Which third-party Mini-14 magazines are reliable?

[TTSH]

Score!

I finally lucked out and scored four 30-round pre-ban Mini-14 magazines at something less than a king's ransom. One of them was one of those old plastic Ram-Line Mini-14/AR-15 combo magazines while the other three were what I call generic Mini-14 "mystery mags"... old for sure and a bit rusty, but with no discerning markings whatsoever.

While not as good (or legally safe) as the genuine NOS Ruger 20-round pre-bans that I bought complete with the original pre-ban boxes, the price was right for the bunch and I feel pretty good about where I stand as of today.

But the springs in the Ram-Line and in all of the "mystery mags" are pitifully weak and the followers in some are worn and questionable. Replacing the original followers may be a bridge too far (legally speaking), but I think that changing out the springs is essential and, hopefully, something I won't go to prison over.

I should probably just leave the rust so as to help convince any cop that they are not post-bans. The older and more used they appear, the better.

 

[Warren Sear]

Yep, I get it. If only they weren't so damned expensive and near impossible to find around here, even in post-ban 10-round. Pre-ban Ruger OEM 20's and 30's? Good luck with that! I paid a king's ransom for the two pre-ban 20's I was able to obtain... but that source is now out for good.

I'm going to see what happens at Saturday's show. I see three possibilities:

1) No one will have anything in a Ruger Mini-14 magazine at any price other than maybe some new post-ban 5-rounders.

2) There will be a few random pre-bans with incredible "sky-high" prices on them just like on that certain gun auction website. Someone will jump on them (but not me!).

3) It's always possible (unlikely, but possible) that some dealer has managed to come up with a batch of pre-bans and is willing to sell them at something slightly less than a King's ransom. If so, I'll be interested.

Chances are that I will come home from the show empty-handed... in which case I will turn to the Interwebs. Can't afford enough in genuine Ruger 10-rounders... so I may still be tempted to try a Pro-Mag or two and see how they run.

If I found those I would buy them all up and re-sell them at their current market value.

Well, it looks like Ol' Bills's mag ban scheme is slowly coming to fruition:

In his letter to members of the House and Senate on 30 March 1989, Bill Ruger stated in that which has come to be known as "The Ruger Letter":

"The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. By a simple, complete, and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty of defining "assault rifles" and "semi-automatic rifles" is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single amendment to Federal firearms laws could
prohibit their possession or sale and would effectively implement these objectives."

In addition to the furor amongst hunters, sportsmen and shooters caused by "The Ruger Letter", Mr. Ruger made additional comments during an interview with NBCs Tom Brokaw that angered 2nd Amendment proponents even further, by saying that "no honest man needs more than 10 rounds in any gun…" and, "I never meant for simple civilians to have my 20 and 30 round magazines…"

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Ol' Billuh has passed to his heavenly reward. He is gone, but never forgotten. His legacy of banning magazines continues.

 

[TTSH]

If I found those I would buy them all up and re-sell them at their current market value.

The ones at the show were kind of expensive for what they were IMHO. I believe I bought the best ones there, but they sure weren't any great bargain. In other words, I think the premium mark-up had already been applied.

Well, it looks like Ol' Bill's mag ban scheme is slowly coming to fruition...

Well, post-ban hi-caps have been illegal here in MA since 1994... hence, my search for pre-bans (even in nasty used condition).

The big question is: What can we expect in the future? Will there be another Federal AWB? Will they eventually ban all hi-caps regardless of vintage?

The only thing worse than paying the big bucks for crappy old pre-ban magazines would be losing those costly pre-bans to the next threat that comes along.

 

[MrJester]

If you have any more of those mags left you want to get rid of. I should would be interested in getting some off of you. Please let me know. Thanks for your time

 

[Az Dave]

Long time mini owner here. PMI and Federal Ordnance mags were the only mags to own in the 80's besides over priced Ruger mags. Saw a glowing review on Tapco gen 2 mags last year on youtube and decided to try them. I bought 2 at $15 each and couldn't be happier. I've ran hundreds of rounds through them with zero issues! They have a steel insert in front where they interface with the locking pin. I have since bought more but will continue to torture test the first 2. DDDave

 

[WR Moore]

The mags by John Masen are first class, but painted. On the other hand, the price isn't bad at all.

 

[Rastoff]

Believe it or not, the Pro Mag mags I have for my Mini-14 are the best I've used. I know a lot of people don't like the Pro Mags in general, but the ones I have for my Mini are great.

The mags by John Masen are first class,...

The ones I have are first class garbage. I have 4 of them and none will feed properly in my Mini.

 

[Univibe]

I had a Mini-14 for a long time and suffered during the AWB.

National magazines = suck.
USA = suck.
Pro Mag = suck.
Thermold = suck.

When the AWB expired I bought Ruger factory 30s. The 30s were mostly unreliable so 44mag.com took them back and traded for 20s. The factory 20s were completely reliable. There's a reason why new Mini-14 ship from the factory with the 20. People also report reliability with Tapco 2nd generation 30s but I have no experience.

 

[hoc9sw]

CDNN has 5 round ruger mags for $23. They also have the 10 listed on sale, but are out of stock.

NEVER ProMags, just don't.

I do have an old PMI 30 (I think, will have to dig it out). Supposedly they went out of business with the ban.

LGS had one of the plastic mags, $5 to try to get rid of it, but no one will bite.

I always use 5 or 10 because of the way I was trained to hold a rifle.

 

[hoc9sw]

I did find the 30 rounder.

Marked Precision Mag Industries (all caps, three different text sizes)with a pistol outline.
.223
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5.56mm

All on the baseplate, no date or other text anywhere on the mag