[jskeys]

I was at the range yesterday and one of the guy told me that my Mini 14 (5.56) could use standard AR mags. We all know that lots of things are said on a range that are very questionable. Since I only just bought my 580 series Mini I thought I would ask you guy who have the experience. Not sure why someone who needs a mag would not just buy one made for the gun, maybe it is the idea that if you have an AR and a mini you can interchange mags. Do any of you have any experience with this? If it is not true I would like to put this statement to bed so no one damages their rifle or gets hurt. Thanks in advance. Hope I have posted this in the right place.

 

[GAMEOVER]

Definitely not interchangeable.

 

[James T. Kirk]

The guy may have been confused with Ramline mags. Once upon a time Ramline made some clear plastic mags that did work for Mini 14's and AR15's, but those have not been made since the 90's and good luck finding one. Other wise every other manufacture especially Ruger makes Mini 14 specific mags that rock and lock in. No standard AR15 mag (STANAG Mag) will work with a Mini 14.

 

[jumpluff]

Back during the notorious AWB I tried a variety of mags for my Mini-14 that were made by a variety of vendors for the Mini. The results were very hit and miss and mostly unimpressive. At this point with freedom mostly restored I use only Ruger magazines which are available in 5, 10, 20, and 30 round capacity or Tapco polymer generation 2 magazines which are 30 round capacity. These are the only Mini-14 magazines that I have found in my experience to be "100% reliable".

I find most "universal" parts advertised to work for multiple "machines" of different designs in reality work universally poorly in all cases. Likewise I have seen videos where fellows have attempted to modify AR mags to work in the Mini-14. OK...if you are an engineer or a machinist and have the skill to attempt that...good for you, I am not and prefer to spend my time shooting with a magazine I can rely on to do its job so I can do mine.

IMHO beware something that sounds too good to be true...because it usually is!