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Posted: 12/30/2006 7:55:19 AM EDT
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Buddy just got a Mini for christmas and has come to me as the resident gun guy. It was an old rifle his dad had sitting in his closet and didnt want anymore. It's in good shape with only a bit of surface rust on the outside of the bbl. Aside from what translates over from the grown up M14, i know nothing about a mini. We went to the range yesterday to shoot it, and it didnt want to feed. it was basically a bolt action rifle. I suspect the mag that he has. it's an old mag that was given to him with the rifle. Where is a good place to get GOOD mags for the mini? I see pro-mag mags available, but I've learned not to trust them. What about other brands? |
First of all, determine what series the Mini is. This is a 3-digit prefix to the serial number. If it is a 180-series (IIRC), then accessories/options other than mags are limited. Second, get in touch with LarryG, who just posted on some reliable and cheap ($12) aftermarket Mini mags. Could be his post is in one or the other of the recent Mini threads in either M1A/M1 forum of GD firearms. Third, go to www.perfectunion.com and read up. It is THE Mini site, and most of your questions will have an answer there. Fourth, inspect the bore at the muzzle carefully, with a magnifying glass. If it is worn due to excessive or omproper cleaning, you will have to have the muzzle crowned. This is an easy job for a gunsmith, and fairly cheap. If the bore/muzzle is damaged, and you don't fix the problem, then the Mini will never shoot accurately under any circumstances. Fifth, take the opinions of those who claim the Mini to be worthless with a grain of salt. Within its' limitations, it can be a very good little carbine. Mine is. Let me know if I can be of help. |
I have always had back luck with promag no matter what firearm they go in. The ones from SportsmansGuide are $11.99 and work perfectly. They insert and remove easily and feed flawlessly. Go here:www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=217691 Scroll down to item WX-745604. I highly recommend these mags. |
i did, and never looked back. i just saw RUGER 20 rd. mags for @ $32.00 but probably could never find the link again... BTW i traded a mini 6 years ago, i was about 18, there was a VERY small piece of rust or corrosion in the chamber causing rounds to stick... i couldnt get it out. IBTYTGP ( in before youre that guy post ) but most of the reading ive done bashes non RUGER factory mags. |
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PMI/Federal Ordnance (same company) did make hi-caps that worked well with the Mini-14. Unfortunately, they are no longer in business. There are some pre-ban PMI's floating around, but they are pretty pricey (as expensive as Ruger factory 20's or more). To make matters worse, I have heard some people suggest they have been ripped off by people selling crap mags as PMI's. If I wanted mags that work 100%, I'd just pick up a couple of Ruger factory 20's and leave it that for now. I have confirmed through Larry from CProducts that they will be producing hi-cap Mini-14 magazines by April-May of this year. They will also be doing Mini-30 mags starting this Fall, in case anyone is interested. For those unfamiliar with CProducts, go over to the AR-15 section of the forums and read some of the threads in the magazine section. His stuff is very well made, highly sought out and very fairly priced. I have no doubt that when he gets these mags on the market that they'll be the best aftermarket mag for the Mini-14 out there. So I might wait around a bit for these instead of shelling out too much $$$ for a bunch of factory mags or risk buying crappy aftermarket stuff. |
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I've got mostly original 5 round ruger mags that people always seemed to want to get rid of, I've tried pro-mag and had ok luck, stay away from triple k mags. The ones I've had really good luck with are the eagle clear polymer mags, and in an emergency they will fit into an AR but they won't lock the bolt open. |
Those clear Eagle mags sound like the Ramline mags I had long ago. I haven't seen them in a long time, but they worked great in the Mini and okay in my original AR180, although you had to really slap them in to seat them in the 180. |
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