20 plus magazines' functionability

[aquaphreak]

Just wondering.......................those of you that have been able to get the 20-30 round magazines.

Do they work? Can you load them to full capacity, or do you have to leave some rounds out to get them to function properly?

Any particular brands just outright SUCK? :blink: About ready to invest in some.

Thanks

[bwraven]

I would recommend you do a search on this topic.

[cowboy117]

Different Mini's like different mags.My 197 does great with John Masen 30's;others don't like them at all.Have to try a few brands to make sure.Ruger 20's work best ,i believe.I load my 30's with 26 and my 20's with 17. :usa: :ar15:

[cajungeo]

I would go with 20 rnd Ruger LEO mags. They are priced reasonable these days, Promags are good, but some are a little stiff at first and may require a round or two be left out, till they loosen up some. PMI's are good also, but Ruger LEO are about the same price, and there is none better.

[aquaphreak]

Thanks for the info. LEOs sound enticing, too.

Now have to find a brick and mortar shop that has 'em. Fooling around with internet/mailorder downtime right now with my 9mm semi-auto Daewoo pistol.

Have passed about 1000 rounds through it without a hicup. But only have 1-factory mag. After markets sloppy or don't fit or jam. Like "sucky" mini-14 mags, huh? Gonna check the handgun threads for that 1ne.

[aquaphreak]

:blink: Interesting that different serial number runs have different mag fits. Hmm. I expected that due to wear, gunk buildup, though.

[NWO]

I use only the factory original Ruger 5, and 20 round LEO magazines.

They all function flawlessly.

Good Shooting!

[aquaphreak]

:ph34r:
I live in Kalifornica and my local gun shop guy said he has trouble getting 10 rounders, which is max capacity here in the golden state. They are listed in his source catalogues but none in stock.

Of course have a daughter that we visit in Las Vegas at least once a month.

Gun shops up there pretty much can get it all. :samurai:

About due for a gun show up that way, too. LEOS here I come???

Better stay outta tha casinos, though. Have been "wasting" my ammo money on those slot machines. :confused:

[azroaddust]

Originally posted by aquaphreak@Sep 11 2005, 07:19 PM
:ph34r:
I live in Kalifornica and my local gun shop guy said he has trouble getting 10 rounders, which is max capacity here...

Of course have a daughter that we visit in Las Vegas at least once a month. ................
About due for a gun show up that way, too. LEOS here I come???


Not by Crossroads of the West for awhile though. I seem to like them best - get the most participants it seems. Good mag hunting, and don't forget Dans Sporting Goods. Best price 20 rd. LEO genuine Ruger mags around. I just added another 2 to my reserve. FourFourmag.com has real decent 10 rounders in blue or SS. I have several of those too and have never had even a burp with them or the Rugers! I have never even tried the 5 rd mag that came with my rifle.

http://www.crossroadsgunshows.com/gunsched.htm

http/dansammo.com

[aquaphreak]

If these high capacity magazines begin to "hang up" now and then, what is the procedure to try and get them back to normal operation?

Ram something like a piece of "clean" wood down them to try and free up the sliding action by moving the up and down feeder foot? And/or use some type of lube? What about a dry lube product, which seems to make more sense to me?

[Oswald2001]

This is my approach.

I believe the most effective procedure is to buy good mags.

Function check them all as soon as possible.

IMMEDIATELY fix the ones that are not 100% reliable.

The ones that can't IMMEDIATELY be made 100% reliable, return them, sell them or throw them away.

No sense in having a pile of mags around where some are good and some aren't when you can't remember which ones are which.




I wouldn't necessarily feel bad about selling some that don't work for me. I would disclose my experience before sale.

Funny thing about Mini-14's, mags that won't run in my gun may function perfectly in another guy's gun. Go figure!

Plus, another guy may be able to fix the mag where I can't or he may have the patience that I don't.

[aquaphreak]

Thanks for the tip Oswald.........................Early in this thread Cowboy mentioned the same thing.

