Mini 14 Mags?

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

I just recently acquired a mini 14 and was looking around for some spare mags. Besides the ruger factory mags $$$. I also was looking at some others specifically the Tapco mini 14 Gen2 mags. I know there are some reviews about the Gen 1s but anyone have any recent experience with Gen 2s and are they worth picking up so save some $$$,


Thanks,
Rob

[mrnyman]

Stampeed vaslkyre, The Mini 14 is not well liked here so you might not get any response here.

I have one word of advice for you - spend the money and get the Ruger mags , sure they are expensive but spend the money and cry only once, everything else is junk or plain just wont work. Or work reliably enough to bet your life on.

You can get Ruger Mags online for a cheaper price just shop around but buy only Ruger mags.

[Tomcat088]

I haven't tried a lot of different mags for our Mini-14, and there's a reason for it. Every other magazine that we've tried for them have been garbage. They usually won't feed right, especially the higher capacity magazine. The only magazines that we've kept and used are Ruger. I've never had any luck with anything over a 20 rounder. I don't even know if Ruger makes a 30 round magazine for the mini, but if they do, I haven't used it. Either way, Ruger mags is all I use, and they work great. They do hurt the pocket book, but they function right.

[rovert97]

Stick with factory mags. CDNN normally has great prices on them. Last time I checked the factory 20 rounders were $15

[The_War_Wagon]

Aftermarket mags - ESPECIALLY 30 rounders - are NOTORIOUSLY bad.

Ruger was supposed to be bringing back a factory 30 for those; haven't kept up with it as I don't own one, but a good friend does. IF they're out (or when they come out), you should try one, and see how it performs. Factory 20's are the safe bet in the short term.

[BuzzLightyear]

My best friend has a mini 14 and he has spent a small fortune on aftermarket mags for it, none of which have worked reliably. I'd have to agree with the previous responses that your best course of action is to spend the extra money on the factory Ruger magazines. He's got about 10-15 mags and the ONLY ones that feed reliably are the three Rugers.

FYI: BE CAREFUL with the aftermarkets. If the mag doesn't fully seat in the rifle or seats shallow (as is the most common issue), the rounds can 'half-feed' into the chamber and the carrier will 'pinch' the round.
I'd advise that if you DO decide to get aftermarkets, load some snap-caps in them and make sure they feed correctly and that the magazine doesn't seat low in the well. Be sure to cycle them as fast as possible to try and replicate the action to ensure they'll feed correctly.

Good luck!

[pacpiper]

I have a Mini 14 and Midway USA has Ruger 30 rounders for $39.99 (actually on sale right now for $33.99)

As most have said, the aftermarket mags are unpredictable however they seem to be gun specific not the other way around. They're cheap enough to buy so go grab a John Masen or ProMag and try it out (at least in 30 round)

I have yet to buy anything but Ruger brand but some of my friends have no issues with the other aftermarket mags, but then again, some do.

Good luck

[bob308]

i have a mini 14 and i use old [20years] usa mags. they were made in the u.s. never had a problem with them.

[wellcraft]

cdnn has factory 30 rd mags for 34 bucks and 20 rd mags for 25 bucks, you can checkout their webpage at www.targetsportsinc.com. i think cdnn has the best prices on the net for factory ruger mini 14 mags and theyn routinely have sales on their mags so sign up for their email alerts.

[Rodolfo Fierro]

If an aftermarket magazine seats properly in the gun I can usually make it feed. Not to say that it will ever be as good as a Ruger factory magazine. You need an 1/8" round file to make a ramp where the front of the bullet touches the magazine. You do not need to make it big. Just take the corner off.
Twenty round magazines can be used in the prone shooting position. Thirty round ones are good for elevated targets.