[Texan]

Hi all,

I apologize if this is a stupid question, but will repeatedly loading and unloading cartridges from a Mini-14 5 or 10 round factory magazine cause damage to the rounds?

As I'm a very new Mini owner, I only have a few magazines. I keep them loaded with my preferred home defense frangible ammo most of the time. When I go to the range, I have to unload the HD stuff and load in the range ammo. Afterwards, I load the HD rounds back in. I also unload them when I want to dry practice with the Mini.

Am I running a risk of damaging the rounds in a way that will affect performance? I don't care about cosmetic damage. Should I be cycling the HD rounds after a while?

I plan to get some more magazines, but with the delays at Ruger and all the money I've spent on the Mini, ammo and accessories in the last month, they will have to wait a bit.

Any feedback is appreciated.

T

 

[Hellgate]

Have you fired some of the HD ammo to see that it properly feeds, fires and ejects? You want to be really, really sure your HD set up is 100% reliable. Any of the dinged up HD ammo is what I would shoot up first. If it works well the factory fresh ammo you put in the mag ought to be fine. I'd worry about bending any of the case necks and deeply denting the shoulders that might affect feeding or cause fliers. Let's see what other folks say too.

 

[tri70]

It will not bother the ammo to load and unload. I hunt and plink almost every weekend, rounds are loaded and unloaded with no problems.

 

[Texan]

Have you fired some of the HD ammo to see that it properly feeds, fires and ejects? You want to be really, really sure your HD set up is 100% reliable. Any of the dinged up HD ammo is what I would shoot up first. If it works well the factory fresh ammo you put in the mag ought to be fine. I'd worry about bending any of the case necks and deeply denting the shoulders that might affect feeding or cause fliers. Let's see what other folks say too.

Absolutely. I fire five rounds from every 20 round box of ammo intended for HD.

That's a good point though. Thanks for bringing it up.

Damaging the neck, crimp or some other cartridge would be my concern as well.

 

[Texan]

It will not bother the ammo to load and unload. I hunt and plink almost every weekend, rounds are loaded and unloaded with no problems.

Sounds good. When you unload, do you push down on the cartridges and roll them out, or do you just torque them out by the neck?

 

[40nascar]

I noticed that I could only load a factory 10 rnd with 9 rnds if the bolt is closed when I insert the mag. I don't want to risk putting to much pressure on the mag and dent the brass of the top round. Good luck.

 

[tri70]

Sounds good. When you unload, do you push down on the cartridges and roll them out, or do you just torque them out by the neck?

I usually push out on the base of the cartridge. You can sand the feed lips a little to make it easier to get out and feed while shooting. The new mags have sharp edges that scratch and drag across the cases.

 

[xcpd69]

I noticed that I could only load a factory 10 rnd with 9 rnds if the bolt is closed when I insert the mag. I don't want to risk putting to much pressure on the mag and dent the brass of the top round. Good luck.

A lot of manufacturers, during the 94-04 Assault Weapon Ban, may have deliberately made their ten round mags tight like that to preclude any posibility of getting an eleventh round in the mag. Likely Lawyer's Paranoia that enough clearance for ten rounds in a mag with the bolt/slide closed, MIGHT allow an eleventh round if the bolt/slide were open, considering tolerance variations. A violation for the manufacturer (No LEO Restricted Markings) as well as the possessor.

No hard info of this being a verifiable fact, just makes sense to me, having seen lots of reports of "only nine rounds fitting when bolt/slide closed."

JMHO as an Armchair Commando

 

[fishslayerbob]

Except for range sessions I load all of my magazines at 10 rounds since the mini loads with the bolt open.

fishslayerbob

 

[40nascar]

A lot of manufacturers, during the 94-04 Assault Weapon Ban, may have deliberately made their ten round mags tight like that to preclude any posibility of getting an eleventh round in the mag. Likely Lawyer's Paranoia that enough clearance for ten rounds in a mag with the bolt/slide closed, MIGHT allow an eleventh round if the bolt/slide were open, considering tolerance variations. A violation for the manufacturer (No LEO Restricted Markings) as well as the possessor.

No hard info of this being a verifiable fact, just makes sense to me, having seen lots of reports of "only nine rounds fitting when bolt/slide closed."

JMHO as an Armchair Commando

This was a ruger factory mag I bought last yr.

 

[plumbernater]

I would pick a mag and leave it loaded for home defence. And use my others for my shooting pleasure. That way you dont have to worry about damaging your home defence ammo. problem solved.

 

[wxl]

When I remove my HD rounds I also push them out by the base. The scratches that can occur is only cosmetic and shouldn't affect them. I'm more worry about oil seeping into the primer over time if I keep a mag in the gun. I usually shoot my HD mag rounds about every 6 months or so and put new ones in to make sure there are no issues if I need it.

 

[Splicenut]

Shouldn't be a problem, but look at the rounds

I carry a gun for a living. Have done so for the last 6 presidents. When rotating rounds, LOOK at them. There is going to be some damage on rounds that have made the trip up the feed ramp and through the extractor. The biggest danger is "telescoping," a bullet pushed back into the case. That can cause feeding problems (from the altered geometry) and spiked pressures.

If you are just removing rounds from the magazine manually (and maybe using the rim of a cartridge), take a look at them. Any rounds with obvious damage need to go into the "practice" ammo can. Odds are, they'll be fine. If they're just a little scuffed, load them into the bottom of your magazine. If you're going to have a malfunction, it might as well happen when you're going to reload, anyway. It's that spring-loaded trip up the feed ramp into chamber land, and the subsequent extraction that tends to damage cartridges. Any "telescoped" rounds need to be tossed into the nearest body of water or disassembled.

 

[Cserv]

I keep my HD mags loaded, but if you have to unload, stip them out in the same manner as they load into the rifle. By pushing them forward from the base. I use the base of another round. I feel torgueing them out runs the risk of damage to either the rounds or the mag lips.

Eric

 

[subscriber]

If you unload your mags by cycling ammo through the chamber, then yes, the ammo will get dinged up - don't do it that way.

Gently removing rounds from the mag by hand in such a manner that it does not hurt your fingers should not hurt the ammo - that said, I would only use "fresh" ammo for defense.