Ruger Mini-14 Magazines?

[Ozark_II]

I will be purchasing a Mini-14 in 2 weeks. It is their tactical version and comes with a 20 round clip. Do any of you folks have any recommendations about after market mags for the Mini-14? I have looked at several and red some reviews. I am wondering if there are some that would be worth the extra money or if there are certain mags I should avoid.

Thanks in advance!

[SpaceFrank]

I've been looking at buying some 30-rd mags for mine for a while now, but can't justify the expense yet. You can't beat the factory 20-rd mags (too bad they don't offer 30s), but as far as aftermarket goes I've heard relatively good things about ProMag and PMI. Some have said that RamLine mags suck, but your results may vary.

From my searching online, it seems like if the price is much less than a dollar per bullet capacity (blued steel), it's probably a low-quality magazine.

[Ozark_II]

Thank you Frank

[SpaceFrank]

Keep in mind that I haven't bought any yet, so I can't give a firsthand account. However, I just saw some 30-rd ProMags at Academy for $25, so I'll probably pick one up and do some testing next time I'm at the range.

[Jes]

Stay away from the polymer promags. I bought some for my mini-30 and the front pin hole the mini uses to lock the mag in wore out quickly.

[SpaceFrank]

What about steel promags?

[SpaceFrank]

I picked up a blued steel 30-rd ProMag for my Mini 14, and after finally getting the other problems with the gun straightened out, gave it a try. I put 5 rounds in it, loaded it in the rifle, and attempted to chamber a round. The round did not go into the chamber, but instead the tip of the first bullet contacted the receiver just below the chamber opening and stopped, hitting too low to slide in. It appears that either the magazine follower or the feed lips are pointing the front of the cartridges down too far. I may try monkeying with the feed lips, but as of right now this thing is useless.

[Ozark_II]

I picked up a couple of differnet mags to try in my mini-14. The polymer promags (20 and 30 round) were basically non-functional. They would not feed properly. When the 30 round mag was full I could strike it with my hand and it would spew out rounds until there was 23 rounds left in the mag. I could get the 30 round mag to feed after some work on it. The 20 round would not feed at all. I would not trust the either the 30 or 20 round polymer mags. I bought a 20 round steel promag and it has functioned well.
I found Ruger factory 20 round mags for $29 from Midway. I bought 3 and have had no problems out of any of them.

Bottom line, do not waste your money on the Promag polymer. You may get a good one but it is not worth the chance. The polymers are just too risky. I will probably never need the steel mags I have but I want to be confident that what I have will work. I do not have that confidence in the Promag polymer mags for the mini-14.

[SpaceFrank]

Yesterday I fiddled with the steel ProMag I bought, trying to adjust the feed lips so that they would actually feed. I managed to adjust it so that the bullets would actually ride up into the chamber, but then every time I cycled the action, one bullet would feed and another would fly out.

Needless to say, I proceeded to "fix" this defective piece of equipment by rendering it impossible to use. Same old story. I wish I knew where my other 30-rd mag came from, because it works fine.