Thursday, April 02, 2009

Ruger 30-round Mini-14 Mag


The long-awaited Ruger Mini-14 factory 30-round magazines are moving into the pipeline. Most of the aftermarket 30s were pretty much crapshoots when it comes to functioning. In fact, the only Mini mags I've ever found to be 100% were the factory 20-rounders. At $49.95 MSRP still pricey when compared to AR 30-rounders, but at least there's parity.

We're going to be filming carbine stuff very soon with the new Ruger Mini-14s "Tacticals." I have one of the ancient 181 Series Mini-14s and it has always been a better gun than it's given credit for...no, it's not a tack-driver, but it's a darn handy fiercely reliable little carbine. I never have understood people waxing poetic about AKs, which are 100 yard guns, while dis'sing Minis, which are 100 yard guns.


21 comments:

nj_larry said...

At 5:38pm EST 4/2/09 I can't get in to the forums again. OH NO, HAS THE SERVER GONE DOWN AGAIN? Am I going to have to endure another cold lonely night by myself? :(

ericire12 said...

Forum is down again.

Anonymous said...

Love the Minis. Have one of the new Tactical with the 16.1 inch tapered barrel with flash hider and straight synthetic stock. Got some 30 rounders coming and have some Factory 20 rounders. Have heard that the Black Warrior mags from John Masen and the the older PMI mags from the now defunct Precession Mag Industries(?) are good also.
Oh crap looks like the forum is down again.

Anonymous said...

I too had a 181 series with a pretty wood stock, but traded it out to my brother-in-law who still has it. He will be glad to hear about these, he has been limping along with some rusty factory 30 pre-bans and some PMI's from during the ban..

I agree that it is hipocracy to criticize the Mini14 and praise the AK, but I prefer the Keltec SU-16 to both...and it will out shoot both...while taking AR mags, I think the mini-14's time has past...

USCitizen said...

Thanks for the heads-up ... I think the AC556's are going to have quite an appetite for those!

Anonymous said...

What the heck?

Ruger is making their 30-round magazines for civilian consumption again?

Next thing you know, they'll be offering their excellent factory folding stocks again!

Haji said...

Where did it say they were offering them to lowly civilians? All it says is that they're making them.lol!

As long as the AR15 exists, I have no use for the Mini14. Mine had crap accuracy and was very, very subject to stringing as the soda straw barrel heated up. I was happy to be rid of it, since I can get a couple top of the line AR mags for what a factory Mini14 mag costs.

Anonymous said...

Great - so when do they start making high cap mags for the Mini-30?

gullyborg said...

The Mini is the most reliable semi-auto .223 I have ever used. No, it is not a tack driver. But if you need to hit a coyote or a two-legged varmint inside of 200 yards (which is probably as accurate as the average shooter really needs out of a practical rifle) it will do the job.

I used to have some 35 round mags from, Eagle I think, that were plastic frames and used a roll-down spring instead of a traditional coil-up spring. They functioned flawlessly. Sadly, I had to sell my Mini and accoutrements back when I was in grad school. Wish I had them all back now!

Michael, I lost your e-mail address. I have some news to share with you that I am hoping we can get national coverage for. You can reach me by e-mail at "dvgulliver" on g-mail.

In the meantime, here is a link to a press release on the story:

http://oregonwarvets.typepad.com/owva_blog/2009/04/owva-protects-veterans-educational-rights.html

gullyborg said...

whoops, looks like the url got cut off.

use this without the line breaks.

http://oregonwarvets.typepad.com/
owva_blog/2009/04/owva-protects-
veterans-educational-rights.html

sorry about that!

Jason said...

If they'd start putting out higher capacity magazines for the 6.8 SPC Ranch Rifle, I'd get one. I already have rifles that shoot 5.56 and 7.62

halo said...

now, if only Ruger would make a factory 20 or 30 rounder for the Mini-30. if they did that, i wouldn't be looking to sell mine.

Anonymous said...

Fifty bucks for a mag?

I own both an AR and a Mini.

Being an old fart who likes the balance and ergonomics of the Garand and M14, I want to like the Mini but I don't shoot it as much, despite the fact that it has a much better trigger, oddly enough, than my ARs. This is because my AR with USGI chromelined barrel shoots 2 MOA or better with Lake City surplus M855 Ball, my Mini occasionally gets under 4 with ammo it likes.

I have a modest cache of factory 20 round mags and preban PMI 20s, should it come to having to use the Mini for self-defense. I might have been interested in some 30s, but not for fifty bucks a pop.

Anonymous said...

Years ago I had some 30-round Thermolds made for the Mini-14 that worked great. Sold them off before federal law changed in Canada that made them "forbidden fruit".

RSR

Unknown said...

I picked up six 20 round Mini 14 mags from Ruger.com

Average price was about $22.50 thanks to a few discounts. (When you buy a new Ruger firearm you can get $20 off a $100. Plus Ruger had them for the promotional price of $29.95 until the inauguration.

;-)

Dave S. said...

Isn't the "Mini-14s are inaccurate" stuff pretty obsolete now that the new guns are pretty much, well, new guns?

And you can cut the group size in half on an old Mini by hanging a flash hider or muzzle brake on it.

Fuzdaddy said...

I have some of the Ruger 20 and 30 rounders from the 80's. They were pretty much the only thing that worked reliably. There were some by Precision Magazines that were pretty good too.

Whipster said...

I think the AK's get a pass on their mediocre accruacy because they are relatively cheap, stamped-metal 100 yard guns, while the Minis are relatively expensive, cast/forged 100 yard guns.

Plus, we just expect better from Ruger.

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