Looking for information on ProMag high capacity magazines. If you have these are they feeding without issue. I have a mini 14 tactical rifle and recently tried a Thermold 30 round mag and it wouldn't feed . I have the steel factory mag (20 round) and it feeds flawlessly. My experience with my Glock pistols is only factory mags work properly. Is this the same with Ruger ?
High capacity magazines
- Thread starter mask656
- Start date
Help Support Ruger Forum:
Register to hide this ad
Factory high capacity magazines are the only way to go for the Mini-14, in my experience.
The only thing worse than an after market mag for a mini-14 are the ones made for the mini-30.
Stick with factory.....
back when I was messing with both rifles I noticed something....
almost always any after market magazine ... there was no manufacturers name on it.
Stick with factory.....
back when I was messing with both rifles I noticed something....
almost always any after market magazine ... there was no manufacturers name on it.
ProMag does not have a good reputation.
I disagree on the Glock mag statement. Magpul mags for Glocks work very well.
If you ever see a mag made by Mec-Gar, buy with confidence. Mec-Gar is the OEM mag supplier for multiple for firearms companies.
C Products is another aftermarket supplier of rifle mags that has earned a stellar reputation.
But I don't own a Mini 14 or 30.
Last edited:
^^^ Agree with the above.
My experience with Thermold has been very good but this is only with 20 rounders for AR platform so can't say about Mini mags.
I prefer MecGar for my Hi-Power mags--always work properly. MagPul and Glock mags work 100% feeding the AR9 PDW while most of the 'others' fail in one way or another. C-Prod is the 'go to' for most of my non-5.56 based AR platforms.
My experience with Thermold has been very good but this is only with 20 rounders for AR platform so can't say about Mini mags.
I prefer MecGar for my Hi-Power mags--always work properly. MagPul and Glock mags work 100% feeding the AR9 PDW while most of the 'others' fail in one way or another. C-Prod is the 'go to' for most of my non-5.56 based AR platforms.
Busterswoodshop
Buckeye
I have owned a few Mini 14's over the years.
I have never found an aftermarket magazine that worked well in one.
I have never found an aftermarket magazine that worked well in one.
Captain America
Hunter
Only use Ruger magazines in your Mini, I use 20 round mags because I don't like the way a full 30 round mag affects the balance of my Mini.
It's been years since I owned a Mini-14, but I owned three at different times about 25 - 30 years ago (standard model, ranch rifle, & police surplus Mini-14/20GB). Factory mags over 5 rds were almost unavailable, so after-market was required. I had the best success with 30 rd Ramline polymer mags & Precision Mag Industries (PMI) metal mags, and both types were sufficiently reliable in all 3 of my rifles for self defense use. Both of those companies stopped making mags when the Democrats passed their semi-auto & magazine ban in the mid 1990s (which the Dems are trying to do again), so they're all "pre-ban". A friend who had a Mini-14 back then used Thermolds with zero complaints, and last I heard was still using them.
Now that Ruger is selling larger capacity factory mags to the public, those are probably what I would go with. I noticed that the PMI metal mags I bought just before the ban seemed to have soft feed lips, but they worked fine for me until I sold them. The Ramline polymer mags worked so well for me that I kept them (& still have 'em ;^). They were supposedly designed to work in Mini14s, AR15s AND AR18s, but you will see lots of complaints about them from AR owners, and I would NOT recommend them for use in anything except Minis.
One thing to remember - manufacturers change things over time. That applies to firearms as well as magazines. I had a 10/22 made in the 1970s, that worked fine with pre-ban Ramline & Butler Creek mags. I gave it to a family member a few years ago, and replaced it with a recent-production 10/22. Guess what? When I tried to use the pre-ban Butler Creek mags in the new 10/22, the bolt wouldn't even close. Obviously no change in my mags, so Ruger must have changed something in the rifles. Maybe the newer Thermold mags are slightly different than the older ones, or maybe Ruger changed the Mini-14s, also.
As always IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.
Now that Ruger is selling larger capacity factory mags to the public, those are probably what I would go with. I noticed that the PMI metal mags I bought just before the ban seemed to have soft feed lips, but they worked fine for me until I sold them. The Ramline polymer mags worked so well for me that I kept them (& still have 'em ;^). They were supposedly designed to work in Mini14s, AR15s AND AR18s, but you will see lots of complaints about them from AR owners, and I would NOT recommend them for use in anything except Minis.
One thing to remember - manufacturers change things over time. That applies to firearms as well as magazines. I had a 10/22 made in the 1970s, that worked fine with pre-ban Ramline & Butler Creek mags. I gave it to a family member a few years ago, and replaced it with a recent-production 10/22. Guess what? When I tried to use the pre-ban Butler Creek mags in the new 10/22, the bolt wouldn't even close. Obviously no change in my mags, so Ruger must have changed something in the rifles. Maybe the newer Thermold mags are slightly different than the older ones, or maybe Ruger changed the Mini-14s, also.
As always IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.
I really like the Thermold 20 rd AR15 mags also, and probably have 20 of them that I've bought on sale over the years. I've had no issues with their 30s, either. Tony Rumore at 'Tromix' noted a few years ago, that he had a project that required firing 20,000 rounds full-auto through an AR15, and the Thermold 30 rd mags he used had ZERO issues. Obviously, even Magpuls have had batch &/or generational design issues, and no manufacturer has ever achieved "perfection" (despite advertising claims ;^).