I have some that I "inherited" with the gun when I bought it. And they are worthless in the gun. Now the fella that sold the rifle to me just bought a new model rifle and is on the prowl for some hi cap mags. I am going to ask him if he wants to road test my foul mags. Maybe I can sell them back to him. Hope so.

Top quality is the only way to go as you said.

:usa: :usa: :usa: :usa: :usa: :usa: :usa:

Have never used stripper clips or "charger" clips as they are sometimes called. Anybody have experience with those?

[bwraven]

I have had good luck with the Thermold stripper clips and chargers. The chargers are especially nice, and can even be used without the clips.

Here is an auction at Gun Broker (http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=37447653) (not my auction) that has photos.

[Oswald2001]

The mag latch position seems to be the culprit in a lot of 'bad' mags.

I have 5 no name mags by the same manufacturer. I can tell that they are from two different production runs due to subtle differences.

4 mags function perfectly. 1 does not.

The difference? It's the postion of the mag latch. Nothing else and nothing more.

The mags are built real sturdy and I like them. All except the 1 problematic one.

When I push up some on the problem mag, it functions 100%. If the mag latch was just a tiny litte bit longer (like it is on the 4 good ones) it would be flawless.

Many times it really is that simple.

I see you live in Kali. Me too.

That's the only reason I haven't thrown the problem mag away. Since it is grandfathered, I will eventually find someone to weld and file the mag latch to proper length.

Mini-14's mag well and mag latch dimensions have varied significantly over the years. I believe this is one of the main reasons the Mini-14 is well known for being mag cursed.

I have lots of guns. NONE of them have ANY mag problems. EXCEPT the Mini-14.

If you think about it. There is NO LEGITIMATE REASON to have ANY mag problems. This is Ruger's doing.

Ole Bill came out against gun owners in terms of mag capacity and apparently was screwing with us way before that by engineering the Mini-14 production variation in order to insure a mag curse. Could have been subconcious.

[aquaphreak]

:(

That seems to be the source doesn't it? And I don't even have an inferiority complex.

Think of what would have happened to our "beloved" mini's if they had been declared an assault rifle. Ole Bill must have smelled it in the wind when he pulled that move.

I do wonder how the "new" models are when it comes to the dreaded mag well production process. And now are they going to hold onto those mag dimensions.

Sort of reminds me of Microsoft a little bit. (shudder!)

[aquaphreak]

bwraven.............will have to check those out.

:blink:

[aquaphreak]

bwraven:

Saw those in Cheaper Than Dirt or somethin' like that.

So that's how they work? Couldn't figure it out before. Thanks

B) B)

[aquaphreak]

Do the Mini-30s have the same magazine problems as the Mini-14s??

<_< :huh: :(

[Dennis]

Originally posted by aquaphreak@Sep 23 2005, 03:57 PM
Do the Mini-30s have the same magazine problems as the Mini-14s??

<_< :huh: :(
Identical except Ruger never made 20 round mags for the Mini-30.

Dennis Jenkins

[allmons]

There must be something wrong with my Mini - I bought it used from a friend, who threw in four 40 round magazines ( USA brand ) that function just as well as the factory 5 rounder. I traded an AR 30 rounder for another USA mags 40 rounder and that one works well also! So far I haven't had a single jam or magazine hangup of any kind.

Worse, being the idiot I am, I've been using cheap Winchester and Wolf ammo with no ill effect. My gun is slightly more accurate with the 55 grain stuff, but it shoots hollow points, Full metal jacket and soft points interchangably.

Until I joined this board, I had no idea mini's had any magazine or feeding problems! I often feel as if something is wrong with me and my gun when I read these boards! As an aside, it was made in the '90's.

:D

[aquaphreak]

:lol:
Well with 4x40 round mags that work properly, I can see why you wouldn't have a need to go "mag" hunting like the rest of us. Sounds like you just fell right into it just fine.

