Pre-ban mini 14 mags

[buckshot]

What makes a "pre-ban" mini 14 mag so special. You can get brand new Ruger mags at a fraction of the price. The "pre-ban" mags bring a premium on gunbroker. Why?

 

[Major T]

I have a magazine that dates back to the mid to late seventies and one that is factory fresh, each is twenty round. No significant difference. Beware of snake oil salesmen. jack

 

[dfletcher]

What makes a "pre-ban" mini 14 mag so special. You can get brand new Ruger mags at a fraction of the price. The "pre-ban" mags bring a premium on gunbroker. Why?

If you happen to live in a state with a ban modeled after the 1994 AWB a "pre-ban" +10 capacity magazine can be legally bought and sold but a recently manufactured one can not. Pre-ban would I believe mean prior to Sept 1994. I would suppose they would have some value to folks in those states.

And the snake oil salesman bit of course always applies .... :wink:

 

[Joe From NY]

In NY state, they passed an "assault weapon" ban, as well as a high capacity magazine ban

§ 265.00 Definitions.
"Large capacity ammunition feeding device" means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device, manufactured after September thirteenth, nineteen hundred ninety-four, that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds of ammunition; provided, however, that such term does not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.

§ 265.02 Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.
(7) Such person possesses an assault weapon; or
(8) Such person possesses a large capacity ammunition feeding device.
Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree is a class D
felony.


While the federal law sunset, the state law did not. In NY, in order to have a magazine with a capacity of more than 10 rounds, that magazine must have been made before 09/13/94.

 

[Major T]

Joe, I understand the problem in NY and a few other places. Neither of the two magazines I referenced are marked as to date of manufacture (unless done so internally.) My point is that it adds no value to the large majority of owners when a magazine was made. During the federal ban days, some magazines were marked "for law enforcement use only" or something very similar. I question how seller knows the magazine is pre ban? jack

 

[Retired Guy]

How is a person to authenticate the manufacture date of a Ruger magazine?

 

[KAC-556F]

There is no way to effectively date most Ruger Mini-14 magazines. Of course the exception is the stamped mags from the AWB years.

The 20 and 30 round mags have been unchanged for many, many years. The majority were marked RUGER on the mag body but some are plain, the telling feature is a much heavier gauge steel body and a unique rib design towards the top of the mag body.

The only real difference in some 20 round mags are those from the early years that were made from cut down 30 round mags with a pinned on floorplate. I have 20 round cut down mags with pinned floorplates that have no RUGER stamp and some that do.

 

[Retired Guy]

Actually, because I live in a state that bans magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and 11 round magazines are common on the used market I was wondering how I ,or anyone else, could tell if they were pre or post ban.