly. Taco gen I, gen ii, promag steel and polymer, USA mag. They all feed without issue, can be inserted in the rifle with the bolt closed or open, and lock the bolt back when empty. I really think the retooling ruger did in 2005 brought the rifles back into spec and solved the mag issues. Would be great if true, but that has not been my experience: My experience with the newest Tapco mags |
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Quoted:
Would be great if true, but that has not been my experience: My experience with the newest Tapco mags Quoted:
Quoted:
I have yet to find a currently produced aftermarket mag that has issues with 580 series and later minis. They all work flawlessly. Taco gen I, gen ii, promag steel and polymer, USA mag. They all feed without issue, can be inserted in the rifle with the bolt closed or open, and lock the bolt back when empty. I really think the retooling ruger did in 2005 brought the rifles back into spec and solved the mag issues. Would be great if true, but that has not been my experience: My experience with the newest Tapco mags I assume you have a 580 or later mini. That's the first time I've heard of that on a newer mini. I'm really surprised that you had to mess with the lips on the factory 20 to get it to lock back. Honestly, if I could find factory mags consistently at decent prices they would be my first choice. Thankfully i haven't had to since every mag I've bought so far works. I would grab my factory 20s and my steel promag 20s as a first choice for hard use, but the Promag polymer 30s would go in the backpack as well. |
| I've got Ruger, Thermold, Black Warrior (CDNN), USA and RamLine AR/Mini combo mags and while I did have one of my 12 USA mags fail to work everything else has worked fine in my Mini's and AC556. The RamLine combo mags are still NIW and have never tried them so I can't comment on them with my guns. |
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