Wonder if anyone out there has their mini feeding off of USA brand mags and has the same results. :sniper:

[aquaphreak]

Dennis;

I wonder if the successful brands of magazines made for Mini-30s are close to the same brands that work in the Mini-14? :blink:

[2rangers]

Guys-
Just had to add my .02. I have several mags for my mini, including the factory 5-rnd the rifle came with. 2-20's and a 30 rnd mag came from Cabela's. They are absolutely no-name, and I have yet to identify the make. No markings at all except "Mini-14" on the floorplate. I thought these cheap mags would disintegrate into steel filings after a while, but to my surprise, They have never mis-fed or anything to date. (better knock on wood, or my head........) Every possible load, from mild factory stuff, to some oddball handloads of mine all seem to function pretty well. A short while back, AZ gave me some of his surplus mags that weren't feeding right for him. The problem seemed to stem from mis-formed feed lips, as well as followers that were a bit too tight in the mag body. I re-formed the feed lips slightly using a 3/8" deep, 1/4" drive socket and a brass hammer to resemble the gently rounded lips of my wi, uh, I mean a ruger mag, and burnished the mag followers slightly. Reliability improved greatly.

Lockup w/ all mags is pretty good, though not as snug as the ruger mags. Doesn't seem to affect functioning, however. Perhaps series # plays a part, as stated in prev. posts? Incidently, mine is a 197- series.

:sniper:

[rugmar]

The first hi-cap I bought for my 196 series was a 20 rd USA. It has never caused a single problem. Because of what I started reading online about aftermarket mags in general, I purchased only 20 rd factory LEO mags after that. Never a problem with any of them. I have three of the factory ones. Maybe I just got lucky with the one USA. Who knows.

I will say that I can tell a difference in the way they fit in the gun. The Rugers go right in with no problem. The USA takes a little fiddling around with.

[guncats]

2rangers, does the mini-14 mark on your cabelas mags looks like this:
http://perfectunion.com/mag_gallery/scherer30plate.JPG
http://perfectunion.com/mag_gallery/C-X4-S...r%20Closeup.jpg (http://perfectunion.com/mag_gallery/C-X4-Scherer%20Closeup.jpg)

I have a Scherer 20rd and four LEO 20rd (all used mags). So far the Scherer works about the same as the LEOs, and if you ask me I'd say Scherer is using thicker material (SS too ) and actually built stronger. am not impressed with Scherer's locking tab design though.

[aquaphreak]

My Mini-14 is a 188. The 2wo hi caps in plastic that I have are Thermold. They look and feel well made. They also seat in nice and snug.
One of them sits too high and doesn't allow the the gun to "sweep" the next round into the chamber. The other "hangs up" about every 4th round or so.
The other 3 that I have are metal, 30 round capacity as the paper label on the bottom side indicates. The label reads;

MINI-14 .223 30 RND
EXC13

All of the mags appear to be the same length. Therefore, I assume the plastic Thermolds are 30 round capacity, too.

The previous owner never fired the weapon. The fella I bought it from says the mags came with the gun when he bought it from him. We work together.
He said one or two of them worked here and there others flat out sucked. He neglected to label the ones that failed miserably. All of the metal mags look like they have had little use. But they do not function properly. Even when the action is yanked through by hand until the mag is empty.

Stock 5-round factory mag is flawless.

Had no joy finding LEOs in Las Vegas last week. Sold out or not carried by the shops I had time to check on. The key word there was TIME. Gonna go up again in about 1.5 months. Will call shops before I get there this time.


Gun show coming up around that time, too. Either way the deed will get done.
Internet "shops" won't ship that stuff to Kalifornica. Trapped in a Kommunist State by several Senators. One of which has a CCW permit. Go finger that 1ne out. :cool:

[slaughterhouse]

Originally posted by aquaphreak@Sep 23 2005, 03:57 PM
Do the Mini-30s have the same magazine problems as the Mini-14s??

<_< :huh: :(
My limited experience was that the Mini-30 was in MUCH worse shape because as Dennis already mentioned, the only mags available were the cheap ones.

I had better luck with no-name 20's than 30's, but I still had the occasional jam every now and again. I gave up entirely, and now consider the Mini-30 to be at most a reliable 10 round rifle (with ProMag 10s).

I wonder if the successful brands of magazines made for Mini-30s are close to the same brands that work in the Mini-14?

Problem is, most of those "successful brand" manufacturers like PMI never even made Mini-30 mags at all. I have HEARD that the Thermold mags for the Mini-30 were reliable, but never could come off the $50 they commanded at the time.

[bwraven]

Aquaphreak:
Don't give up on those Thermolds!
Every polymer mag that I have used, both for ARF's and Mini's, has required a break-in period. And I have used quite a few!
Most of them have required at least 100 rounds cycling through to wear-in the feedlips to the bolt.
Next time you go to the range, take them along, and be persistent with them. Thermolds are great magazines!
If you decide you don't like them, you could always sell them to me!

[aquaphreak]

BWRAVEN

Hmm. Have heard about "break-in" periods for new guns over and over again from my brother. He does possess an arsenal up there in Oregon.

Seems to make sense for magazines, now that I think about it. I certainly do not know the "mileage" on the mags. Especially the "plastic" 1nes. The metal ones look "worn" up high where the top fits into the "well". Some are indented, though. First owner never fired weapon and guy I bought it from got it on an impulse. But didn't pass that many rounds through it. Then he discovered AR-15's

Can't get to the range as often as I like, lately.

So I have hand cycled fully loaded mags through weapon without firing a round.

Got some interesting results. Realize fired rounds kick bolt back much faster and with more force than my hand yanking. But could feel, and see problems each mag had.

[bwraven]

Yeah, hand cycling will take a bit of the edge off, but I have found that they will still hang-up at first when firing. Sometimes I will hand cycle, look where the bolt is causing wear to the feedlips, and file the feedlips in that spot a bit with a jeweler's file. If you decide to try that, do it slow and a bit at a time. This is definately not a job for the Dremmel tool.

You are right about the speed and force of the bolt under fire.

[2rangers]

Originally posted by guncats@Sep 24 2005, 10:26 PM
2rangers, does the mini-14 mark on your cabelas mags looks like this:
http://perfectunion.com/mag_gallery/scherer30plate.JPG
http://perfectunion.com/mag_gallery/C-X4-S...r%20Closeup.jpg (http://perfectunion.com/mag_gallery/C-X4-Scherer%20Closeup.jpg)

I have a Scherer 20rd and four LEO 20rd (all used mags). So far the Scherer works about the same as the LEOs, and if you ask me I'd say Scherer is using thicker material (SS too ) and actually built stronger. am not impressed with Scherer's locking tab design though.
Guncats-
So sorry for not getting back w/ you, as I didn't see the post. The mags I got from cabelas don't have the stampings like the pics you provided. If you look in their catalog, they have triple-k, and then others listed only as "high-quality replacement magazines". I'll take a pic later and post it for you to see.

:sniper:

[Dennis]

Originally posted by aquaphreak@Sep 24 2005, 01:38 AM
Dennis;

I wonder if the successful brands of magazines made for Mini-30s are close to the same brands that work in the Mini-14? :blink:
Some of the most despised Mini-14 mags seem to work ok in some rifles.

I've had pretty good luck with the Eagle Mini-14 mags for range mags. They have been uniformly dissed for the Mini-30.

Pretty crazy deal.<G>

Dennis Jenkins

[battletweeter]

i picked up a metal 30 round clip (14 bucks..no clue who the manufacture is tho) at the gun show a couple of weeks ago.
i tried to hand cycle ammo through it and it was locking up my mini-14.
so instead of wasting a 2 hour drive teh next day to replace the metal mag i filed off the back of the clip a bit and it started working, but... when it got to the last 2 bullets, it ejected both bullets at the same time...so i bent the lips in a bit. and that seemed to do teh trick and it saved me a 2 hour round trip drive. :)
i havent tested it at the range yet, but it is working when i hand cycle ammo through it.

i also picked up a plastic promag clip(? ...cost 13 bucks) too and that cycles good when i tested it.

[Vincent Black]

The aftermarket 20 and 30 rounder that was sent with my GB/20 didn't work worth a damn when I hand cycled them, but the 2 factory 20 rounders do...so from now on it's factory only till I can get some aftermarket 30's that work.

I plan on getting me a promag 30 rounder, if it works good I will start buying them.