I really like Mec-Gar products, as well. BUT I just bought a couple of newer Mec-Gar mags for a Beretta 96 clone, and I noticed that the feed lip spacing is different than my older Mecgars for the same gun, so I'll have to see how they work - manufacturers do "tweak" things from time to time.
As always IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.
pasound50
Bearcat
Bought a few ProMags over the years, some for my M&P15, some for pistols. None were reliable. OEMs, and MagPul and Mec-Gar are the only ones that always work for me.
GunnyGene
Hawkeye
My limited experience with aftermarket mags may not be relevant since it's only in regard to the Ruger LC45 carbine I recently acquired. I bought a few KCI 26rnd mags for it and have not had any problems with them so far. The rifle came with 2 13rnd SGM magazines and those haven't had any problems either. Both brands are available at gunmagwarehouse at low prices.
They do also carry a 30 rnd KCI mag for AR platforms among others. I don't know if it will work with a mini-14, so my comment is only in regards to the general KCI/SGM quality.
gunmagwarehouse.com
gunmagwarehouse.com
They do also carry a 30 rnd KCI mag for AR platforms among others. I don't know if it will work with a mini-14, so my comment is only in regards to the general KCI/SGM quality.
KCI .45 ACP 26-Round Polymer Magazine for Glock 21 / 41 Pistols
This is a KCI® .45 ACP 26-round magazine for Glock® 21 / 41 pistols. Any Glock owner knows that the more magazines you have on hand, the better. Unf
SGM Tactical .45 ACP 13-Round Magazine for Glock 21 Pistols
The SGM Tactical® .45 ACP 13-Round Magazine for Glock 21 Pistols is an affordable, performance-enhanced aftermarket pistol magazine, designed to deliver factory-like performance with your Glock pistol, at a fraction of the price of Glock factory ma
Yeah, folks joke about ProMag being an acronym - "Please Remember Our Mags Are Garbage". HOWEVER, they do hit a home run once in a while: their mags for the H&K SL-8 have an excellent reputation, for example, and I've also used their first generation 9mm AR magwell adapters with reasonable success. So, they might be worth a try if nothing else is available, and (IIRC) their products have a lifetime warranty, FWIW & YMMV.
It really can depend on the individual combination of mag, firearm, and ammunition. I bought C-Products mags for my first 9mm AR, because they were recommended by just about everyone; they worked very well, EXCEPT the follower wouldn't always rise quite high enough to lock the bolt open on empty. I fixed that by removing a little material from the plastic followers with a hand file - after that, they were 100% reliable for me, for many years & in several different firearms.
...UNTIL a couple of months ago, when I tried them in my newest 9mm AR - 3 out of 4 of my "old reliable" C-Products 20 rd mags wouldn't feed at all (100% nose-up jams), while my Metalform 9mm AR mags are trouble free in the same rifle with the same ammo. Go figure...
It really can depend on the individual combination of mag, firearm, and ammunition. I bought C-Products mags for my first 9mm AR, because they were recommended by just about everyone; they worked very well, EXCEPT the follower wouldn't always rise quite high enough to lock the bolt open on empty. I fixed that by removing a little material from the plastic followers with a hand file - after that, they were 100% reliable for me, for many years & in several different firearms.
...UNTIL a couple of months ago, when I tried them in my newest 9mm AR - 3 out of 4 of my "old reliable" C-Products 20 rd mags wouldn't feed at all (100% nose-up jams), while my Metalform 9mm AR mags are trouble free in the same rifle with the same ammo. Go figure...
I have not tried any C Products mags that were designed to shoot pistol caliber ammo. I did specify C Products for "rifle" calibers.
C Products for 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, etc. I cannot endorse C Products mags for pistol caliber carbines, no experience.
HoosierBilly1
Bearcat
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2015
- Messages
- 79
I cannot speak for rifle magazines, but I did buy one ProMag for my LC9. It has been flawless for years. I also bought 2 MecGar magazines for my P95, and those also have been flawless.
Been using ProMag magazines in my Mini 14 for 23 years now. I even got a tour of the factory once. We are restricted to 10 rounds in the great? state of Kali. but I've had very good luck with them. Can't tell the difference between them and factory Mags.
DGW1949
Hunter
Nothing concerning Glocks, AR's, or any other firearm that you have gotten answers about can be applied to Ruger's Mini-14....In a nutshell, according to your opening post, you have already experienced the correct answer. Namely that the best hi-cap mag for a Mini-14 is Ruger's own 20-Rd version....If you care to try a 10-Rd mag for some reason, the current crop of ProMags seem to work better than the older ones from times past. As far as that goes, Ruger's 10 rounder gives about as much trouble as ProMag's...meaning that either might work as received, or might not. If not, you might have to tinker with it some.....Just as a point of interest, there is a stripper clip guide being offered these days that attaches to the factory rail-mounting threads on late-582 series and newer Mini-14's which allows the mag to be loaded with a USGI (M-16) Stripper clip while the empty mag is still in the gun....not as fast as a mag change, but it gets faster with practice. If that sounds like something you'd like to try, they are available from Cogburn Arsenal at this link:
Mini-14 – Cogburn Arsenal
cogburnarsenal.com
Also see the operational video at this link:
DGW
Last edited:
